October 16, 2026

By Lisa Abelar

When Malachi Daniels finishes teaching his excited class of third graders each day, he goes home to his 375-square-foot tiny home, near Del Rio Elementary School.

Chino Valley Unified School District built  10 tiny homes to attract teachers by offering affordable housing. For Daniels, it did exactly that.

Chino Valley wasn’t on Daniels’ radar while he studied education at the University of Arizona in Tucson, more than three hours away. But he met a Chino Valley district official at a job fair and “hit it off” with Del Rio principal Ed Moody during his interview.

 A key factor in his decision was the tiny house available to rent from the district, now for $650 per month, a third of what Daniels might otherwise pay for an apartment. “It does give you a big break, especially if you’re someone who’s kind of new to the area like me, to get some financial stability under your feet,” Daniels said.

Daniels has lived in his tiny home for two years now. “It’s greatly benefited me,” he said. “I was able to move here and get some money in my savings account to prepare myself for that next step.”

Daniels knows that teaching isn’t the best-funded career path. “Chino Valley allowing me this opportunity to save up some money, build up a little bit of financial stability, it really sets me up towards the future,” he said.

It even allows Daniels to think about big life goals for the future, like starting a family.

In the meantime, he’s enjoying getting to know Chino Valley. “I love fishing,” he said. “I love hiking, and here in Chino Valley and the Prescott area, there’s lots of opportunities. You’re never too far from a lake or never too far from a trail.”

He’s grateful that the Chino Valley community has embraced a newcomer like himself. “It’s nice, moving to a town where you don’t really feel like you’re an outsider,” he said. “There was some nerves moving to a whole new community by myself, and Chino Valley has really welcomed me.”

Affordable rent on a tiny home also allows Chino Valley to recruit international teachers and veteran teachers who have experienced a life change. “They can reach out to people like me who may have a little bit of struggle, and they can find valuable teachers that are going to come down and do an amazing job for their students,” Daniels said. “The tiny homes is the perfect gateway to that, without having teachers break the bank to try to live here or live with very little to survive on.”

Average rents in the area are $2,250 a month— more than 40% of a certified teacher’s starting salary. An average home price in Chino Valley is nearly half a million dollars.

Public dollars helped make the tiny homes possible. The project cost the district more than a million dollars to build, with a $500,000 grant from the Coconino County and Yavapai County education service agencies helping cover the cost. For Daniels’ third grade students, that investment is already paying off.

“I am so grateful for the opportunity that they have given me to live here and work here,” Daniels said. “They’ve changed my life, obviously.” For now, he’s building his savings, learning the lakes and trails around Prescott, and starting to picture a family in Chino Valley, the town that welcomed him.