CHOCOWINITY — Chocowinity Primary School is continuing to represent Beaufort County as well as the state of North Carolina on a national scale.

Alicia Vosburgh, principal at Chocowinity Primary School, and Summer Dail, media coordinator and school improvement chair, traveled to Washington, D.C. on Nov. 9-10 to be recognized for the school’s 2015 National Blue Ribbon School achievement.

A total of 285 public schools and 50 private schools, including three from North Carolina, were awarded the title by U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan based on high learning standards and/or improvements in closing the achievement gap.

Vosburgh said educators from across the nation gathered in Washington, D.C. for the event, and each Blue Ribbon school was given a plaque, banner and flag to commemorate the occasion.

“It was just a great opportunity,” she said. “We had wonderful speakers that discussed just sustainability of your achievement and looking forward to your future.”

Those attending the event welcomed speakers, including Ary Amerikaner, deputy assistant secretary for policy and strategic initiatives at the U.S. Department of Education, and National Teacher of the Year Shanna Peeples. School groups from the Washington, D.C. area and Maryland were also invited to perform songs for the crowd.

“National educators were there to speak to the group about effective strategies and challenges that are faced in the educational world,” Vosburgh said. “Students (are) fearful to put themselves out there to take educational risk, and it is our job as educators to promote and support students not just academically, but as a whole. I truly feel like Chocowinity Primary does an outstanding job in this area. Our staff creates a rapport with students and families that reaches beyond the (3 p.m.) bell.”

One of the most important parts of the trip was the opportunity to network with other educators and gain ideas to take back to one’s school, although they already had a lot of the same ideas, she said.

“The funny thing is all of these schools, when sharing, really do a lot of the same things,” Vosburgh said. “I mean this is the best of the best.”

She said they were encouraged to fully celebrate the honor of being recognized as a Blue Ribbon School and to continue celebrating throughout the year.

Although Chocowinity Primary staff is still discussing how to go about this, Vosburgh said the school is going to have a Blue Ribbon day each month to celebrate its achievement.

“It was just a great experience,” she said. “The enthusiasm and the excitement in the room… You really could feel it in the air.”