Why I Believe Shavar Jeffries Is The Right Leader For The KIPP Foundation

I was born and raised in Newark, New Jersey to a mother who was a public school teacher and a father who became a small business owner after immigrating to New Jersey from Berbice, Guyana. In search of the best school options for me, my mother found KIPP TEAM Academy, the first KIPP middle school in New Jersey. For high school, I ended up attending a small boarding school in western Massachusetts called the Northfield Mount Hermon School.

Though I gave back to my community regularly as a peer tutor and mentor while home on break in Newark, as I navigated high school, I became even more curious about how I could make a greater impact on my community.

One day while home from break, my mom told me about a man from Newark who was running for School Board. His name was Shavar. My mom was so excited about him and what his leadership could mean for our city that I decided to go and listen to him speak.

I heard him share his story of being raised by a single mother and a grandmother in the South Ward of Newark. Like me, he was a survivor of gun violence, having lost a family member at a young age–just like how I lost my father to gun violence right before I came to KIPP. I heard him talk about being a kid from a city rich with opportunities and challenges. At the age of about 14, his life was changed by being able to attend a private college preparatory school for high school. He never felt like the education he had made him any different, better, or more talented than anybody else he grew up with. He simply had access to different opportunities. I heard him talk about how “luck” shouldn’t be the determining factor on whether a child has access to a quality education, but that we must do the work of creating systemic opportunities to uproot the systemic inequity that limits children in our community.

He talked about his work in the juvenile justice system to assist in making these changes from an intersectional lens, and how all his experiences would inform his advocacy for Newark students and families as an elected member of the Newark Board of Education. He spoke about his vision to make sure our children would be prepared, nurtured, and loved in every school, and I believed him.

After listening to him, I said to myself, “I see him because he sees me. He sees us.” He saw not only who we were as young people, but who we could be when given the educational opportunities we deserved. I decided to work on his campaign to organize other young people to get out and vote.

Shavar’s story has come full circle for me. It was around the age of 23 years old when he helped start and chair the KIPP: New Jersey TEAM Board in Newark–the same I age I was when I first ran for office and became the youngest woman ever elected to the Newark Board of Education–an accomplishment made possible because of mentorship from people like Shavar.

Leaders in education must truly see our children in all their complexity, promise, and possibility to truly lead. Shavar is one of those people. It’s been an honor to be a partner with him in this work–not only as a mentee over the years but as a colleague on the KIPP Foundation Board, where Shavar served as Vice President. As the second Alumni Board Member in KIPP’s history, I’ve been able to see Shavar help lead our Board firsthand with passion, vision, and purpose.

This spirit of fully giving of oneself extends beyond his work at KIPP and into his everyday life in the community. Any Newarker can regularly find Shavar in local coffee shops or grocery stores engaging with youth and other members of our community, simply being present for them or being of service. A person who embodies people-centered and purpose-driven leadership, Shavar is able to harness the light of those around them and use that light to bring them forward. He’s done it in my life and in the lives of the tens of thousands of children his work has touched.

I couldn’t be more excited to see someone I trust to help shepherd the light of KIPPsters across the country, leading in a way that honors his own light and the light of those around him. I’m excited to see him shine and support others in doing the same.

By A’Dorian Murray-Thomas, KIPP NJ alum, Founder and CEO of SHE Wins Inc. and Newark School Board Member