The Opportunity Starts at Home multi-sector affordable homes campaign recently released a new issue brief, survey, and podcast on the connection between educational outcomes and housing. These new resources are now available on the campaign’s website and are aimed at deepening the understanding of advocates and policymakers about the connection between student achievement and housing stability.
The issue brief explores three channels in which housing influences educational attainment: 1) housing security and educational achievement; 2) housing mobility, school access, and integration; and 3) housing security and postsecondary access and success. Each section of the issue brief provides in-depth analysis of racial inequities present in each channel. The brief also contains an explanation of federal policies that would address these channels and explores successful state and local programs. The brief was developed in consultation with the campaign’s Racial Equity Working Group.
The campaign recently distributed a survey to 19 major school districts and charter school management organizations to learn how they perceive the connection between housing affordability and educational outcomes. Among the survey’s findings, all respondents said that having stable, affordable housing was very important or extremely important when it comes to their students’ ability to succeed in school.
The campaign’s 31stpodcast episode features guests who explore the deep connections between the housing and education sectors. Dr. Stefan Lallinger, fellow at the Century Foundation and director of the Bridges Collaborative, and Sam Adams, education programs manager at the Come to Believe Foundation and an ongoing contributor to the Opportunity Starts at Home campaign, discuss issues of racial and socioeconomic integration, equity, school governance, and district-charter relationships.
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