Abigail Zwerner, the Richneck Elementary teacher who was shot by her first grade student in January, resigned her position with the school division effective June 12, according to a spokeswoman for Newport News Public Schools.
The division sent Zwerner a standard exit letter on May 22, which spokeswoman Michelle Price said is sent out to all teachers who are not returning the following year. Price said Zwerner notified the school division in a March 13 email of her intent not to return. June 12 was the last day of work for all teachers on a 10-month contract.
The exit letter is a standard communication sent out once an employee’s separation has been processed, Price said. It includes information such as the effective date of separation, a note to turn in their employee identification badge and other reminders.
In April, Zwerner filed a $40 million lawsuit against the School Board, asserting that administrators failed to keep the school safe.
The shooting, which happened in Zwerner’s classroom just before 2 p.m. on Jan. 6, resulted in a bullet going through Zwerner’s left hand and into her upper chest, where it remains today.
WAVY first reported that Zwerner no longer works for the school division, and quoted one of her lawyers, Jeffrey Breit, as saying that Zwerner had been dismissed. Breit did not return a call seeking comment Tuesday.
The shooter’s mother, Deja Nicole Taylor, pleaded guilty on Monday to federal gun and marijuana charges. She was also indicted in April with felony child neglect count and a misdemeanor count of “allowing access to firearms by children” for leaving her handgun in a location where her son was able to get ahold of it.
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(Staff writer Peter Dujardin contributed to this report)
