(November 21, 2006) — On Nov. 7, Principal Douglas Dall, librarian Susan Newcomer and English teacher Maral Guarino went to Washington, D.C. to receive a plaque for the Blue Ribbon Award won earlier this year. They attended a conference organized by the Department of Education, where they heard speeches about the No Child Left Behind Act, as well as ones congratulating the schools that received the award for meeting such high standards. There were 285 schools throughout the U.S. that received the Blue Ribbon Award. Schools were asked to present a Powerpoint on the theme of “closing the education gap.” “Only four schools got to present,” said Newcomer. “We were one of them.” The two sessions that followed were centered on the topic of closing the achievement gap by enforcing literacy skills. Dall, Newcomer and Guarino also took a “Washington at night” tour where they saw many tourist attractions, including the Lincoln Memorial. The next day, the three delegates from Clark attended an awards lunch where they received a plaque from the Federal Department of Education, which evaluated the schools eligible for the Blue Ribbon Awards and announced that Clark was a Blue Ribbon school on Sept. 22. As a reward for themselves, Dall, Newcomer and Guarino toured Washington and the White House. “Mr. Dall had a friend of a friend,” Newcomer said. “We got to tour the West Wing, the Oval Office and the Rose Garden.” They also visited the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum, the Ford Theatre (where former Pres. Lincoln was shot) and the house across the street from the Ford Theatre where Lincoln died. The plaque is hung up in front of the main office.