Up and Down El Rio Blanco: Showing Up

By BOBBY [email protected],” said Judith Martinez, director of dropout prevention and student engagement for the Colorado Department of Education, when I told her about Torie Slagle’s upcoming feat.If Torie went to school today, the final day for Rangely seniors, the 2011 class valedictorian will be able to add perfect attendance to her already impressive resume. Perfect attendance since kindergarden! Martinez is right, that’s spectacular!Torie said her parents are her role models and she has learned from them. She said her dad goes to work everyday and her mom is very organized and productive with her time.Torie’s mom, Carla, told me about her daughter’s perfect attendance about a month ago but I didn’t want to question or write about it, so as to not jinx her streak, until she accomplished it.Torie set a goal of getting straight A’s early in her school career and learned, “going to school everyday  made it easier.”Torie is a perfect example of the saying, “showing up is half the battle.”I think we could all learn something from Torie. Show up and get involved like she does. I called her Sunday at 6:30 p.m. She was out, taking care of her 4-H animals. It was after 8 p.m. before we spoke, reminding me of another saying (I like sayings), “if you want to leave a mark in life, don’t let the sun catch you in bed.”It wasn’t that I didn’t believe Carla but I verified Torie’s attendance through the school district. Curious as to how rare such a feat is, I contacted the CDE. Martinez was very impressed by Torie’s record and sent me a followup email.“As I mentioned, CDE does not collect individual student attendance data and cannot definitively state how common it is to have perfect K-12 attendance,” Martinez wrote.“However, based on school attendance rates, I would estimate that less than 1 percent of public school students ever accomplish that level of perfect attendance. Studies shows that attendance is tied to academic achievement and your example proves the research. I understand that the student, Torie Slagle, is the valedictorian of her class, has a 4.0 and is involved in sports. Please congratulate Torie on her high school graduation and perfect attendance.”Congratulations Torie, best wishes in the future.