Aspiring teachers are facing housing insecurity while studying, participating in classroom internships, and overcoming teacher credentialing hurdles. We need your help to raise $50,000 by the end of the year to open more housing.

LACK OF AFFORDABLE HOUSING

Los Angeles consistently ranks among the least affordable housing markets in the United States, making finding affordable housing a considerable challenge for teachers, especially those just starting their careers or supporting families. They often face stagnant salaries that fail to keep pace with the rising cost of living. Brookings Institute found that only 17% of homes in California are affordable on the average state teacher salary of $61K.

Unfortunately, teachers who live in more affordable housing markets—miles outside of metropolitan areas—end up spending disproportionate percentages of their free time and salaries on commuting, sacrificing time for rest and wellness activities, and forfeiting the mutual benefits of belonging to the communities where their students and their families live.

THE VILLAGE INITIATIVE SOLUTION

The Village Initiative (TVI) is a culturally-affirming, community-based teacher residency that recruits, trains, retains, and sustains Black male public school teachers. The residency includes housing to remove the unwieldy financial burden from prospective teachers to ensure fellows can spend their time studying to become the best teachers, building relationships within their schools, and providing a sense of home for the Village Initiative community.

In partnership with Cal State Dominguez Hills and LAUSD, fellows spend two years in the program, attending classes in the first year and working with a mentor teacher in the second year. TVI also provide a pre-service summer institute, a living stipend while they are training, professional and peer mentoring, financial literacy and training in the Components of Care curriculum. The current Teacher Village home houses five fellows and has been a big part of our recruitment success, which is why building more housing is key to our success.

WHY BLACK MEN?

We focus on the recruitment of Black teachers as student engagement and achievement rises significantly when the race, ethnicity, or gender of the student aligns with the teacher’s race, ethnicity, or gender - demonstrated through increases in standardized test scores, attendance, classroom engagement, advanced-level course enrollment, and reduction in discipline measures such as suspensions. (1)

If a Black male student has at least ONE Black teacher between 3rd and 5th grade:

their chance of dropping out of high school declines by 39%; and
their interest in attending college increases by 29%.

In LAUSD, and nationally, only 2% of teachers are Black men and across California only 1% of teachers are Black men. With more pressure on public education to remove special programs for Black student achievement - teachers become even more important for their success.

IMPACT HIGHLIGHTS

Successful pilot in 2022 with 5 fellows.
2023 we opened 5 housing units for fellows in the residency program and grew to 15 teachers.
Currently serving 17 Black male educators in our third cohort, with 4 fully credentialed fellows, and in total we are impacting 33 education leaders across Los Angeles.
The 15 fellows actively teaching this year are impacting approximately 1,500 predominantly Black and Latino K-8 students.
Graduates are now working in LAUSD, Long Beach Unified, Seed School LA, Alliance Charters, and ABC Unified, contributing to educational equity across diverse school communities.
National recognition from the 1 Million Teachers of Color Campaign as a "Bright Spot," underscoring the growing understanding that supporting the educator workforce requires addressing broader social, economic, and housing challenges.

Meet our teacher fellows and hear more about their journeys here!

Donate $250 or more by December 5th and receive these benefits:

Bronze: $250 - $499
- Teacher Village Swag Bag: Stickers, buttons, mugs, and engraved pens.
- Recognition During the Event: Acknowledgment from the stage during the ceremony
- Social Media Shoutout: A thank-you post on Watts of Power’s social media.
- Newsletter Mention: Inclusion in our monthly supporter newsletter.

Silver: $500 - $999
- All Bronze Benefits, plus:
- Prominent Logo Display: Featured logo on event materials, banners, and signage.
- Feature in Newsletter: A dedicated mention with a profile of your organization.

Gold: $1,000 - $1,999
- All Silver Benefits, plus:
- Enhanced Logo Placement: Prominent logo placement on event materials and the website.
- Recognition During the Event: Acknowledgment from the stage during the ceremony

Platinum: $2,000+
- All Gold Benefits, plus:
- Exclusive Sponsorship of Event Programming: Sponsor dinner, entertainment, or a guest speaker.
- Feature Story in WPF Newsletter: A dedicated article highlighting your commitment.
- Personalized Recognition: A thank-you video message to share on social media.

ABOUT THE WATTS OF POWER FOUNDATION

The Watts of Power Foundation's mission is to create a pipeline of Black male teachers by addressing the gaps in recruitment and retention to help them successfully navigate and complete the pre-service pathway to become fully credentialed teachers. The overarching goal of TVI’s residency is to improve the retention of Black male teachers in the profession beyond the average of 3 years, and to improve the educational and social-emotional learning outcomes of all children - especially Black students.

"As a former classroom teacher and educator I know first hand how important a Village is to a student’s success, and even more for students “at promise.” As a father, I’ve seen my own children face barriers to achieving their dreams of becoming teachers and it’s thanks to my teaching career that I was able to support them. As the CEO and Co-Founder of the Watts of Power Foundation, it is my hope that we can be the family system that our Teacher Fellows need so they can be there for their students." - Dr. Peter Watts, Jr. CEO and Co-Founder

Affordable Housing for Aspiring Los Angeles Teachers!

Support the Watts of Power Foundation by making a gift towards teacher housing. We are working to solve the teacher shortage and diversify the teaching workforce. Uplift our Black men who are ready to inspire LA's young people.