Macon’s Stratford Academy faces lawsuit, teacher alleges health discrimination
A former teacher of Macon’s Stratford Academy is suing, alleging that issues with her health led the school’s administration to discriminate against her, according to the lawsuit.
Hollie Wangerin, a former history teacher at the school, filed a lawsuit on Tuesday in federal court after the school’s administration allegedly ignored accommodation requests that she made so she could better deal with the fact that she had long-term effects of COVID-19. Her lawsuit also alleges the school didn’t renew her teaching contracts due to her health issues and treated her less fairly than her other coworkers.
She suffered grave symptoms of post-acute COVID-19 syndrome, or “long COVID,” as well as idiopathic hypersomnia, a rare sleep disorder, during her time working for the school, her lawsuit says.
Stratford Academy is accused of violating federal law as a result, including the Family and Medical Leave Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Rehabilitation Act, according to the lawsuit.
Wangerin wants a judge to grant damages and a jury trial.
Stratford Academy has not responded to requests for comment prior to publication.
Coworker resigned after accommodation was denied
Wangerin had worked for Stratford Academy in the early 1990s, then returned in 2011 as a tutor. She worked her way up, becoming a substitute teacher and then a full-time history teacher for high school students, according to the lawsuit.
Wangerin got COVID-19 in June 2020, her lawsuit says. She exhibited serious symptoms that lasted longer than average, which resulted in her long COVID diagnosis. Despite her symptoms and a need to take care of her father, who was battling cancer, she renewed her contract to teach during the 2020-2021 academic year. Stratford Academy had a teacher shortage at the time, according to the lawsuit.
Wangerin asked Stratford Academy's higher-ups to provide air purifiers for her workspace due to her long COVID diagnosis and in order to protect her father, but her request was denied, the lawsuit said.
She alleged in her lawsuit that another employee made a similar request for accommodation because they had cancer and were at greater risk of suffering COVID complications, but their request also was denied. As a result, the employee resigned, according to the lawsuit.
Wangerin experienced shortness of breath, heart palpitations and extreme exhaustion in the fall of 2020, all issues which she discussed with the principal of Stratford Academy, according to the lawsuit. Wangerin said she was planning to see specialists in Atlanta for her symptoms and needed to take days off to do medical testing.
She was later diagnosed with idiopathic hypersomnia, a rare sleep disorder that causes people to be sleepy throughout the day, feel exhausted at nearly all times while awake, according to the lawsuit. It also causes people to fall asleep at random times throughout the day.
Wangerin had offer to work at library, but it was withdrawn
Wangerin was told in February 2023 by Stratford Academy officials that her teaching contract would not be renewed for the following academic year, telling her that it was because they wanted to move in another direction, according to the lawsuit. Parents had complained, and she had missed 17 days of the school year, according to the lawsuit.
Wangerin said she was never told of any complaints and that 10 of those missed school days were due to her daughters, who were enrolled in the school, being sick with COVID-19. One of those other days was due to jury duty and the other absences were due to her medical conditions, according to her lawsuit.
Stratford Academy ignored requests that she made to work fewer days as an accommodation, the lawsuit said.
Wangerin spoke to the headmaster of the school in March 2023, asking if they were aware of the health issues she had been experiencing and asking why they couldn’t work with her the way they work with other teachers with health issues. The headmaster said that they had not been aware of Wangerin’s health issues, according to the lawsuit.
The headmaster eventually proposed that she could work at the library four days a week, and work the fifth day as a substitute teacher. However, taking the position would mean a $20,000 reduction in her salary, according to the lawsuit.
Wangerin was also offered a teaching position at another private school, which offered her more money and better benefits. However, she accepted the offer from the headmaster for the librarian position and rejected the teaching position at the private school, according to Ken Barton, Wangerin’s attorney.
The headmaster withdrew the library offer in May 2023. She later found that the teaching position at the other private school was also no longer available, the lawsuit said.
After she attended the school graduation, where she saw her daughters and the valedictorian thanking Wangerin during their speech, she was escorted through the school to pick up her belongings, according to the lawsuit. She said in her lawsuit that she felt like a criminal, noting that she was being treated differently compared to other employees who were leaving their positions.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to clarify that Wangerin attempted to accept the library job but it was withdrawn.
This story was originally published September 18, 2025 at 8:56 AM.
