TOWN NAME, Mass. - Bay Path Vocational High School held its last day of school Thursday, and it was also the final day on the job for longtime principal Clifford Cloutier.

Cloutier has been part of the school’s community for 51 years, beginning as a student in 1972. He was part of the first freshman class when the school opened.

“A lot of us in the area towns didn’t know about Bay Path,” Cloutier said. “My father basically told me as we were driving away on vacation ‘Oh, next year Bay Path is opening and you’ll be going there.’ I said ‘Oh, what’s Bay Path?”

Cloutier was president of the class of 1976, and worked at Bay Path’s radio station while he attended college at Worcester State University.

When he graduated, he was hired as an AV technician at Bay Path. He recalls being offered the same job at Montachusett Regional Vocational Technical School, but ultimately chose to go with his former school.

During his 51 years with Bay Path, Cloutier has seen the image of technical high school education change dramatically, and contrary to its early stereotypes, Cloutier put a lot of focus into teaching students how to be disciplined and respectful.

“We were basically the outcasts of the local schools, they looked at us basically like we would be students on drugs, always in trouble or in fights, we were the bullies,” Cloutier said. “It was really tough when we first came up. Since I became principal over 17 years ago, we didn’t have a waitlist at the time. Now it’s the point where we’re the school they want to go to.”

Cloutier’s wife Susan said he was instrumental in making the school what it is today, adding that he’s always thinking of his students.

In 2020, he organized a socially-distanced graduation in the school’s parking lot, and earlier this month, he handed out diplomas at graduation for a final time at the DCU Center.

“I haven’t missed a graduation here in 51 years,” Cloutier said. “I did it when I was a student here, I set them up, I came back when I was in college. Seeing the kids graduate, walking across the stage and going on to their future into their career, we gave them a base to start their life off.”

As he departs Bay Path after 51 years, it’s bittersweet, but Cloutier has been cherishing this last year and appreciating all the wonderful memories made along the way.

“The staff is the key to a school system," he said. "If you have a staff that’s willing to work for the kids and do the extra, that’s the biggest part is showing you’re not here just for the paycheck. You’re here for the students themselves and making sure they’re doing well. That’s important.”