On Wednesday, Jan. 1, a group of representatives from Old Post Road Elementary School (OPR), including Principal Stephen Fortin, traveled to the State House to receive their “Massachusetts Commended Schools” award at a ceremony for the second year in a row. This ceremony recognized 51 schools across the Commonwealth for their PARCC and/or MCAS scores, which increased or remained high.

Of these 51 schools, OPR was also awarded with an even higher recognition.

“We actually were one of just a few schools that were designated ‘High Achievement’ schools as our test scores have been strong during the past few years and currently just over the 95 percentile of all schools in MA,” said Fortin.

This year marked the first time that the ceremony was held at the State House. In addition, a few notable people in the educational community spoke at the ceremony to recognize the schools and teachers who were being awarded.

“At the ceremony our Commissioner of Education Jim Peyser, Chairman of the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Mitchell Chester, and our Lt. Governor Karen Polito all spoke briefly about the importance of education and how we continually make improvements in education,” said Fortin. “They commended teachers in the Commonwealth for the incredible work that they do.”

The delegates from each school then came up to receive the award and take a photo as a group.

Fortin plans to honor this prestigious award by continuing to work hard and always commending the OPR community for their endless contributions.

“I always credit the hard work of the students and staff day in and day out,” said Fortin.  “All of us strive to do our best to educate our students: to give them a good foundation in not only the academics, but in social learning and caring for one another.”

Although Fortin will be retiring at the end of this school year, he hopes to have established a community that will continue to flourish in the future.

“I hope that I am leaving the next principal a school of excellence which will continue to grow and be very successful,” said Fortin.