In August and September, the phrase “open house” becomes a school term instead of a real estate term for many across the country. Parents and children flock to schools to meet their teachers and gear up for the upcoming school year. Maybe you yourself have been to a meet-and-greet with a teacher this week. Today, we will discuss a family who took the term “Open House” to a whole new level, connecting a meet-and-greet with the real estate market.

People will perform crazy feats to sell a home. Realtor.com recently wrote, “the wine and cheese open houses just don’t cut it anymore,” describing open house parties with food trucks and “mermaids” swimming in pools. But one family in Pasco County, FL recently asked their high school principal to take part in the “open house” at the home they were trying to sell.

The Tampa Bay Times quoted the parent email to the school which read, “The common theme has been that prospective buyers have expressed that they prefer the schools that were previously assigned to this neighborhood.” The couple hoped that meeting the principal of the new school would give prospective buyers more confidence about the newly assigned school’s quality.

Although the superintendent said this story had him rolling on the floor with laughter, the truth is homeowners know the strong relationship between good schools and property value. If people are paying actors and actresses to swim in their pools as mermaids, inviting a school principal to an open house doesn’t seem that far-fetched.

A Washington Post article on school quality and neighborhood choice noted that 46% of millennials indicate that their dream home would be in a great school district, and “quality of school district” ranked as the 6th most important factor in buying a home even for people without children!

The Post article also highlighted a family who bought a home in the D.C. suburbs. And although the family is excited about their children’s new school, one parent commutes 45 minutes each way while the other commutes over an hour to and from work.

The sacrifices many families are making for their children to have a quality education today are unbelievable. But there are communities that have broken the link between poor schools and poor neighborhoods, making good education less of a sacrifice for families. There is a solution that could give these parents more time with their children while also taking better care of the environment and providing all families with better school options. Want to learn more? Read about this Parisian education model and how it might apply in your context: https://www.effective-ed.org/greenapples/cityoflights

Image via Grace Page