Success in School Starts at Home

Children thrive on stability,and children who stay in the same school – with the same teachers and friends – have the chance to succeed. By concentrating home building efforts, Habitat helps to create a more stable learning environment in neighorhood schools that need it most.

The key driver of success in life is the stability that starts in early childhood. While both renters and homeowners can be stable, research shows that homeowners— even compared to renters of the same income—have better career success and lifetime earnings.

Frequent moves increase the likelihood that a child will repeat a grade or drop out of high school. Research shows that a high rate of student mobility within a school has a collective, negative impact on all students, even those who do not move.¹ This is one reason why Habitat has chosen to focus building efforts in Lents and similar neighborhoods.

Over the past five years, Habitat has built 37 homes in the Lents neighborhood in southeast Portland and 45 homes in Gresham’s Rockwood neighborhood, introducing hundreds of stable students to the local schools. Habitat has now identified the land to house another 107 families in southeast Portland and 40 more families in Gresham, further reducing student mobility in neighborhoods with the greatest need.

Habitat is planting the seeds of success among homeowners’ children and positively benefiting local schools and neighboring families. Just as it enhances younger students’ ability to learn, affordable homeownership promotes adult learning and career advancement. Since purchasing their Habitat homes, we have seen parents win competitive scholarships to private colleges, complete associates degrees and receive advanced certifications in professional trades. These professional certifications enable families to retain employment even during tough economic times.

1. Scanlon, Edward and Kevin Devine, 2001. Residential Mobility and Youth Well-Being: Research, Policy, and Practice Issues. Journal of Sociology and Social Welfare 28(1): 119-138.
2. Differential Effects of Homeownership on Children from Higher and Lower-Income Families, Journal of Housing Research, Vol. 14, Issue 1, Fannie Mae Foundation 2003.