Profile of a pink slip teacher in Oakland
Posted: 03/20/2011 12:00:00 AM PDT
Updated: 03/20/2011 04:14:28 AM PDTOAKLAND -- Until this month, it seemed that nothing could come between Lissette Averhoff and her fifth-graders at ACORN Woodland Elementary School -- not even a cancer diagnosis. In 2009, when her doctor insisted an elementary school was no place for someone with a compromised immune system, she taught her students to properly wash their hands. And found a new doctor.
In December, her principal nominated her for Oakland Teacher of the Year.
But Averhoff, 34, might not be back in the fall. She was one of 657 Oakland teachers, counselors, librarians and administrators to receive a layoff warning from the school district based on their seniority and type of credential they hold.
"It feels really good to come to work every day, and I can't imagine that not being
