Shrewsbury School Committee Dedicates Gym and Media Center to Two Retiring Leaders

SHREWSBURY -- June 17, 2026, Shrewsbury School Committee dedicates school spaces to two retiring leaders at a three-hour special meeting. The committee voted unanimously Wednesday to rename the gymnasium at Sherwood Middle School the Dr. Jane O. Lizotte Gymnasium and the media center at Major Howard W. Beale Elementary School the Dr. Joseph M. Sawyer Media Center, acting under School Committee Policy 871 on the occasion of both leaders' June 30 retirements. Dr. Lizotte, the district's first assistant superintendent for community partnerships and well-being, is credited with securing more than $2.2 million in philanthropic gifts, sponsorships, and grants during her tenure and with personally leading more than 100 community tours of the original Sherwood building to build support for its replacement. Dr. Sawyer, who completes 17 years as superintendent and 29 years in the district, guided Shrewsbury through two operational overrides in 2014 and 2018 and a school building vote in 2021, a global pandemic, and the construction of two new schools. Town Manager Kevin Mizekar credited Dr. Sawyer with initiating and sustaining the collaborative relationship between the superintendent's office and town government. Superintendent-elect Dr. Tiffany Ostrander is named in the Beale dedication plaque as Dr. Sawyer's successor.