Dear Shrewsbury Families, Colleagues, & Community Members,
On this last day of the school year, I am writing to you with my last Superintendent’s Update before my retirement on June 30.
I count myself as exceptionally fortunate to have had the opportunity to serve our town as an educational leader for 29 years, and that my wife and I chose to live and raise our daughters here. I am so proud that all three are Shrewsbury High School graduates, and that they benefited from an education that not only provided them with the skills and knowledge for future success, but also developed their character and belief in the importance of serving others. I am equally proud that I was able to play a part in helping thousands of students benefit from this outstanding Shrewsbury Public Schools education.
I could go on for pages thanking all of the people who have made my career in Shrewsbury so special. I am indebted to everyone who has helped make our schools great: residents who have invested in us; School Committee members and community leaders who have provided strong stewardship; families who have supported their children and our work; educators and support staff who have dedicated their considerable skills to making a difference for children every day; and students who strive imperfectly to meet our expectations as they grow into their unique selves. It has been a privilege to work together with all of you to help give our town’s young people a strong foundation to pursue their hopes and dreams. I am extremely confident that you all will continue to make Shrewsbury a superb school district, and that my outstanding successor, Dr. Tiffany Ostrander, will support you well in this important work.
Having been here for almost three decades, I have enjoyed the great satisfaction of witnessing how our former students have developed into successful adults who carry out the SHS mission of becoming “capable, caring, and active contributors to the world in which they live.” As I mentioned in a recent interview, I am enormously proud of the impact our schools have had on our students’ lives, no matter what path they pursue. Often educators and school supporters don’t have the benefit of seeing the results of their influence, and I get to see these connections all the time. Consider these from just the past few weeks:
- When looking something up I came across this 2012 issue of the Shrewsbury School Journal. A robotics team student celebrating as victory in the front page photo is Joe Fitzpatrick (SHS Class of 2014) who is now the team’s program director, influencing the next generation!
- We recently celebrated many state champions in Rowing, DECA business competition, HOSA health occupation competition, and Speech and Debate, many of whom went on to compete regionally, nationally, and internationally. This past weekend, two SHS juniors helped continue a long tradition of excellence by finishing 3rd in the nation in Speech competitions: Shamini Biju in Extemporaneous Commentary and Pradnya Cowlagi in Expository Speaking. Pradnya’s father, Ashish Cowlagi, also happens to be one of many parents and staff who served on our Portrait of a Shrewsbury Graduate committee several years ago and helped shape our community’s vision for our district’s students.
- When I was hired as the new Assistant Principal of Floral Street School in spring of 1997 prior to the school opening the next fall, the principal (and my beloved first Shrewsbury mentor), Ellen Kelly Smith (then Fairbanks), had me attend a PTO meeting at the Beal Early Childhood Center as part of my orientation to Shrewsbury. I recall being extremely impressed by the parents, especially the PTO President, Kathleen Thompson. Kathleen was also our town’s Assistant Town Clerk and currently serves as a Shrewsbury Public Library Trustee. Her children are SHS graduates, including her daughter, Sarah Thompson (Class of 2007), who is a chef who just won a James Beard Award, perhaps the most prestigious honor in the culinary world. Sarah took Foods classes at SHS and participated in the Senior Exhibition program (now our Capstone Program), where she created and served a unique menu, the beginning of an incredible career!
- Yesterday I received notice that Nicole (DiPilato) Bradley, SHS Class of 2008, will be appointed as our next PreK-4 Special Education Coordinator. Nicole, who has been serving as one of our district’s Clinical Coordinators supporting students with behavioral needs, is not only a Shrewsbury graduate, but a resident whose children attend our schools and whose husband, Shrewsbury Police Sergeant Ryan Bradley, helps keep our schools safe by overseeing our School Resource Officer program. Nicole is one of many former SPS students who have returned to work in our schools, and she was my student at Floral Street School. When she was hired she told me that her favorite teacher was Betsy Caforio, a long-time Floral Street teacher who is also retiring this year. Mrs. Caforio also taught Evan Walsh, SHS Class of 2021, who is the reporter for the Community Advocate who covers our local news and who interviewed me for the story about my retirement linked above!
These are just a few of the thousands of connections that have created our community and make our schools, as my mentor Ellen would often remind us, “our gift to the future.”
Many have been asking me how it feels to be retiring. At recent events, I have shared that my feelings are best reflected by two famous American quotes.
The first is from Lou Gehrig, the all-time great baseball player (and a favorite of mine despite being a Yankee), who famously told the crowd at Yankee Stadium that despite his fatal diagnosis with ALS, “I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth.” I am constantly reminded that I am so very lucky to have had the incredible good fortune to be a part of the Shrewsbury schools and community.
The other is from the film It’s a Wonderful Life, where Harry Bailey toasts his brother George in the final scene, calling him “the richest man in town.” He is not referring to material wealth, of course, but to the richness of the relationships that George has cultivated over his life of service to the community. Thanks to you and everyone who has touched my life here, I am indeed rich. It has been my honor and privilege to have served Shrewsbury, and I am forever grateful for all you have done to help make my life in our town a truly wonderful one.
Respectfully,
Joe Sawyer
Superintendent of Schools