District’s new teachers learn tough lesson in school of hard knocks

Saturday, Aug. 19, 2006 | 7:27 a.m.

Rolling into the parking lot of Sunset Station in a giant U-Haul truck, a 13-hour drive and her old life behind her, new teacher Vicki Droscher thought she was ready.

At 49, the Northern California native was starting over. Everything she owned was crammed inside the 17-foot truck - clothing, antiques, the dozens of books she had collected on her world travels and intended for a classroom library.

She had gone back to school six years ago, enrolling in college at the same time as her daughter. Droscher continued working days in a high school attendance office, taking college classes at night and during summer vacation. She earned her associate's degree from Shasta College and her bachelor's degree from Simpson College, both in Redding, Calif. While completing her student teaching, a requirement for a license, she and her longtime boyfriend decided Clark County would offer her the best job opportunities. But he died unexpectedly of heart disease at their apartment, and she had to take the next steps on her own.

"I pulled into Las Vegas and I thought, 'You did it - you're OK.' I felt empowered," Droscher said Friday. "I might be alone, but I can do this.

"The next morning, my world crashed."

She emerged from Sunset Station for the short drive to her new apartment.

"I'm turning around and around in the parking lot, looking for my truck, and it's gone. I'm saying, 'Oh, my God, this is just a bad dream, I'm going to wake up.' "

But Droscher was wide awake. And the truck was long gone.

So, what could be worse than having a new teacher robbed of her every possession, just as the Clark County School District is rolling out the red carpet to welcome 2,700 new hires?

How about having the same scenario play out again at Sunset Station a month later - this time with new teacher Holly Shaffer?

"I feel really bad. I'm the one who told Holly to stay there," said David Harcourt, principal of Hickey Elementary School where Shaffer starts work in 11 days. "I thought Sunset Station would be a little safer than some other places."

Shaffer and her fiance awoke Thursday to discover their truck and U-Haul trailer had been stolen.

Alerted to Shaffer's plight, a local radio station started a fund drive on her behalf, collecting about $15,000 so far. Sunset Station is putting the couple up for free through the weekend, loaning furnishings for their apartment and giving them a gift certificate for clothing.

Sunset's parent company, Station Casinos, is the gaming industry's largest individual donor to the School District, providing more than $400,000 each year in scholarships, classroom grants and supplies.

Station Casinos spokeswoman Lori Nelson was unaware that Droscher's truck had been stolen earlier. She expected similar offers of assistance to be made to her.

Droscher was horrified to hear of Shaffer's loss, particularly because it mirrored her experience.

"The police told me it happened all the time - they weren't kidding," Droscher said.

In fact, when Droscher discovered her truck was gone, there was already a police cruiser in the casino parking lot. The officer said he would be free in a moment, after he finished taking a report from another couple whose trailer full of motorbikes had also been stolen overnight.

When police asked her to list her missing items, Droscher's heart leapt when she realized just how much she had lost. Inside the truck were her only photographs of loved ones who have died.

"I've lost my dad, my brother and my boyfriend," Droscher said, as she choked back sobs. "Every picture, every gift they ever gave me. I can take more pictures of my kids - they're here and they're healthy. It's the ones who are gone you can't get back."

Her inauspicious arrival could have been viewed as a bad omen, enough to send even the hardiest optimist straight to McCarran International Airport for the first flight back to San Francisco.

But the teachers, administrators and parents at William Moore Elementary School, where Droscher will begin teaching third grade Aug. 30, have rallied on her behalf. They quickly put out a flier to the school community, asking for help. Within days Droscher had a few donated household items and a 15 percent discount at a local furniture store.

"This is the most pro-teacher town in the world," Droscher said. "Everybody talks about the casinos and gambling and shows, but that's not what I'm seeing."

Her family in California also pitched in to help, with her son and daughter bringing Droscher's car from Redding to Las Vegas.

"Honest to God, when they walked into the room, I knew I was going to be OK," Droscher said. "They were healthy and safe, they weren't hurt. It's frustrating that people want to steal stuff instead of working hard for things, but in the big picture this was nothing but an inconvenience."

Every time a U-Haul passes by, Droscher searches for the numbers of her stolen truck - EL-04-94G.

She doesn't expect she'll ever recover her furniture, clothing or jewelry. But if just that box of photographs turns up, or one of the videotapes of her children playing when they were little, it would be enough.

"Nobody else would care about that stuff, you can't sell it," Droscher said. "But it means everything to me."