By Marvin Nesbitt
President of Focused Community Strategies
When I first came to Atlanta, I began working with the Atlanta Housing Authority. It was the beginning of a career that would keep bringing me back to the same fundamental question: What does it take to create neighborhoods where people can thrive?
Housing has been at the center of much of my professional life. I’ve seen how access to affordable, quality housing can create opportunities for families and how the lack of it can limit those opportunities. But one consequence of housing unaffordability that I think deserves more attention is its effect on children’s education.
We tend to discuss housing affordability in terms of rents, home prices, and displacement. Those are important conversations. Yet, when families are forced to move because they can no longer afford to stay, the disruption doesn’t end with finding another place to live. It can follow children into the classroom.
Housing instability can quickly become educational instability.
At FCS, we recognize that housing and education are deeply connected. If we want to strengthen educational outcomes and stabilize neighborhood schools, we have to address the housing affordability challenges that make it difficult for families to stay in their communities.
What I’m Seeing in South Atlanta
Lately, I’ve been hearing more concerns about school enrollment in Atlanta, particularly in neighborhoods south of I-20.
Some families are choosing charter schools or other educational options. Others are moving farther away in search of housing they can afford. At the same time, the demographics of some neighborhoods are changing, with younger residents moving in who may not have school-aged children.
These are complex challenges, and I don’t believe we can point to one explanation for changing enrollment patterns. But there’s one factor I think deserves more attention: housing affordability.
When families can no longer afford to remain in their neighborhoods, they may have little choice but to move in search of lower rents. This creates residential transiency, or the frequent movement of households from one home or neighborhood to another.
When families leave, neighborhood schools can lose students. When children move, they may lose the educational continuity they’ve built over time. What begins as a housing affordability issue becomes an issue of stability for children, families, and schools.
As someone who works in community development, I find this particularly concerning. We can spend years investing in educational opportunities for children, but if their families cannot afford to remain in the neighborhood, sustaining those opportunities becomes much more difficult.
The Educational Consequences of Transiency
The relationship between housing instability and educational outcomes is well documented.
According to a January 2026 article from the Urban Institute’s Housing Matters initiative, eviction filings are associated with declines in school attendance that can persist for up to two years. The article also highlights research connecting frequent residential moves and school changes with lower educational attainment.
For me, these findings reinforce why housing affordability must be part of our conversations about educational opportunity. How can we expect children to make consistent academic progress when their housing circumstances are constantly changing?
When residential transiency becomes widespread, the instability can extend to neighborhood schools themselves. Schools depend on sustained relationships with families. Teachers come to understand their students’ strengths and challenges, while parents build relationships with educators and one another. When families are repeatedly moving in and out of a neighborhood, maintaining that continuity becomes more difficult.
That’s why I believe we have to look beyond school buildings when we talk about educational opportunity.
Why Housing Stability Matters to FCS
At FCS, we recognize that housing, education, economic vitality, and health and wellness are interconnected. That understanding informs how we approach neighborhood development and where we direct our investments. It’s also why affordable housing has been central to our work for decades.
Over the years, FCS has developed and sold more than 200 single-family homes at affordable prices, creating pathways to homeownership. We’ve also built a portfolio of affordable single-family rental homes, providing additional options for families who want to remain in Southeast Atlanta.
Our partnership with Pennrose Development on Haven at South Atlanta and our ongoing Brownsville Pointe development are further investments in expanding affordable housing opportunities, with more projects on the horizon.
All of this is part of a long-term strategy to stabilize neighborhoods. We want families to have options, whether they’re looking to rent or purchase a home, and we want those options to remain accessible as neighborhoods change.
That stability also supports our cradle-to-career education work. When families can afford to remain in their neighborhoods, children have a greater opportunity to continue attending their schools, and those schools can sustain relationships with the families they serve.
Affordable housing won’t resolve every challenge facing our schools. But as a community development organization, we have a responsibility to consider how our housing investments can support educational stability and strengthen the neighborhoods we serve.
The Long-Term Value of Stability
When we talk about housing affordability, we often focus on the immediate question of whether a family can afford a place to live. But I think we also need to ask a longer-term question: What becomes possible when that family can afford to stay?
We create opportunities for children to experience greater educational continuity, for families to deepen their connections to their communities, and for neighborhood schools to build lasting relationships with the people they serve.
After spending much of my career working in housing and community development, I’ve come to understand that the value of affordable housing extends well beyond the homes themselves. It influences the stability of our neighborhoods and the opportunities available to the next generation.
If we’re serious about improving educational outcomes, we have to be equally serious about the conditions that support children outside the classroom.
Strong schools and stable homes are not separate ambitions. They’re part of the same long-term commitment to building neighborhoods where children, families, and entire communities can flourish.
