Perfect attendance: High school senior has not missed class since kindergarten

TAYLOR, Mich. — A Michigan student is ending her high school career with a perfect mark. Not in her grades -- but in her attendance.

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Emma Jones, of Taylor, has never missed a day of school since entering kindergarten, WDIV-TV reported.

To make her achievement even more eye-opening, Jones has never been tardy to any of her classes, the News-Herald reported. Her grade-point average was 3.8 during her senior year at Taylor High School.

“It’s not something I really thought about until high school because it didn’t really seem like a big deal at the time,” Jones told the newspaper. “In middle school, I received awards all three years for perfect attendance, so once I left and moved to the high school, that’s when I kind of made it my goal to do this.”

The teen’s mother, Stacy Dotson, agreed that the impetus for Jones’ quest seriously began in middle school.

“She didn’t pay much attention until her eighth-grade principal gave her that plaque back then,” Dotson told the News-Herald. “Then, when she moved up to high school and after her first year of not missing classes there, she was like, ‘I made it through ninth grade, so I just need to do this.’”

What makes Jones’ achievement even more impressive is that she maintained her perfect attendance even when her school was forced to have online classes during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It was a little bit difficult to do, especially during COVID,” Jones told WDIV. “Since we were all online, it was harder to get out of bed and want to do your work, but I think it was really worth it. It taught me a lot.”

Jones added that her perfect streak actually began in preschool.

“I didn’t miss a day of pre-K,” Jones told the television station. “But they didn’t really keep track of that. But it has been every year that I haven’t missed.”

Jones will continue her education at Henry Ford College in Dearborn, the television station reported. She will study to become a nurse.

“My mom and grandmother were also both nurses,” Jones told WDIV. “So it’s something that I grew up around. But I also do like helping people. Being able to take care of people, it brings me a lot of happiness being able to help improve people’s lives.”

There is one final obstacle to Jones’ perfect record before she graduates on June 1 -- senior skip day. Jones said she will not give in to peer pressure.

“The hardest thing right now is senior skip day, because most of my class won’t be there that day, but I’ll be in school,” Jones told the News-Herald. “I know a lot of people in my class are taking a trip to Cedar Point, but I’ll just have to wait for that.”

Dotson said she will be certain that her daughter gets to visit the popular theme park.,

“I’ll make sure she goes on that trip to Cedar Point this summer,” Dotson said.

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