By Simon Albaugh – Yemeni American News
HAMTRAMCK, Mich. – After the sudden absence of Superintendent Ahmed, the temporary replacement Nabil Nagi will take full control of the responsibilities of the Hamtramck Public Schools Superintendent.
Originally meant to be split between Nagi and Sherry Lynem, the Interim Superintendent position will now be completely filled by Nagi.
Nagi’s position as English Learning Director for HPS will be put on hold while he performs the duties of the Superintendent. Since the absence of Superintendent Ahmed does not have a definite timeline, the role of English Learning Director will be shared among those in the English Learning department.
Upon Nagi’s appointment to Superintendent of Hamtramck Public Schools, he stressed a commitment to the community, transparency, and using the current challenges at HPS to build a better district.
“I would like to say this: it takes everybody in here, all stakeholders, teachers, Union, the board, parents, full transparency and working together to tackle all these issues that may be,” Nagi said. “But there’s also a lot of great things that we’re going to build on.”
Board President Jihan Aiyash wrote a statement before the appointment of Nagi and Lynem assuring the Hamtramck community of the Board of Education’s commitment to the best for HPS.
“The Board is committed to ensuring the stability of the District and to maintaining the ability of staff to focus on the District’s primary mission of educating our students in a safe, nurturing and collaborative environment,” Aiyash wrote. “The Board will keep everyone informed of all the steps it takes to keep this commitment.”
The appointment came after Superintendent Jaleelah Ahmed announced that she would be taking a leave of absence. The reason, as written in a public statement, is in order for Ahmed to begin to prioritize her own physical and mental health and wellbeing.
“We have seen the impact of the pandemic, not only on the physical well-being of our students, families, teachers and staff, but also on the social and emotional health of our community,” Ahmed wrote. “It is against that backdrop that I am writing to inform you that I will be taking a temporary leave of absence to address my own personal well-being.”
At today’s Committee of the Whole Meeting, the Board voted to unanimously approve the full appointment of Nagi to be Interim Superintendent.
Board President Aiyash spoke during discussion of the resolution on the importance of a full-time Interim Superintendent, given the anticipated length of Jaleelah Ahmed’s leave of absence from the post.
