In a growing national trend, school districts in cities across the nation are hoping they can retain good teachers and staff by providing them with high-quality, affordable housing.
Fewer than 100 teacher-housing developments exist or are being built across the United States and many of the roughly 3.8 million full- and part-time public school teachers in the United States find it difficult to afford housing in the cities where their districts lie.
Take Austin, Texas and Oakland, California, for example.
In Texas, the Austin ISD has talked for years about bringing teacher housing to the district at the Anita Coy Facility, and now construction is underway on the development at the almost 18-acre site in East Austin that once was home to the district’s Alternative Learning Center (ALC). The ALC has now now been demolished.
In 2023, the Austin ISD Board of Trustees unanimously approved that the district enter into an exclusive agreement with The NRP Group, the selected development partner for the Coy site, television station KXAN reported.
High Quality, Affordable
“High housing prices in Austin are pushing out the very people who keep the city running. This partnership is a first-of-its-kind solution in Texas, bringing workforce housing closer to where people work. For Austin ISD teachers and staff along with the city’s essential workers and families, this project helps ease the burden of choosing between long commutes and making ends meet,” said Nick Walsh, Vice President of Development at The NRP Group.
The district said the site will allow it to deliver high quality housing that is affordable for new and experienced teachers as well as district staff.
KXAN said the Coy development will break ground in two phases: Phase 1 will comprise the first 341 units, while Phase 2 will launch construction of an additional 334 units.
The site will have two multistory buildings featuring one-, two- and three-bedroom residences.
NRP Group said that 50% of the units will be rent- and income‑restricted: 10% for households earning up to 60% of Area Median Income (AMI) and 40% for households earning up to 80% AMI, with the remaining 50% offered at market rates.
Construction of the first phase is underway and the first units will be available in the fall of 2027, KXAN reported.
While teachers are a priority, the district says the units will also be available for other renters looking for affordable housing.
New Program is ‘Rooted’
In Oakland, meanwhile, the city launched a new affordable housing program, “Rooted,” to help teachers live in the district by offering below-market rents via a public-private partnership, television station KTVU reported.
The initiative, led by the nonprofit Oakland Fund, seeks to buy apartment buildings and then rent units to teachers at below-market rates. typically between $1,100 and $2,600 a month, or about 30% of household income.
“We are seeing a depressed real estate market, and now is the time to buy these buildings at a fraction of the price they were five years ago,” said Kyra Mungia, CEO of the Oakland Fund.
KTVU said that Melanie Turner, an OUSD teacher, is among 33 families living in the program’s first property, the Idora Building on Claremont Avenue in the Temescal neighborhood.
“This is the first time I’ve been able to have an apartment with just my name on it, just me and my son,” Turner said.
Turner, who has a 10-year-old son, told KTVU that she worked two jobs, teaching during the day and delivering food at night, to make ends meet.
“I wouldn’t see my son until morning because of the work,” she told the station.
Peace of Mind
Now, she said stable housing has reduced her stress and allowed her to spend more time with her son, and given her peace of mind that she can afford rent.
The Oakland Fund bought the Idora Building for about $12 million, about half its previous market value, Mungia said.
The nonprofit received $7.6 million in one-time Measure U funding from the city and seeks to raise $14 million to acquire 150 units over the next three years.
“This is an example of public-private partnerships,” Mayor Barbara Lee said. “Your city supports you, we’re there with you, and we want to see more of this.”
KTVU reported that local and federal leaders say the program could serve as a model for addressing teacher housing shortages.
Strengthening the Community
“We know we are just getting started,” Rep. Lateefah Simon said. “Oakland is the city to invest in. Oakland is the city to teach in.”
And Oakland City Councilmember Zac Unger underscored the community impact.
“This is teachers grading papers on this patio. This is teachers running into their students at the park,” Unger said. “This is how we strengthen our community in real, concrete ways.”
OUSD Superintendent Denise Saddler told KTVU that the high cost of housing is a big factor driving teachers out of the district.
“They often opt to work closer to where they live, so this is important for the stability of the district,” Saddler said. “We lose 60% of our staff in a variety of roles because of housing.”
