SUPPORT US BY SIGNING OUR HOUSING PETITION

Proposal: The departments of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Department of Education, and the Department of Defense must come together to create and allocate funds for a Housing Allowance for all Public School teachers.

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Preamble:Each and every day in the United States, thousands of public school teachers are becoming displaced due to increasing rents and stagnant pay. Because teachers are still paid less than other professions and they require comparable education, training and skills, it has become a field of charity. Teachers are being forced to live outside their communities in which they serve in order to survive. Furthermore, the demand for public school teachers is rising due to the lack of interest and economic sense. According to the California Teachers Association, “With about a third of the teaching force nearing retirement, the Center for the Future of Teaching and Learning estimates that California alone will need an additional 100,000 teachers over the next decade”.  This is alarming because there is a decline in enrollment at Colleges, Universities and Trade school for teaching credential programs. There has been mentioned that 20 percent of all new hires leave the classroom within three years. In urban districts, the numbers are even worse—with close to 50 percent of newcomers fleeing the profession during their first five years of teaching. Clearly Americans must recognize that this is a problem and that we all have a fiduciary duty to ensure that our teachers are living comfortably as they educate and prepare America’s children for the world ahead of them.

Because we value our soldier of education, we must provide them with a Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) as we do the military. The BAH would be determined by zip code. Because unions will always be the go to for salary negotiations, our sole purpose is on housing and NOT their salaries. We are simply advocating for a supplemental payment to be issued to all public school teachers from the US Government dedicated strictly to their housing. UEAAH is seeking policy transfer and diffusion of the US military code on BAH. Nothing has to be re-invented, because we have a model to look at for guidance-the military.

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If the U.S does not incentivize public school teachers and compete with other profession, it is evident that the public school shortage of teachers is going to become worse and the children or America will suffer.

Petition: BASED ON THE FOREGOING ISSUES AND CONCERNS ……… We, the Undersigned, as demonstrated by our individual signatures to this Petition, hereby affirm our SOLIDARITY with the United Educators Association for Affordable Housing (UEAAH) in supporting Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) for all public school teachers, to help end the displacement and the shortage of public school teachers.  

Click here to join our fight towards obtaining Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH)

 for all K-12 Public School teachers across the nation!

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MEET THE TEAM

AZALEA RENFIELD

PRESIDENT OF THE BOARD

FOUNDER AND FORMER EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Azalea Renfield is the Former Founder and Executive Director and current Board Member for United Educators Association for Affordable Housing, INC (UEAAH). Azalea is responsible for the strategic direction of UEAAH and oversees all areas of the company including policy, grant development, programs and services, asset management and partnerships. Azalea has earned her MPA from the University of San Francisco and a Master's in Human Resource Management from Golden Gate University. She also has received her bachelor’s in American Politics and Communication from the University of California, San Diego.  Azalea had the honor of being selected as a recipient of the University of California, Washington Center (UCDC) Academic Program in our Nation’s Capital-Washington, D.C.

COLLEEN BUGANSKI

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Education is the single most important catalyst in Colleen's life, so joining UEAAH as President of the Board gives her the opportunity to pay it forward. She obtained her undergraduate degree in Social Science from Metropolitan State University in the Twin Cities, where she volunteered as the Director of Community Relations for a charitable beer company. Having moved to San Francisco 3 years ago when she accepted a job with the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer, Colleen is currently pursuing her Master of Public Affairs and Practical Politics degree from the University of San Francisco, while working as a full time administrative professional. A certified volunteer mediator with Community Boards of San Francisco, she believes effective and honest communication gives advocacy its power. Colleen believes the mission of UEAAH is reasonable, attainable and imperative to the future of the public educational system.

KATE GLASSMAN

SENIOR PUBLIC POLICY CONSULTANT

​Kate Glassman began her career working as a third grade teacher in a Title I-funded school in Charlotte, North Carolina, which fueled her passion for educational equity. Seeking to learn as much as possible about successful models of public education, Kate spent 15 months working for the Ministry of Education of Singapore as a high school argumentative writing teacher and Princeton in Asia Fellow. While teaching in Singapore, Kate witnessed her students thrive academically as a result of the government’s significant investment in smart policies that both targeted student achievement and increased the professional capacity of teachers.  Kate’s experiences in the classroom have inspired her to dedicate her career to researching, promoting, and designing evidence-based social policies to support public school communities. Kate currently conducts policy research for the United Educators Association for Affordable Housing (UEAAH). She also teaches undergraduate students as Head Graduate Student Instructor of Wealth and Poverty, an upper division public policy course taught by Robert Reich. Kate will earn her Master of Public Policy degree from UC Berkeley’s Goldman School of Public Policy in May 2016.
e this invaluable member of our team. Drew Carlyle is truly a joy to be around and makes it a pleasure to come to work every single day.

OPPORTUNITIES & CAREERS

There's more than one way to contribute towards our mission. Learn more about how you can get involved and take advantage of the opportunity to give back to teachers by clicking below:

UEAAH IN THE PRESS

BAY AREA AFFORDABILITY CRISIS SPURS YOUNG ACTIVISTS TO FIGHT FOR TEACHER HOUSING

JANUARY 14, 2015

HIGH-RENT SCHOOL DISTRICTS BUILD HOMES FOR TEACHERS

MARCH 21, 2016

DOES IT MAKE SENSE TO OFFER HOUSING PERKS FOR TEACHERS?

JANUARY 23, 2018

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