**Mongeau, L. (2015, July 21). Is Silicon Valley driving teachers out? The Atlantic. Available at http://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2015/07/silicon-valley-housing-tough-on-teachers/399071/
This article describes how the current economic landscape in Silicon Valley presents challenges for local educators who want to call the area home. The author explains that the rising costs stemming from tech entrepreneurship and skyrocketing housing prices continue to drive out working class or middle class professionals who are unable to afford multi-million dollar homes. It also describes the phenomenon of families moving to the area to enroll their children in the elite public schools, yet cautions that the state’s limit on property taxes—a main source of school funding—constrain the resources that districts have for teacher raises and may result in pricing teachers out of the areas where they teach. The article concludes by describing the policy developments and initiatives designed to alleviate some of the challenges resulting from the housing crisis, but notes that these alone are not enough. It warns that unless change occurs, Silicon Valley is at risk of losing its educators.
City of San José Department of Planning Building & Code Enforcement Planning Division. (2014a). Fact sheet: Demographics (p. 2). San Jose, CA: Author. Available at https://www.sanjoseca.gov/DocumentCenter/View/780
City of San José Department of Planning Building & Code Enforcement Planning Division. (2014b). Fact sheet: Education (p. 3). San Jose, CA: Author. Available at https://www.sanjoseca.gov/DocumentCenter/View/780
This snapshot of San Jose City’s demographics includes its population history from the years 1777-2014, age composition, languages spoken within the home, household size from years 1970-2013, and racial composition of the population. It also presents information on educational attainment by professional degree and a list of educational facilities.
Massaro, R. (2016). 2016 Silicon Valley index. San Jose, CA: Joint Venture Silicon Valley. Available at http://www.jointventure.org/images/stories/pdf/index2016.pdf
Joint Venture’s annual report describes the economic health of the Silicon Valley, a region the report defined as Santa Clara County and parts of San Mateo, Alameda, and Santa Cruz counties. (Given the recent tech boom, some report sections also include data on San Francisco.) The Silicon Valley is experiencing major growth in employment, business and service, and income, but disparities in income along lines of race and educational attainment continue to grow. In particular, accessibility to housing remains low for those whose incomes are not keeping up with exponential rises in rent; the demand is quickly outgrowing the supply. Additionally, Tier 1 (high-skilled and high-wage) and Tier 3 (low-skilled and low-wage) jobs are growing disproportionally compared to Tier 2 (mid-skilled and mid-wage). The authors predict a decline in mid-skilled, mid-wage job growth.
**This document is considered a priority reading.