Forgive Mark Porterie’s unbridled enthusiasm for his school system’s emergence from the other side of Hurricane and Tropical Storm Harvey.

Better yet, don’t forgive such enthusiasm at all. Emulate it. Celebrate it. Revel in it. Public education in Greater Port Arthur, delivered through Lamar State College Port Arthur, Port Arthur Independent School District and Sabine Pass Independent School District, was the focus of last week’s Port Arthur Education Foundation’s annual State of Education luncheon, and there’s plenty of reason to be proud. There’s plenty of reason to celebrate. There’s plenty of reason to be enthusiastic.

Harvey, historic for its devastating impact on Texas’ coast, bent but did not break public education in Port Arthur. It did its worst, but when it passed, public education in Greater Port Arthur was still standing.

“We’re still paying the bills, teachers and staff are getting paid,” Porterie told the foundation’s luncheon attendees. “Port Arthur Independent School District is strong. We are together. Our students are well. Our parents are back. It is wonderful.”

Drs. Porterie and Betty Reynard, president of Lamar Port Arthur, rightly pointed to achievements that preceded and followed Harvey. Reynard noted improvements in facilities and program offerings. Enrollment is strong.

Porterie touted development of a five-year plan, advancement of the system’s construction program and — this is a crowning achievement —success at meeting standards at every campus.

Small wonder, then, that the two-year school and the K-12 system have generated widespread community support.

Nor should we forget that tiny Sabine Pass, too, had plenty of achievements — accent the academic — over the past year.

Public education in Greater Port Arthur was especially impactful this year in ways difficult to measure. After the floodwaters receded and the damage was laid bare, our public campuses, which scrambled to reopen, offered some sense of routine and hope to students who needed it most. Public education in Greater Port Arthur gave them some sense of routine, a place to belong, some pathway to a better tomorrow.

We should not forget that students and young people need such daily routine, they need the confidence that comes from the constancy of home and the assurance that, with hard work, their futures can brighten.

Harvey tugged some of that away from displaced students, but our schools lent it back to them. We should remember that administrators, teachers and staff included people also displaced who came to work to the students’ benefit. Porterie reminded the luncheon group of what mattered.

Harvey “brought us all together in ways we’ve never seen before,” he said. “Harvey brought our attention to what’s important — not shoes or a house full of furniture or clothing. We can make it with the bare minimum — with family.”

Celebrate that.