N EWS
USD 504 names Dawson superintendent
OSWEGO — The USD 504 Oswego Board of Education has announced the selection of James Dawson II as the district’s new superintendent.
Dawson will take the reins on July 1 after the resignation of Mitchell Shaw, the current superintendent, at the end of the 2024-25 school year.
Dawson has broad educational experience, as a teacher, administrator and an educator of educators, according to an Oswego 504 post on social media. He has 32 years of educational experience with 18 of those as a building administrator and 5 1/2 of those years as an assistant superintendent. Dawson has been principal of USD 504 Oswego Junior/ Senior High School, where he oversaw the development of new programs made available to junior high/high school students.
Board president Lewis Riley said that James Dawson emerged from a thorough search process as the right candidate to lead the district.
“The board is certain in our choice of James Dawson and confident that under his leadership USD 504 will continue to be recognized for its educational excellence,” Riley was quoted in the social media post.
Riley explained that community input, including the involvement of stakeholders, was a key factor in the success of the superintendent search process. The committees included teachers and administrators, parents and community members.
“The input from the community as a whole was very helpful to our process,” he said.
Two finalists were interviewed by the board.
