Teachers can't afford to live. Free housing is a solution

It’s clear that our economy depends on early care and education, but there is a huge gap between what parents can afford and what teachers like me need to earn to survive.

Paris Pierce
| Opinion Contributor

When I moved from Ohio to New Haven, Connecticut, I knew I wanted to continue my career in early care and education. I also knew I needed a job that would allow me to support my children.

Unfortunately, these types of jobs are rare in my field.

It’s clear that our economy depends on early care and education, but there is a huge gap between what parents can afford and what teachers like me need to earn to survive.

The childcare system is subsidized by the low wages paid to early childhood teachers. This reality often leaves teachers struggling to find safe and affordable housing, so initiatives like the Friends Center for Children’s Free Teacher Housing Initiative are critical.

Help teachers build a foundation for financial stability

I have been part of the initiative for almost four years and I cannot emphasize enough how much it has improved my life.

This program is not just about living in safe housing without having to pay rent, although that has made an incredible difference; this initiative is about helping teachers build a foundation for long-term financial stability.

Through this initiative, I have been assigned a financial coach who helps me set and achieve savings goals with the money that would have gone to rent. We discuss budgeting, credit, banking and any other financial concerns I have.

This support has given me relief, reduced my stress and significantly improved my family’s quality of life.

More than that, it provides stability and the breathing space I need to focus on both my personal and professional growth.

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We need significant, sustainable investment to stabilize the childcare and education sectors, and to show teachers and future teachers that our value is seen.

By offering rent-free housing as part of our pay package – through a combination of homes purchased and donated to the Friends Center, and homes designed and built in collaboration with Jim Vlock First of the Yale School of Architecture Annual Construction Project – teachers in the Friends Center can live more safely while continuing to do the work we love.

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But rent-free housing is not the only way to support early care and education.

Public sector programs could invest in the purchase or construction of child care centers and home-based facilities, which could be offered to providers for free or with significant tax savings for homeowners.

Local, state, and federal government agencies could also incentivize employers to build child care facilities, which would help offset capital costs.

Suppose public programs and private initiatives come together to address the supply gap in early care and education. In that case, we can alleviate the financial burden of rent and mortgage payments for providers.

This would allow providers and the greater American public to reinvest in what matters most: paying teachers a living wage.

Ultimately, it’s not just about making early care and education affordable for families, but also about making it sustainable for teachers.

Paris Pierce is an assistant teacher in the preschool program at the Friends Center for Children in New Haven, Connecticut.

Teachers can’t afford to live. Free housing is a solution

It’s clear that our economy depends on early care and education, but there is a huge gap between what parents can afford and what teachers like me need to earn to survive.

Help teachers build a foundation for financial stability

Teachers want to continue doing the work we love

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Teachers can’t afford to live. Free housing is a solution

It’s clear that our economy depends on early care and education, but there is a huge gap between what parents can afford and what teachers like me need to earn to survive.

Help teachers build a foundation for financial stability

Teachers want to continue doing the work we love

By Sheisoe

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You Missed

ISU student charged with harassment over alleged death threats

Security package: Federal law must be taken into account

Commercial Metals manages Aktienziel and “Market Perform” rating after Quartalszahlen from Investing.com

Betrunkene Autofahrerin force against Schild