Superintendent's Update - March 20, 2026

Dear Shrewsbury Families, Colleagues, & Community Members,

As we close out an eventful week, first I would like to wish a very happy Eid al-Fitr to all who are celebrating the conclusion of Ramadan.  I hope you are having a wonderful celebration with family and friends!

I want to offer my congratulations to Tiffany Ostrander, current principal of Coolidge School, on being the unanimous choice of our School Committee to be our community's next Superintendent of Schools.  As she just successfully defended her doctoral dissertation today, I am pleased to say that Dr. Ostrander is an extraordinary leader who will serve our school district with distinction.  I am looking forward to working closely with her over the next few months to ensure a smooth and successful transition when she assumes the role on July 1.  Dr. Ostrander and I will also be working together to quickly launch the search for her successor at Coolidge.  

I also want to commend Todd Bazydlo for putting himself forward for consideration in this search.  A public candidacy for superintendent is difficult, and particularly so when it is within your own school district.  I deeply appreciate Mr. Bazydlo's many successes as principal of SHS, where he has made a significant, positive impact on this outstanding school community.

I am grateful to the members of the School Committee (Chair Erin Boucher; Vice Chair Rachel Sharifipour, Secretary Jon Wensky, Sandra Fryc, and Rajesh Velagapudi) for their many hours of engagement in the search, and to our Executive Director of Human Resources, Kelly Seddiki, for her efforts assisting the Committee with coordination.  Thank you to all of our families, staff, and community members who participated and provided feedback to the Committee as part of this thorough process.  

Please read on for additional updates regarding our school district.

Shrewsbury School Journal: The winter edition of our district publication was mailed to homes this week.  You can view the online version here.  Check it out for many articles and photos regarding happenings in our schools, including career and technical education, enrichment programs,  multicultural night at Paton, and information on our potential high school expansion project.

Student successes: Our students continue to shine in many ways, and I'm happy to highlight several.  Academic competition successes include a record-breaking number of SHS students earning awards in the regional science fair; four first-place awards and 31 SHS students qualifying for nationals in the state DECA business competition; the SHS Mock Trial team finishing in the top eight in the state tournament; the SHS Robotics team earning the Judges' Award at their recent competition; the SHS Speech and Debate team winning multiple tournaments and having 32 students qualify for national tournaments; and our Oak Speech and Debate team earning a top 11 finish in a high school level tournament.  

We continue to have many successes in the arts as well.  We had 46 students from elementary, middle, and high school levels chosen to display their art at the Worcester Art Museum as part of Youth Art Month.  This past weekend, all who had the opportunity to attend the SHS musical, The Drowsy Chaperone, were treated to a phenomenal show with incredible student acting, singing, music, stage production, costumes, lighting, and sound.  

Yesterday, I had the chance to catch one of our Sherwood and Oak Unified Basketball games, where the positive energy and inclusive spirit were contagious.  Finally, I have had the opportunity to attend several recent graduations of students from our RISE Program at Maple & Main in our town center, as these students completed the program when turning age 22.  These were joyful celebrations of these exceptional young adults, who have contributed so much to our school communities and our town during over the years.  The love their teachers and fellow students have for them was palpable.  We wish them well in their next chapters!

Thank you for your continued efforts in support of the success of our community's public schools.

Respectfully,

Joe Sawyer
Superintendent of Schools