Thanks to First Daughter Ivanka Trump, about 130 Middleburg Community Charter School (MCCS) students took a thrilling field trip to visit The White House on Wednesday, March 7.

Along with Microsoft President Brad Smith and Code.org founder Hadi Partovi, Ivanka visited MCCS last fall to help publicize a Presidential Memorandum expanding access to high-quality Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) and Computer Science education for K-12 students. She personally invited all the students to come visit the White House. It took awhile to sort out the logistics, but judging from the reaction of the students when they returned to school after a whirlwind day, it was well worth the wait. There was an added bonus, as well—a tour of the FBI Building.

President Donald Trump, nor Ivanka, an assistant to the president with a West Wing office herself, were not there to greet MCCS students at The White House. Then again, no one expected them to guide the tour. Instead, the students, 16 teachers, and several parent chaperones took a standard stroll around the White House, touring many of the rooms that are open to the public.

"It was a standard tour," said fifth-grade teacher Katie Brennen. "The kids really seemed to enjoy being there. They looked at many of the portraits, and our fourth graders are doing Virginia studies and they just got into the Founding Fathers, so it was good for them to see it."

MCCS Principal Rochelle Proctor said some of the students did get a glimpse of a presidential motorcade forming in the distance, but never did see the president get into one of the departing cars. She said it didn't really matter.

"It's a great experience because it gives them more of a historical perspective," Proctor said. "Between the White House and the FBI, they get to see the government in action and get exposed to Washington, D.C. I think they really enjoyed the whole experience."