High school senior graduating with perfect attendance record

Sam Penrod reportingGoing to school every day for all four years of high school is a feat in and of itself. But imagine never missing a day of school ever, dating all the way back to kindergarten.

You can always expect to find Kara Carlson in class at Manti High School. She has never missed a day of school in 13 years but admits she's had her chances.

"I get it all the time. My friends want me to slough with them, but I can't do it," she said.

Kara's goal to graduate from high school without ever being absent began when she was 5 years old.

"My first day of kindergarten, my dad told me that he didn't miss a day of school for three years in junior high. So I went to school every day throughout elementary school, and I was like, ‘OK, I beat you.' He says, ‘Mine was in junior high, so it's a little bit harder,'" she said.

So Kara made it through middle school to show her dad up and decided after nine years of perfect attendance, why stop? She kept going and has certificates from elementary school, middle school and now high school to prove it.

Principal Ralph Squire said, "We do attendance every day. I was the assistant principal for her freshman year, so I never called her in. Our assistant principal for the last three years will call in students every day. She has never had an absence that she wasn't in class. There was a time she was called in, but it was a teacher error."

School leaders did let Kara attend senior-slough day last week. They considered it a school activity.

When you do the math of 180 school days every year for 13 years, it adds up to 2,340 consecutive days of school. But Kara says the string is about to end.

"I think I am going to miss a day of college. I'm really excited for this. I've already planned it out. I've talked to my friends. They are going to miss my first day with me," she said.

But will Kara really be able to miss a day of college? We'll find out this fall.

E-mail: spenrod@ksl.com

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