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FMHS student takes perfect attendance to new level
By Chris Roark, croark@starlocalnews.com
Many students would jump at the chance to stay home from school for a day.
Katie Grandel is just the opposite.
The Flower Mound High School senior graduated Monday without ever knowing what it feels like to miss a day of school. From kindergarten through her senior year, she never missed a day of school.
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“From kindergarten through the fifth grade, it just happened. I never got sick,” Grandel said.
When Forest Vista Elementary School hosted its end-of-the-year awards ceremony, Grandel and a handful of other students were recognized for not missing a day of school that year. But as the students were walking off the stage, then-principal Dean Tackett kept her on the stage to recognize her for not missing any school at any grade level.
“At that point, she said she was never going to miss a day of school,” said Beth Bentley, Grandel’s mother. “That was her goal.”
Grandel said it wasn’t really that difficult to keep that goal. She said luck was constantly on her side.
“I seemed to only get sick on days we had exams,” Grandel said, adding that missing an exam wasn’t an option. “Overall, I just never got sick. And if I did, it was just a cold. I had the flu once, but that was over Thanksgiving. I was just lucky that way.”
Grandel’s parents did have one rule, though.
“If she was throwing up within 24 hours of school the next day, then she couldn’t go to school because she might get other kids sick,” Bentley said. “So she said, ‘OK, then I just won’t throw up.’
“We were blessed with good health and no extenuating circumstances, but equally important was her dedication to school,” Bentley said. “Several times she chose to miss a vacation or sometimes asked us to adjust our plans around her schedule.”
Grandel said there were other reasons not to miss school.
“I hated makeup work,” Grandel said. “I didn’t understand the policy because every teacher was different on how they handled makeup work.”
Bentley said making up school work now is much different than from when she was a student.
“When I was growing up, teachers would give you some of the homework that you missed,” Bentley said. “But now if you miss school, they give you the entire packet, and you have to catch up. Plus you have to take all the quizzes and tests you missed.”
Grandel said it was much easier to just go to school.
“I wouldn’t like just staying home,” Grandel said. “You just sit there and watch TV anyway.”
In the end, staying on task has paid off. Grandel is graduating in the top 25 percent of her class. She plans to attend the University of Arkansas and possibly major in hotel/restaurant management.
As Grandel looks back at her 13-year accomplishment, she said it wasn’t really that difficult.
“You just show up,” she said.
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