Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/882783
The teacher 'priced out' of San Francisco ALLISON LESHEFSKY, the PE teacher from Paul Revere K-8 School featured on the cover of our November 2015 issue, feared at that time she would be unable to find affordable housing in San Francisco after being evicted from her rent-controlled apartment. She turned to her union, United Educators of San Francisco, for help. Members rallied outside the home of her landlord, who was accused of unlawful intimi- dation of tenants and wrongful evictions to raise rent. However, despite strong support , she could not find affordable housing in the city and moved to Portland, Oregon, where she taught public school last year. She became one of many educators pushed out of the housing market in cities and metropolitan areas throughout the state, resulting in many communities being unable to attract and retain quality teachers. "I very much missed my home in San Francisco, and I very much missed San Francisco Unified School District , which always treated me very well," she says. "Portland is a great city, but like that song, my heart is in San Francisco. I recently returned to California — woot woot! — and am looking for work." San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera recently won a $2.4 million judgment against Leshefsky 's former landlord, Anne Kihagi, for illegally forcing tenants from their homes. That ruling is under appeal, and Leshefsky says she will not receive any of the money even if the ruling is upheld. She says she feels "empow- ered" by the adversity she has faced, and she is still in touch with those who advocate for affordable housing. "I'm still very much a part of that fight for the working-class people. In no manner do I want what happened to me to be a sob story. I am trying to turn my grief into something productive so I can build a strong foundation once again." embolism, or blockage in the lung. She ended up back in the hospital and was put on blood thinners for seven months. She was unable to exercise for a while. "Originally, I thought everything was fine," says Moore. "But 10 months later, I got another two blood clots." They were not considered life-threatening, but she is now on blood thinners permanently. She was dismayed to learn that leafy green vegetables, like spinach and kale, diminish the effect of a blood thinner. This created a diet dilemma for Moore, who had to avoid vegetables. Some of the weight crept back — 50 pounds — but she recently lost 14 of them. At her heaviest she weighed 284, and she is now 195. "At first, it was just about losing the weight, and I didn't think about main- taining the weight. That's much harder. It's easy to say, 'I lost the weight, and now I can indulge more frequently,' but I learned that no, you can't. The good news is that you can have a happy life without junk food." She works out one hour a day. She has a personal trainer and a strong support system. "I have a big following on Instagram due to being on the cover of the Califor- nia Educator," she says. "I have 22,000 followers. I get a lot of feedback and sometimes advice and questions. Even though it's been hard for some people to watch my weight roller coaster, peo- ple thank me and tell me I'm the 'real deal.' They appreciate my honesty in sharing my story." 38 cta.org Feature L O O K I N G B A C K T H E N Best Texting Apps PAGE 12 Mideast Maven a Hit PAGE 19 UTLA vs. Eli Broad PAGE 40 Beat the Winter Blues PAGE 14 PRICED OUT? Housing Costs Outpace Educator Salaries PAGE 22 Superintendent Turnover Affects Students, Schools PAGE 33 Catching Up With McFarland's Hometown Heroes PAGE 28 NATIVE AMERICAN HERITAGE MONTH — PAGE 8 N O V E M B E R 2 0 1 5 V O L U M E 2 0 I S S U E 4 Educator 1511 v4 cover.indd 1 11/14/15 5:29 PM N O W