John Hopper of Granada Schools receives award from Consulate General of Japan

John Hopper, Principal of Granada High School, had the great honor of receiving The Order of the Rising Son, Silver Rays award at a ceremony hosted by the Consulate General of Japan in Cherry Hills Village on September 18, 2026.  Hopper has taught at Granada schools for 35 years.

In April, the Government of Japan announced the recipients of the 2026 Conferment of Decorations on Foreign Nationals for their outstanding contributions in their respective fields.  Mr. Hopper was one of two people chosen for decorations at the September ceremony, the other being Brigadier General Nicholas B. Evans.  In their announcement, the Consulate-General of Japan in Denver stated that the decoration of The Order of the Rising Sun, Silver Rays was awarded to Hopper for “contributing to promoting friendship and mutual understanding between Japan and the United States through the preservation activities of Japanese American history”.

In their summary of his contributions, they said “While working as a teacher at Granada High School, Mr. Hopper founded the Amache Preservation Society in 1993 to preserve the site of the Granada War Relocation Center (commonly known as Amache), one of the Japanese American incarceration camps established by the War Relocation Authority during World War II.  For many years, he worked closely with his students to carry out preservation, research, and educational activities at the site, contributing to friendship, goodwill, and mutual understanding between Japan and the United States.  Fostered by these long-standing efforts, the site was formally designated as the Amache National Historic Site in February 2024”.

Colorado Preservation also praised Hopper in a Facebook post from May 4, saying “At Colorado Preservation, Inc., we’re honored to work alongside John through the Endangered Places Program.  His dedication, leadership, and commitment to preserving stories that matter continually inspire us”.

Students at Granada over many years have indeed been very lucky to have a teacher as knowledgeable, compassionate and dedicated as Mr. Hopper. Congratulations on this incredible honor, Mr. Hopper!

For more information about the Amache Preservation Society, use the link below.

https://amache.org/amache-preservation-society/

By: Barbara Crimond