NEW HAVEN, Conn — Throughout the country and in Connecticut, many teachers are being paid poverty-level wages. Because of that, an early childhood center in New Haven is finding a way to help educators through housing.
“This is a day of celebration. But what got us here, to this place, to this time, is defiance. The Friends Center Teacher Housing Initiative was born out of resistance to an oppressive system,” said Allyx Schiavone, the Executive Director of Friends Center for Children.
Friends Center is now on its way to housing at least six educators and their children, free of charge to them. The initiative started in 2021 after the center surveyed its teachers and found all but one of them couldn’t afford a home. Those who had apartments reported that rent was their highest cost.
“So, we asked, ‘How do we raise teacher salaries without raising parent tuition?’” And we realized it was really an impossible question to ask,” Schiavone said. “So we realized we wanted to tackle rent and we wanted to remove that obstacle for teachers.”
With the help of donors, they bought two houses in 2021.
One of them became home to Assistant Teacher, Paris Pierce and her three children. They moved in from their apartment and now no longer struggle to pay rent each month.
“I was just in awe. My children got to have their own room. I don’t have to go to the laundromat anymore to wash clothes. So, it means a lot,” Pierce said.
Now, the center is building its first home on Howard St. in New Haven, looking to house two educators and their families in a single-family home. This project is being completed with the help of students through the Yale School of Architecture’s Jim Vlock First Year Building Project.
“They essentially do everything but for the licensed trades, the electrical, the mechanical, and the plumbing,” said Adam Hopfner, Director of the Jim Vlock Building Project.
Hopfner said the students made sure to work closely with the families, making sure the design fit with their everyday lifestyle.
“The teachers at the Friends Center are just remarkable, remarkable giving people. And for us to be able to sort of give back, give thanks, and to sort of help to raise awareness about the fact that they are so undervalued in our society,” Hopfner said.
In Connecticut, Schiavone said the average salary for an early childhood educator is $34,500.
“We really need to do better, so this is one way to do that,” Schiavone said
“Friends Center for Children created a safe space for me that I get to show up for work and be my best self and do my job,” Pierce said.
By 2027, Friends Center folks hope to have 30% of their staff in a home just like the one they’re building on Howard St.
Those who participate in the program are given a financial coach to help them save for future purchases, to one day be able to buy their own home or a car. The center also uses a formula based on equity to select participants. They must have an annual salary of $38,500 or less for a single adult, an annual salary of $64,000 or less for one adult with children, or an annual salary of $79,000 or less for two adults with children.
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