Housing Is Education

CLPHA’s Housing Is Initiative recognizes the key role public housing authorities can play in a variety of educational efforts benefiting both low-income children and adults. Research has shown that housing stability has a significant impact on children’s school performance and long-term outcomes, such as graduation rates and post-secondary activities. Housing authorities are actively exploring how they can align with and add value to local approaches that aim to improve educational outcomes.

  • Housing authorities are providing additional support for residents’ education, from early childhood through adult learning opportunities. Some of these efforts are provided by the housing authority, such as through initiatives to improve attendance; others are joint efforts with partners, such as offering after-school programming on-site or digital literacy classes.
  • With support from the Housing Is initiative and other partners, housing authorities are using research to inform their work, as well as conducting program evaluation of their own initiatives to contribute to the field.
  • CLPHA works with a wide range of education partners at the national, regional, and state level to support the testing of innovative ideas and implementation of evidence-based best practices aligning education and housing.
  • Housing Is conducts advocacy efforts such as working with Senator Patty Murray’s (D-WA) office to write the AHEAD Act, a bill that would incentivize partnerships between different sectors to improve educational outcomes.
  • Some of our current areas of focus are: data sharing, out-of-school time; family engagement, two-generation initiatives, homelessness, early childhood, and connectivity.

Please contact CLPHA’s Director of Cross-Sector Initiatives Abra Lyons-Warren (abra@clpha.org) with inquiries about our housing and education work.

Innovative public housing authorities (PHAs) are collaborating with college access partners and community colleges to increase postsecondary educational achievement for low-income residents and college students experiencing homelessness. Learn more in CLPHA's report "Eliminating Barriers to Postsecondary Success: Cross-Sector Collaborations to Improve Postsecondary Achievement for Students Served by Public Housing Authorities.

Housing Is Education News
12.18.19
On Tuesday, December 10, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) introduced the Affordable Housing for Educational Achievement Demonstration (AHEAD) Act, legislation intended to encourage public housing authorities and school districts to work together to address child and family homelessness through a federal grant program.
12.6.19
Next week, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) will re-introduce the Affordable Housing for Educational Achievement Demonstration Act of 2019 (the AHEAD Act).
12.5.19
From WBEZ 91.5 Chicago:  Cassandra Jones has a goal: to be the first person in her family to graduate from college. Currently, Jones is studying communications at Harold Washington College, a two-year community college located downtown and part of the City Colleges of Chicago. She plans to transfer to a four-year university to study media production.

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