Tulsa Teachers Have a New Pathway to Home Ownership

Affordable housing is a problem, not just in Tulsa, but across the nation. Home ownership is simply out of reach for many hard-working people. Some of those hard-working individuals are the people teaching your children every day.

This week, Green Country Habitat for Humanity (GCHFH) and Tulsa Public Schools (TPS) announced a partnership called “Education Begins with Home” that they hope will help recruit and retain certified teachers in TPS by making home ownership a reality.

Oklahoma teachers can move to surrounding states and immediately make more money than they do in Oklahoma. Many are leaving the profession for higher paying jobs.

While pay isn’t the only reason that certified teachers are leaving the profession, having an affordable home could certainly encourage many to remain in teaching and in the Tulsa community. Children thrive on stability. Having a certified teacher in the classroom who will be there for several years creates a better learning environment and is less stressful for students.

The Education Begins with Home collaboration between GCHFH and TPS is a creative way to address teacher retention and housing shortages through a $5 million down payment assistance fund. The fund will give qualifying teachers up to $50,000 in down payment assistance to purchase a home through Habitat’s homebuyer program.

Program Highlights:

• Teachers must meet Habitat’s income requirements, complete homebuyer education courses, and contribute hours like any other Habitat homebuyer.
• After five years of successful mortgage payments, the down payment assistance will be fully forgiven, allowing teachers to build home equity.
• This program supports stable and affordable housing so teachers and students can better focus on learning and growth.

“Owning a stable, affordable home is the foundation of success—not just for families, but for our entire community, including our teachers,” said Tulsa Mayor Monroe Nichols. “The ‘Education Begins with Home’ partnership between Green Country Habitat for Humanity and Tulsa Public Schools marks an important step forward. By helping Tulsa Public Schools teachers purchase homes and build equity, we are investing in the future of Tulsa—one classroom, one family, and one home at a time.”

TPS Superintendent Ebony Johnson talked about her own childhood of starting out in an apartment near Booker T. Washington High School and then moving to a house when her mother was able to afford a home for them. She wants to support teachers and believes that offering them a way to afford a home is one way of showing that support, not just from the school system, but from the larger community.

Cameron Walker, president and CEO of Green Country Habitat for Humanity, believes that giving teachers an opportunity for home ownership can have a “ripple effect of positive change – improving education outcomes, fostering community growth and empowering families for generations.”

When teachers are supported and valued, children in their classrooms will benefit. And when children are learning in good schools with qualified teachers, the entire community benefits. Businesses will choose to locate in Tulsa, so the economy improves. Families will remain knowing their children are being educated for a bright future.

For information on how to apply, visit greencountryhabitat.org/education.