Ewa Maas is a teacher by profession, but a humanitarian by nature. Her good deeds are done quietly and selflessly, yet the reverberation is as fierce as a tidal wave.
She grew up in Delray, met her husband at 16 and has been married for 30 years. She also became a teachers’ aide at Carver Middle School.
But she did not stop there. When Maas found out about the “Grow Your Own” Program (in the PBC School District) she plowed forward and got a Bachelors’ and a Master’s Degree in Special Ed. It was a family busi-ness so to speak – her mother-in-law and father-in-law were both special education teachers.
Maas started out as a Behavior Interventionist and after getting her degree became a Learning Strategist. But her career path – and life mission – is not solely educationally based. It is mixed and mingled with heart, compassion, motherhood and maturity.
When Maas sees a student who needs help, she lends a helping hand, a car, a bicycle, her home and her heart.
She knows to whom much is given much is expected.
“I feel like I came from a sheltered home, and I saw so many kids aged 18 to 26 at school who needed help with many things to survive and thrive.”
But she did more than see kids who needed help. She did something about it.
“In the 30 years I’ve been working at schools the kids always save my phone number. If they need something they can call me. If they need a ride to work, I will drive them or give them money for an Uber or Lyft. No one has ever abused it.”
The extent to her goodness is boundless. Maas is al-ways on the lookout for young people who seem for-lorn or in need of support or nurturing.
As a matter of fact, her sensitivity to the issues of young adults started when she invited a student into her home 15 years ago. “I had a 16-year-old student who was living in a group foster home and saw no hope for his future. I mentored him, and my husband and I took foster parenting classes. He is now 30 years-old and part of our forever family.”
Maas is living proof that sometimes the best connections in life don’t follow a syllabus. “I embraced the chaos and joy of expanding our family and learning invaluable lessons along the way (like how teenagers eat a lot).”
Mass has not only been a mentor (and surrogate mom) to her foster son, but she helps many students and former students navigate the world. Some need help understanding how to arrange a payment program for life’s more complicated issues, others need a place to live. Still others need support or information to make wise career choices.
When one student was thinking about changing careers to become a fireman, Maas took him to a firefighter orientation so he could decide. Others need clothing for job interviews or a car to take to the DMV office to get a driver’s license.
To do these good deeds it takes more than a good heart and a nurturing spirit. It takes money.
That’s why Maas started a nonprofit organization called STARTpbc. This 501(c)(3), which stands for “Strategies for Today’s Adults Reaching for Tomorrow.” Its main purpose is to help, support and guide young adults (and students) through life’s obstacles.
When she raised $1000, she was able to pay for Lyft rides for students to get to work. She also raised money to buy one young man interview clothing and a tool set. “He got his dream job as a mechanic; he’s so good at fixing cars. I bought him his first set of tools at Home Depot. He was so ecstatic, it was like watching a kid open a gift on Christmas eve.”
You could call Maas a savior of sorts. When she sees a student going down the wrong path she has her “come to Jesus” talk with them. She had one of those with a student who now lives in her home. Labeled a troubled kid, Maas did not see the trouble only the cure.
“When this young man was a student in my class I had a raw, honest, no sugar-coated talk with him. It was about what the future would look like on his cur-rent path, and how his choices affect a new path that is attainable.”
That was three years ago. He now lives with the Maas family and has a job he loves and a life he is proud of. Before that he was sleeping in a friend’s car and on the floor. When it was too cold to sleep in those places, the Maas family intervened.
“In January, my husband and daughter agreed to let him sleep in our spare room. STARTpbc bought him a bed and helped him get a car, clothes and shoes for his new job as a mechanic at a dealership! His dream job.”
Listening to Maas talk about her students (and former students) is a lesson the Bible might teach. “All good choices and good things are happening because these kids need consistent care and love.”
Her inspiration was rooted in her relation-ship with her foster son. “I saw that he just needed somebody to care about him. When he was 15, I said, ‘I care about you’ and he looked at me like I was crazy. He grew up in the foster care system and nobody really cared about him.”
It was after this realization that Maas started paying attention to other students’ needs. She discovered that the bad kid in class is the one who is hurt and really needs emotional support. “Many of these kids just need a person who genuinely cares about them.”
Maas does not come from generational wealth. She works hard to help her students and her family. She is at school from 7:30 am to 2:45, then goes home and does Online Teaching from 4 to 6 three days a week. She is also the senior sponsor for the class of 2026 and works at school sporting events when necessary.
Others are sure-footed in their assessment of this saintly woman who walks the earth humbly. “Ewa is compassionate, kind, and al-ways willing to work with any student. She also spends countless hours supporting them outside the classroom, she is a true blessing,” said Susan Rodriguez, ESE Coordinator Atlan-tic High School.
Maas’s goal now is to get others to support her nonprofit, STARTpbc. She knows there are many 18 to 26 year-olds in the community who need support and mentoring.
“They need to feel like they belong in soci-ety and that someone cares about them. They need life guidance and financial help getting a license, tools for a new job and money for col-lege and vocational application fees.”
After all, it was Yvonne Odom who paved the way for Maas to get a teaching degree. They say good deeds cause a ripple effect that reverber-ates outward. Odom’s foresight has been a light in the darkness for many of Maas’s students.
“I encouraged Ewa to apply for a scholar-ship, she did, and the rest is history. Her teach-ing career continues to be exceptional, especially her positive influence on her students. I just pointed her in the right direction, and she walked in and did the work.”
You bet she did.
“I believe that every child, no matter their age, deserves to be seen, heard and given the tools to thrive. Every kid has a place in my heart – once you’re one of my kids, you always will be.”
To find out about STARTpbc
www.startpbc.org
Ewa.maas21@gmail.com
561-350-5804
