Teacher forced out because she has Hodgkins Lymphoma

A horrible story out of Loudoun, Virginia not far from Washington, DC. Seventh-grade English teacher Alison Yowell has been forced from her job because she ran out of sick days while being treated for relapsed Hodgkin's Lymphoma.



She said the school system forced her to resign when her request for 4 months of unpaid leave for Hodgkin's medical treatment was denied.



The Washington Post reports school system policy mandates that employees complete 90 days of work before they're eligible for unpaid leave. Yowell was hired in August. Yowell's case draws attention to personnel policies in a school district that often struggles to recruit enough qualified teachers in the nation's fastest-growing county!



Superintendent Edgar Hatrick said teachers can't teach if they're not in the classroom. He also said people in Yowell's position could be rehired. How insensitive!



If you would like to write to the board, you can find their e-mail addresses at the Loudoun County School Board site.