What's at stake?
A report from the first year of the Crossroads Village Housing Pilot Program serving FUSD families shows improvements to attendance for more than half of the 64 students served, with two thirds of them also not receiving a disciplinary referral in the most recent fourth quarter of the year.
One year into its launch, the Crossroads Village Housing Pilot Program, a project to house and support Fresno Unified families, is showing improvements for student attendance and behaviors in the classroom.
The project is a collaboration between Fresno Unified, the Fresno Teachers Association, the Fresno County Department of Behavioral Health (FCDBH), UPholdings, a national real estate firm with a focus on affordable housing, and the Central Valley Education Foundation, a nonprofit headed by FTA.
In the first year of operation, more than half of students served by the housing project saw improvements to their attendance and two-thirds of students with office discipline referrals in 2024-2025’s fourth quarter had none in 2025-2026 fourth quarter, according to a news release shared Friday.
“We know our students can’t thrive unless their basic needs are met, and stable housing is one of the foundations of success,” said Superintendent Misty Her in the news release. “By removing barriers and providing wraparound services and supports, they’re better able to be present and fully engaged in learning. These early results are an example of the power of coming together with the common goal of supporting the whole child.”
Crossroads Village is located next to Fort Miller Middle School and contains 143 permanent housing units. So far, 20 families and 64 students have been served through the project, including through on-site mental health and case management services, plus a food pantry, laundry facilities and other services and facilities, including a pool. FUSD and FTA have reportedly contributed more than $156,000 into the project, each.
“When students face housing instability, teachers see the impact in the classroom through missed school, added stress, and difficulty focusing. This pilot program and the support provided at Crossroads gives families greater stability and helps students attend consistently, stay engaged, and arrive at school ready to learn. Investing in families is an investment in student success,” said FTA President Manuel Bonilla in the news release.
Fresno Unified, like many districts in the state and nationwide, face declining enrollment brought about by declining birth rates and families moving. FUSD itself has lost 4,000 students in the last decade and expects to lose nearly the same amount in just the next couple of years.
In recent weeks, the district has opened up about the need to make additional cuts this year, explaining that impacts to student enrollment and daily attendance from chronic absenteeism have led to decreased funding for FUSD, which could possibly necessitate school closures.
Previously, Crossroads Village was the Smuggler’s Inn Motel, having been converted into temporary housing through a $15.3 million grant from California’s Project Homekey, which helped local governments fund the conversions of buildings into housing. After additional funding, the project was transformed into permanent housing.
