Housing and education are inextricably linked.
Our mission is to help our residents prosper, so that their time with us is transforming and temporary. School success is part of this transformation.
In 2024, THA counted nearly 4,000 school-aged children in our subsidized housing, making up about 40 percent of our household members and 13 percent of the Tacoma Public Schools population.
Tacoma Public Schools has the highest number and percent of students enrolled under the McKinney-Vento Act of any school district in Washington State, with 2,659 children who are homeless or unstably housed. Of these children, 407 are unaccompanied young people.
Nearly 60 percent of THA’s customers have enrolled in some college. Only 15 percent have completed a post-secondary credential.
As we seek to help the children we house succeed in school and support the success of schools serving low-income students, we have set out the following goals:
- THA’s students will graduate high school
- THA’s students will enroll in post-secondary degree or certificate programs
- THA’s adult customers will have the support they need to pursue their own educational goals
- TPS students will be housed, and they will graduate high school
- Tacoma’s homeless system will have room for homeless and unstably housed college students
Programs Prioritizing McKinney-Vento Students
THA’s education project began with the McCarver Housing Program, which offered 50 subsidies for families enrolled in and willing to stay at McCarver Elementary School (now Edna Travis Elementary), with the aim of bringing down the school’s turnover rate and keeping students in class.
The program succeeded in improving student stability, but participants found that finding housing within the school’s Hilltop neighborhood was challenging. And as we looked to expand the program, we found that the 25:1 ratio of participants for case management provided by THA was unsustainable for scaling.
With the Elementary School Housing Program, THA expanded eligibility to all TPS elementary school children and their families. Housing was administered through Pierce County’s homeless system, and services were leveraged through the county funding system.
THA now prioritizes all McKinney-Vento students for THA housing, and TPS can refer McKinney-Vento students for any tenant-based or portfolio vacancy. All supportive services are provided by TPS.
Children’s Savings Accounts
Every child in THA’s portfolio is eligible for a Children’s Savings Account.
THA partners with the Washington Student Achievement Council to seed a $500 deposit into an account with Washington’s Guaranteed Education Tuition (GET) program, a 529 prepaid tuition plan that helps families save up for higher education.
We also offer family and youth engagement around financial education, college and career navigation, and social-emotional learning.
College Housing Assistance Program
In 2014, THA began using Moving to Work flexibilities to provide 75 subsidies for homeless or near homeless students. The program eventually expanded to include students at Tacoma Community College and the University of Washington at Tacoma, and THA used MTW flexibility to buy down rents at properties near the campuses.
To be eligible, participants had to already be enrolled in and attending school, and they would be required to remain enrolled and making academic progress with at least a 2.0 GPA. Subsidies were fixed, not income-based, and students had to remain in school to remain eligible for the housing. Assistance was limited to 5 years or 6 months post-graduation, whichever came first.
Lessons Learned
Over the years, we found that students enrolled in CHAP were facing similar challenges to the broader population of Tacomans facing housing instability, including transportation challenges, trauma, health crises, and the need to balance work, school, and childcare. More than half of CHAP voucher holders (52 percent) had their housing assistance terminated for not meeting the continued eligibility requirements, while 17 percent graduated.
Students with minimal income faced additional barriers meeting the minimum rent payment and income requirements set by landlords. Only half of those approved for a voucher completed the steps to receive one, and of those approved, only half secured housing. Male and Black/African American students were least likely to secure housing.
CHAP participants were less likely to experience an increase in income compared to other THA clients, with only 37 percent seeing higher incomes over the course of the program. BIPOC households were disproportionately less likely to experience an increase of income.
Data-Driven Refinements
Based on these findings, THA opted to move CHAP participants into income-based rents, with a deeper subsidy and no time limits on assistance. The enrollment requirements were removed, allowing students to pursue programs at other colleges, and we expanded eligibility for property-based subsidies to include potential students from all low-income households.
We have also invested in the Pierce County homeless system to make it large enough to accept students, leveraging service funding from the county, and we are working with existing THA customers to remove barriers to enrollment in post-secondary degree and certificate programs.