Juggling personal activities, staying studious at home, and showing up to school daily is a routine that all students are accustomed to. For seniors, this task becomes more demanding, and motivation for many upperclassman often runs low. Every once in a while, however, some accomplish a rare feat: seniors Travis Koczo and Breanna Dewoody will finish with perfect attendance since kindergarten.

“I think it has made me more organized and has made my grades way better than if I didn’t come to school,” Dewoody said. 

17 other students also will graduate with perfect attendance their senior year: Austin Anderson, Connor Arnold, Lillian Carter, Benjamin Chowning, Spencer Cullen, Julio Gonzalez, Raquel Gonzalez, Joshua Hankins, Kieran Hanlon, Henry Jefferies, Laura Lotze, Zachary McKellar, Zane Mohar, Rafael Pacheco, Arica Styron, Sydney Ward, and Grant Weitzer. In order to encourage all high school students to strive for perfect attendance, the administration found ways to reward those who have flawless records.

 “We strive to have every student in every class everyday,” assistant principal John King said. “To help that, we have put in some incentives: we did exam exemptions and we are giving away a car this year.”

Students were rewarded with a ticket each grading period they had perfect attendance, but could also earn bonus tickets for not missing an entire semester and being present for the full school year. The tickets will be drawn at the end of the year to determine who will win a 2015 Jeep Patriot donated by Waxahachie Autoplex.

“We are just looking for ways to improve our attendance because we believe the education system works best when students are here,” King said. “Everything we do is always with the purpose to help our students in life.”