(November 22, 2005) — As sophomore Vahe Khachikian steps off the bus he sees the bold, metal plaque that represents Clark’s achievement as a California Distinguished School. “When I signed up to attend Clark I didn’t know about this kind of stuff, but it’s interesting to hear we received an award,” Khachikian said. “We tried to read [the poems] with passion because it would have been boring to listen to ten poems that were read monotonously,” Castillo said. Her group had been given two of the most radical poets of the bunch (Allen Ginsburg and Marge Piercy) and were teaching their classmates about them in Diana McGrath’s AP American Literature class. McGrath’s AP students have been involved with this poetry project since Oct. 26. Although Clark Magnet was established in 1998, it was selected as a California Distinguished school this past year and has now moved onto being selected for the Blue Ribbon Designation, a designation that has been granted to just 35 schools in California. State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell announced on November 2 nd , the names of the schools he has nominated to be part of the 2006 No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Blue Ribbon school designation, Clark being one of the two in the Glendale Unified District, and one of eight in Los Angeles County. Clark Magnet has been selected for the designation because of high-test scores coupled with a relatively high percentage of low social economic students. Clark’s API (Academic Performance Index) has increased from 841 in 2004 to 861 in 2005. The API scores determined by California Standards Testing include sections of math, language arts, social science, and science. Clark’s curriculum of projects and technology has helped it earn its place as one of the top schools of California. In May, staff from Clark, attended the California Distinguished ceremony, which was held at the Disneyland Hotel. Assistant Principal Joan Shoff said that O’Connell’s speech at the dinner made her proud of what Clark has accomplished. “He gave this very interesting speech and he only mentioned two schools. One was an elementary school and the other was Clark,” Shoff said. The National Committee will view 2005-06 testing and appoint the schools with the Blue Ribbon designation in the 2006-07 school year. The National Committee has chosen Mountain Avenue Elementary, Monte Vista Elementary and Valley View Elementary as 2005 Blue Ribbon winners. JoanShoff wants Clark students to continue their academic efforts. “It’s important not to fall back, because we did so well last year, due to both the hard work of the students and the teachers,” Shoff said. The school portfolios that are sent out to colleges with the students’ transcripts, also called a school profile, have already noted that Clark has been chosen as a California Distinguished School, and if chosen for the Blue Ribbon Designation, the transcripts will also contain that information. When college officials view the transcripts, students will be looked upon highly because their school has earned such awards. Although teachers at Clark have been notified of the nomination through email, most students have not. Few students have heard of the nomination through teachers and websites gaining some insight on the designation. “I think it’s great we try so hard on our tests and we’re going to be recognized with something positive,” junior Maria Nashed said.