Teacher Housing Initiatives: An Embedded Case Study of Race, Place, and the School-Housing Nexus

Jackquelin Bristol

The rising cost of housing in many regions of the country has presented new challenges for schools and district leaders, including workforce instability, as teachers often are priced-out of housing markets where they teach or desire to teach. Teacher housing initiatives (THIs) are a novel and growing response to reduce costs for teachers and to aid recruitment and retention. However, while THIs are increasing, research on their impact is not. Drawing on 314 national surveys, 41 interviews, GIS mapping, document analysis and field observations, this dissertation addresses the following questions: (1) How do schoolteachers perceive and experience housing affordability challenges and how does race and class shape divergent struggles for housing among teachers? (2) How have district leaders and local stakeholders responded to limited access to housing for teachers? (3) How are teacher housing initiatives (in one district) experienced by teachers including time and duration at school/work, engagement with students, parents and families, and decisions to stay or leave the school workplace? and (4) In what ways does teacher proximity (via living in a THI in one district) shape important aspects of teachers professional skills such as relationships with students, parents and community members, and pedagogical practices? This study is grounded in critical racial spatial analysis, and sociological theories of the racialization of space, political economies of place, and the increasing precarity of teachers' labor. Ultimately, this research addresses a critical gap in the field, particularly as districts across the country explore new ways to support educators through housing.

About Jackquelin Bristol

Jackquelin Bristol is a PhD candidate in Educational Foundations, Policy, and Practice at the University of Colorado Boulder. She earned a B.S. in Sociology from Northern Michigan University. Jackie's scholarship sits at the intersection of the sociology of education and critical geography. Her dissertation is deeply informed by her lived experiences with housing instability and focuses on new teacher housing initiatives—a novel and growing response to teacher recruitment, retention, and affordability challenges. Shaped by her experiences, she explores critical questions: How effective are these initiatives at recruiting and retaining teachers? Where are they physically located? Who benefits from them, and who is excluded? What do they reveal about broader patterns of racialized access to housing and public education? Her work contributes to understanding how teacher housing initiatives reflect and shape larger societal structures, particularly their impact on students and teachers of color. At CU Boulder, Jackie is a Miramontes Fellow. Her research has been presented at national conferences including the American Educational Research Association, Sociology of Education Association, California Sociological Association, and University Council for Educational Administration. Her co-authored work exploring the cultural knowledge of transnational Mexican and Latinx children has been published in the Harvard Educational Review. Outside of research, Jackie enjoys teaching, mentoring students, and spending time with her partner and pets.