Middle‑school music teacher asks board to reconsider nonrenewal process

During the meeting’s public comment period, Naomi Sen, identified as the music teacher at Eastpointe Middle School, asked the board to reconsider a recommendation not to renew her contract and described what she said were shortcomings in the evaluation process.

Sen told the board that the documented observations in her evaluation record occurred during a mid‑year hire onboarding period and one observation while she was on medical leave, which she said limited a fair chance to demonstrate instructional growth. She also said a third observation occurred shortly after she returned from extended leave and that there were no subsequent documented observations or formal opportunities to show improvement.

She said she was notified of the recommendation by email rather than in a meeting and that she had replied to the notification about a week earlier without receiving a response. Sen also said that classroom moves during her medical leave restricted access to instructional materials and student work that could evidence student growth.

"My concern is simply whether this recommendation is based on a full and representative evaluation process and whether an opportunity exists for that process to be completed in a fair and consistent manner," she said in public comment.

The board did not take action during public comment. Sen asked the board to consider whether the record reflects a complete and fair evaluation and whether a process exists for additional evidence to be reviewed.