The U. S. Department of Education named Clark-Shaw Magnet a Blue Ribbon School for 2007 and 2015. This is one of the most prestigious education awards in the country. It honors schools for doing an exceptional job at closing the achievement gap.
The schools that are named Blue Ribbon Schools are selected based on one of two criteria: 1)Schools with at least 40 percent of their students from disadvantaged backgrounds that dramatically improve student performance to high levels on states tests; and 2) Schools whose students, regardless of background achieve in the top 10 percent of their state on state tests.
According to the National Blue Ribbon Schools website, "The National Blue Ribbon Schools Program recognizes public and private elementary, middle, and high schools based on their overall academic excellence or their progress in closing achievement gaps among student subgroups."
