Report: Andover Settles With Teacher Fired After Son's Illness

ANDOVER, MA — Andover Public Schools has settled with Jacquelyn Silvani, a former teacher who was fired by the district after she took a year off due to her son's cancer. Silvani went to the state in 2017, claiming she was fired from her job as a special education teacher at West Elementary School as retaliation for the more than $1 million in treatment costs for her 3-year-old son. Silvani did not provide details of the settlement.

In 2016, Silvani was told that the district had lost the federal funding that backed her salary, and her contract was not renewed. But a few months later the job was reposted. She reapplied for her old job but was not rehired or even interviewed, according to her complaint.

The Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination found in April, 2018 that there was "probable cause to credit the allegations," but Silvani dropped the complaint as part of the settlement. Silvani now works for another district.

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