Student Graduates Without Missing a School Day Since Starting Kindergarten

An Ohio high school student has graduated with perfect attendance, having not missed a day of school since kindergarten.

Blake Wolfe, who completed his last day at Westlake High School in Ohio on Friday, spent an estimated 2,184 days at school since he began kindergarten in 2009.

Wolfe did miss some days of school that were called off due to heavy snow in the state, but never missed a day due to illness or injury.

"There were so many days that I just wanted to make up an excuse and stay home but my mom and my dad just gave me that extra push and coming to school and seeing my friends again it just made it all better," Wolfe told Fox 8 during an interview about his achievement.

"Blake is a really good kid. He knew that school was very important and that we believed that he should be there every day," his mother Dana Wolfe said about the outlook she and her husband have on school.

The teenager was also an active member of his graduating year, as he lettered in track and basketball and played the drums in Westlake's marching band.

Wolfe said that the hardest part of his 12 years in education was the past year, as the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic meant that schools across the country were closed and virtual learning was implemented instead.

"Not seeing my friends was the hard part but I just got through it. There was one year left and no need to stop now," Wolfe told Fox 8."It just shows how committed I am to school and how important it is to me."

The teenager plans to attend Bluffton University, located in his home state of Ohio, on a scholarship in the fall.

Earlier this month, BJ Mizulo, a teenager from Adair, Oklahoma, finished his last day of high school after not missing a day of class since pre-kindergarten.

Mizulo's mother Rhonda Mizulo told 2 News that her son wanted perfect attendance after seeing a girl in California collect an award on TV for achieving the feat.

She said that he kept himself healthy from that day, even banning his sisters from going into his room when they were ill.

"Other than athletics that took him out of class, he's been there every day since the beginning of pre-K," she said.

Mark Lippe, Superintendent of Adair Public Schools, also praised the teenager, saying: "If we had 100 BJ Mizulos my job would be very easy."

Newsweek has contacted Westlake High School for comment.