Rail Road Flat School Wins National Award

By Bill Johnson Published Nov 22, 2005 10:10 am Updated Jan 31, 2009 02:32 pm

Rail Road Flat, CA — A school of only 95 students in a community with a poverty level of 80 percent has been nationally recognized for its educational achievements.

The school is Rail Road Flat Elementary and the award is the 2005 No Child Left Behind Blue Ribbon Award bestowed by the federal Department of Education.

There were about 300 other schools in the nation that received the award.

Principal Ed Collett said the state nominated Rail Road Flat based on its demographics. It fell in the category of schools with dramatically improving student performance with at least a 40 percent poverty level.

Collett and a group of students attended a Washington D.C. awards ceremony earlier this month to receive a plaque and a flag. The school held a ceremony Friday to unveil them.