Our Mission

Mass Teacher Resources helps teachers in Greater Boston at economically disadvantaged schools access the resources needed to create welcoming, inclusive, and safe learning environments for students.

Mass Teacher Resources is fiscally sponsored by Third Sector New England, Inc. (TSNE)

Our Vision

Mass Teacher Resources envisions a future in which every teacher working in a Title 1 elementary school has equitable access to the supplies and resources they need to create a welcoming, inclusive, and safe learning environment for students. When teachers are well-supported and appreciated, they feel better prepared and can direct their time and resources on doing what they do best – teaching and inspiring their students.

Our Story

The inspiration for Mass Teacher Resources was sparked in 2020, when our founder, Barry Star, was teasing his daughter (an elementary school teacher) for stealing supplies from his office for her classroom. Although this initially just resulted in some teasing, it was also a moment of realization for Barry that there was a greater unmet need here. With a little Googling, one could quickly find that teachers were spending their own money to supply their classrooms year after year. With the pandemic wearing on, frustration with the profession of teaching was only growing.

A serial entrepreneur, Barry began diving deeper and interviewing teachers, principals, superintendents, and friends on the issue. His research uncovered other nonprofits around the United States targetting the same problem, but the gap was still unmet in the Greater Boston area– particularly for elementary school teachers from Title 1 schools.

Motivated by these discoveries Barry began collecting school supply donations from Craigslist, retiring teachers, friends, corporations rebranding, and even purchasing supplies himself. With just a few ads online, teachers responded eagerly to the opportunity for free supplies. In the first few years, through these teachers, Barry was able to support 1,200 students in the Greater Boston area.

Now with a proof of concept, Barry wanted to take his work to the next level. Sharon Bort jumped in to serve as interim Executive Director to begin institutionalizing this nonprofit. In 2024 we hired our first full-time Executive Director, Maureen Willis.

In September 2024, Mass Teacher Resources opened the MTR Free Store at 400 West Cummings Park in Woburn, serving teachers from Title 1 Elementary Schools (K-5th grade) across 70 communities in Greater Boston. Our goal is to grow and expand to meet the needs of public school teachers across the state.