Senator Kennedy Attends Florence Roche Elementary School Groundbreaking

State Senator Ed Kennedy addresses the crowd at the groundbreaking ceremony for the Florence Roche Elementary School in Groton on Thursday, June 6.

State Senator Ed Kennedy took part in the groundbreaking ceremony for the new Florence Roche Elementary School yesterday June 6, 2022. Originally constructed in 1951, the Florence Roche Elementary School has served the community of Groton for over 70 years. On May 4th, 1980, the school was dedicated to Florence M. Roche, a teacher and later principal in the Town of Groton who lived between 1917 and 1963. Yesterday’s groundbreaking represents the beginning of the final chapter for the Florence Roche Elementary Building Project. Once completed in late Spring of 2024, the new Florence Roche School will be a safe, modern, and inclusive space for Groton’s elementary students.

Participating in the groundbreaking ceremony are from left to right – Groton-Dunstable School Committee Member Rafael Glod, School Committee Chairperson Brian LeBlanc, Jack McCarthy Executive Director of the Massachusetts School Building Authority, State Senator Ed Kennedy, Groton-Dunstable School Committee Member Rosanna Casavecchia, and Groton-Dunstable School Committee Member Yasmeen Cheema.

Senator Kennedy thanks Superintendent Laura Chesson, Town Manager Mark Haddad, the members of the Florence Roche Elementary School Building Committee, Groton-Dunstable School Committee, the Groton Select Board, Leftfield for their project management services, Studio G Architects for their design schematics, State Treasurer Goldberg and the MSBA for $25,835,473 in grant funding, and Gilbane for their construction services, all of which have been instrumental to the Florence Roche Elementary School Project.

The first shovels of dirt and the Florence Roche School building project is underway.