The annual awards ceremony will be held Wednesday, November 7, 2018 – Thursday, November 8, 2018 in Washington, DC.
This year’s ceremony will be held at the historic Omni Shoreham
2500 Calvert St NW
Washington, DC 20008
https://www.omnihotels.com/hotels/washington-dc-shoreham
The timeline for the Awards Ceremony is available here.
There is no registration fee for the ceremony. However, costs of travel, lodging, and most meals are the responsibility of the school.
Due to our limited budget for this year’s awards ceremony, it is not possible to increase the number of school representatives beyond the number of representatives outlined below.
Each school may be represented by the building principal and one teacher (or staff member) at the ceremony. If the principal at the time of the school’s nomination for the award (i.e., the principal at the time of nomination/application) is no longer the current principal, then the principal at the time of nomination is also invited. School District superintendents will receive a separate invitation and will be included as part of the official school representatives if they choose to attend the ceremony. The maximum number of representatives for each school will be either three representatives (Principal, Teacher/Staff and Superintendent) or four representatives (Principal, Principal at time of nomination, Teacher/Staff and Superintendent).
The principal is responsible for registering all representatives. Please register all your school’s official school representatives to the ceremony by Friday, October 26, 2018. Please be sure to bring your registration confirmation email with you for your on-site registration.
Your email filtering programs may treat your confirmation email as spam/junk mail. Please check your spam filters if you do not receive your confirmation after you register in the online system.
In the event your school is not sending any representatives, or you need to cancel your registration, please contact me by email aba.kumi@ed.gov so we can ensure we note that in our planning for the awards presentation.
A block of rooms at the Omni Shoreham will be held at the government rate plus tax for a single room. More information will be coming. However, please do not purchase non-refundable airline tickets until you are certain about your school’s status.
School representatives are advised to book travel home after 5:30 pm on Thursday.
October 4, 2018 Updated Information for National Blue Ribbon Schools Hotel Reservations
We apologize for the difficulties you have had with room reservations at the Omni Shoreham Hotel and the Marriott Wardman Park.
We had secured a number of rooms at the discounted rate of $169 plus applicable taxes beginning on November 5 with a limited number of rooms for check out on November 9th. Unfortunately, due to the renovations going on at the Omni, they are only able to offer rooms at the discounted rate for a November 6th check in through a November 9th check out. They also worked with the Marriott Wardman Park located across the street from the Omni to host some of our guests. The Marriott was only able to offer a limited number of sleeping rooms for check in on November 5th with a check out on November 8th.
We run into difficulties when a number of guests were attempting to reserve rooms for early arrival dates (November 4th) and late departure dates (November 9th and November 10th). We are almost sold out of our room blocks at both hotels. We have made arrangements at another hotel to accommodate guests who want a November 6 check in through a November 9th check out. If you need to cancel your holds at either the Omni or the Marriott for your preferred dates, please do so as soon as possible. The Churchill Hotel is a 3 minute cab drive, one Metro Stop or 18 minute walk to the Omni Shoreham Hotel. Due to city wide Veterans Day events over that weekend, the hotels will not be able to extend stays past November 9th.
PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING CAREFULLY ABOUT HOTEL RESERVATIONS
CHURCHILL HOTEL NEAR EMBASSY ROW: We have secured a limited number of rooms for a November 6th check in through check out November 10th at a negotiated rate of $181 plus applicable taxes per night. Please reserve your rooms online at
https://gc.synxis.com/rez.aspx?Hotel=12885&Chain=5415&arrive=11/6/2018&depart=11/9/2018&adult=1&child=0&group=USDE or Call: 202-909-2128. Please use the group code USDE to receive the discounted rate.
OMNI SHOREHAM HOTEL: There are a limited number of rooms available for a November 6th check in with check out on November 7th. Main Number for Omni– (202) 234-0700; Group name: National Blue Ribbon Schools.
WASHINGTON MARRIOTT WARDMAN PARK: There are a limited number of rooms for a November 5th check in through check out on November 7th or 8th. The Marriott requires that you stay all three nights. Call the Marriott if your planned arrival is earlier than November 5th. Main Number for Marriott–(202) 328-2000; Group name: National Blue Ribbon Omni Room Block.
Hotel reservation hiccups notwithstanding, we look forward to celebrating your achievements at the National Blue Ribbon Schools awards ceremony.
In addition to presentations, networking, and small group discussions, awardees will attend a special awards luncheon. Following the luncheon, school representatives will go onstage, school by school, to be greeted by Program Director Aba Kumi and receive the National Blue Ribbon School flag and an engraved plaque as symbols of their success. A ceremony agenda will be sent out prior to the event.
Contact NBRS or Aba Kumi, Director of the National Blue Ribbon Schools Program at: Aba.Kumi@ed.gov or Phone: (202) 401-1767
School supporters and family may attend breakout sessions however there are no accommodations for attending or watching the awards ceremony.
The event is not formal; wear what you would normally wear to school.
The agenda for the Ceremony is very full. If you can extend your stay there is much to see and do in our beautiful city. To find out about events, access Destination DC, Washington, DC’s travel and tourism site: at http://www.washington.org, the Washington Post site: at http://washingtonpost.com, or the Washington Times site: at http://www.washingtontimes.com. The Washingtonian Magazine at: http://www.washingtonian.com also includes a best restaurant guide.