Fitchburg educator ‘Overcome with emotion’

FITCHBURG — A city educator was recently bestowed the Project 351 Cringan-Scott Starfish Award, recognition that means the world to the woman who has dedicated her career to young people.

Longsjo Middle School physical education teacher Susan Orsini was selected to receive the nonprofit organization’s award because of her ongoing devotion to her students and working to build a safe, inclusive environment in her school community and beyond. Born and raised in the city, she formerly worked as a paraprofessional and has been at Longsjo for seven years.

Project 351 is a youth-led non-profit organization in Massachusetts that unites eighth grade student ambassadors from all 351 cities and towns in the state for a year of leadership development, community service and civic action.

Orsini was given a tribute by one of her students, Longsjo eighth grade student and Project 351 Ambassador Kwamboka Kabaya, during the nonprofit’s annual reunion held on April 23 at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough before being presented with the award.

“I was completely surprised to receive the Starfish Award, especially during Teacher Appreciation Week,” Orsini relayed. “When Kwamboka went up to speak, I remember looking at a colleague and saying, ‘Aw, look at Kwamboka speaking in front of the crowd.’ Then I noticed she was filming and quickly realized it was about me. The second she started speaking, I was immediately overcome with emotion.”

During her speech, Kwamboka talked about hearing the starfish story and learning about the resilience and determination of the young girl featured in it who throws each live starfish stranded on the beach into the sea and says, ‘I made a difference to that one.’

“The starfish story is inspiration for the difference I can make in the world and motivation for the leader I am becoming,” the 14-year-old stated. “It’s a reminder of the power that each of us has to make their difference in the world. For me, there’s no better example of the power of one than Ms. Susan Orsini.”

New state Executive Office of Education Secretary Stephen Zrike was there for the meaningful moment along with Mary Cringan and Tom Scott of the Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents, for whom the Starfish Award is named. Orsini was nominated for it by Project 351 Senior Alumna Chelsea Barnor, who was chosen as a 2027 Project 351 Service Hero at the reunion because of the Playbook Initiative she helped bring to Longsjo and implement along with Kwamboka and Orsini.

“Ms. Orsini listened to our Playbook team’s recommendation for Unified PE as a reflection of our values of inclusion,” Kwamboka said during her speech. “She asked for our ideas and believed they were important. Because of her, last fall Longsjo started a Unified PE class with Ms. Orsini as the coach of our first-ever unified basketball team. She even made team shirts for all of the players and started a Special Olympics Day to show unity and support to students of all abilities. Unified PE reminds me of Ms. Orsini’s most important lesson — make sure no one is ever left out or looked down upon.”

Orsini humbly said, “the true recognition goes to Chelsea and Kwamboka and all the work they are doing with Project 351.”

“These two are going to do amazing things in the future!” she said of the ambitious and motivated young ladies. “As teachers, it can sometimes be easy to focus on the difficult moments but my experience with Project 351 has reminded me how much positivity still exists. Receiving an award from a student who recognizes the effort, care and love I put into working with all students was incredibly meaningful. Teachers do amazing work every day, often without recognition, so to be recognized by a student made this moment even more special. It’s something I will remember for the rest of my life.”

She shared a bit about how Playbook Initiative works, which is an anti-discrimination and bias-prevention program created through a partnership between Project 351 and the Boston Celtics.

“High school student leaders are trained and empowered to mentor middle school students through meaningful conversations and interactive workshops focused on inclusivity, empathy and becoming upstanders,” Orsini said.

Through the program, middle schoolers are paired together to participate in collaborative workshops. During the sessions, high school students lead the middle school students through discussions and activities centered on topics such as racism, disability awareness, gender bias, and inclusion.

“The workshops use realistic, student-written scenarios that reflect situations students may actually encounter in their daily lives,” Orsini said. “Through these interactive experiences, students learn how to recognize bias, intervene appropriately and support one another in real-life situations.”

Following the workshops, all the students work together to create a “Day of Action” where they identify changes they would like to see within their school communities and develop ways they can make a positive impact. They then have the chance to present their ideas and experiences to their district superintendent and school committee.

“It has been an incredible opportunity for everyone involved,” Orsini said. “Chelsea first brought the program to Longsjo last year and this year we were fortunate to become part of it as well. The impact of Playbook and the students involved directly inspired and supported the creation of a Unified Physical Education class and a Unified Basketball team this year.”

She praised Barnor, saying “without her a lot of this would not be possible” and called her “an amazing young woman with such a bright future.” The 18-year-old Fitchburg High School senior and her family are from Ghana, where she was born, and Barnor is headed off to Howard University in Washington, D.C. in the fall.

The Lunenburg resident was the lead trainer for the Playbook Initiative last school year and this year she was one of four senior legacy fellows, meaning she helped out behind the scenes with multiple cities and towns running the program in their school districts – Fitchburg, Lynn, Lynnfield, and Shrewsbury.

“I really wanted to join this program because it felt so close to home as a female African immigrant who has definitely experienced a fair share of discrimination,” Barnor disclosed. “Whether it was about my skin, hair, or cultural traditions, I knew what it was like to feel isolated from my peers because of immutable traits — especially during a time like middle school when youth are highly impressionable and still deciphering right from wrong. The Playbook Initiative was the perfect way to create a shift in the perspectives of these students, particularly in my own middle school Longsjo, where I felt it was needed.”

Barnor also helped out with media and communications for the Playbook Initiative and said she worked closely with Cringan, Orsini, Kwamboka, and Longsjo Assistant Principal Tracy Pappas for many things related to the program and Project 351.

“That first year of Playbook at Longsjo was a huge success because of Susan, Tracy, and Mary, who provided me with so much support and knowledge alongside my deputy trainer Hnuchi Moua, Fitchburg high class of 2027, who decided to step in despite not being affiliated with Project 351,” Barnor reported. “I am grateful that I had the privilege to lead such open-minded and insightful students and pass the torch to the trainers of the Fitchburg team this year — Gabriana Siomos, Cole Lashua, and Michoki Kabaya, who is Kwamboka’s older sister — as I took on the role of senior legacy fellow.”

She went on to say that as her five years of service with Project 351 and two years of leadership with the Celtics come to an end, she is “pleased to reflect on the legacy of inclusivity and community we have all built together.”

“My Service Hero Award stands on the platform of everyone around me who supported these endeavors,” Barnor said.

Pappas shared that Barnor has always stood out.

“Chelsea’s journey with Project 351 began when she was selected as Longsjo’s Project 351 Ambassador in the eighth grade. Even then, there was something special about this quiet, reserved student,” the administrator said. “Over the past five years she has grown into a true service hero. Personally, I feel very fortunate to have witnessed her transformation from a Project 351 Ambassador to Playbook lead trainer to legacy fellow to the 2027 Service Hero Award recipient.

“We are incredibly proud of her accomplishments and Fitchburg Public Schools is honored to have been part of her journey,” Pappas continued. “We wish Chelsea nothing but the best in all her endeavors as she moves on to college and we look forward to all she will continue to achieve.”