In August 2013, recent college grad Pete DeCandia, Teacher Props Founder and CEO, moved to Baltimore City as a new teacher through Teach For America. Finding housing that met the personal and professional needs of a new teacher and first time renter proved to be a complex task with little resources available for Pete and the other new teachers in his cohort. The result is many teachers being rushed into housing situations that were overpriced, in less direable locations, and with crummy landlords.
It was this experience that led Pete to create Teacher Props. How can we expect our teachers to be their best for their students without having great place to live? Pete recognized a need to help teachers acclimate to their new city and receive support with securing a rental as the process is often overwhelming, uninviting, expensive and difficult to guage whether one is exhausting the best options. And Teacher Props aims to solve that need for teachers every year. In the ten years since the first notion of helping teachers find great housing and welcome them to the city, Teacher Props has grown immensely, happily serving Baltimore City educators since 2017.
Every year from the months of April to August, Teacher Props welcomes hundreds of teachers from near and far to Blatimore city’s most charming and sought-after neighborhoods in rowhomes and apartments. Working with teachers on individualized searches to find living situations that most meets their personal needs. An organization designed and run completely by teachers for teachers. Helping them find affordable and quality housing, with the ultimate goal of ensuring teachers are ready and equipt to teach in Baltimore’s high-need school districts.