Sikeston senior never missed a day of school

SIKESTON, Mo. -- Sikeston High School senior Joseph Walker will finish his K-12 school years with perfect attendance.

Walker just wanted to prove he could do it, he said.

"Not many people do this."

But the 18-year-old didn't start his elementary school years striving to never miss a day of school. It just happened that way, he said.

"I just thought when school was in session, he needed to go," said Walker's mother, Laquita Walker.

One year Walker, who was a student in the Poplar Bluff School District at the time, earned a free ticket to Six Flags for having perfect attendance all year.

"I always wanted to go there," Walker said of the trip.

Winning prizes became an incentive to not miss school, so Walker didn't.

It wasn't until Laquita Walker became a teacher years later that she learned parents were supposed to call the school when their children were sick and not coming, she laughed.

"I never had to do that," she said.

Eventually, not missing school in order to receive rewards at the end of the year evolved into a personal goal for Walker, he said.

And when his senior year of high school began last August, Walker became more determined than ever not to miss school.

"It's been 12 years. I can't blow it," he said.

Walker even opted out of two "senior skip days." The senior said he didn't feel like he missed out on anything by not missing school. It's just the opposite.

"What are you going to do [if you skip school]? Be bored," Walker said.

Being in school also has its advantages, Walker said. By being in class every day, Walker doesn't get lost on assignments especially in the more difficult subjects, like calculus.

So how has Walker managed to not miss school all of these years?

"I don't get sick," Walker said.

His mother clarified there were a couple of times when Walker didn't feel well due to allergies, but he refused to stay home.

Any doctor's appointments Walker had were made after school or on Saturdays, his mother said.

In April, Walker's record was threatened after he suffered a deep wound to his hand. His mother took him to the emergency room that night, and it was determined he needed to see an orthopedic specialist -- the next day, which meant Joseph would miss school.

However, when Walker explained his situation, the specialist came to the hospital that night and fixed his hand solely so Walker wouldn't break his record, the mother and son said.

When asked if Walker was ever tempted to sleep in during the school week, he said yes.

"But he didn't want to miss school even more," Walker's mother added

Walker's personal goal has affected his mother just as much.

"She's paranoid," Walker said about his mother.

She agreed.

"I do not relax until I get to school," said Walker's mother, who teaches at Sikeston Junior High School.

Even when Walker leaves before his mom in the mornings, and she sees he hasn't overslept, she said she will still drive by the high school parking lot to make sure she sees her son's vehicle is there.

"It was his choice years ago," Walker's mom said. "Because it was his goal and because I'm his mother I want to do all I can to help him realize this goal. I don't want to be the cause of him missing the goal. I would feel so bad."

Each morning she sets four alarms on her cellphone so when she got a new cellphone, it was an issue because she had to learn how to reprogram all the alarms.

There are also days when school is not in session, such as holidays or the weekends, and Walker's mother will wake up in a brief frenzy not recalling if it's a school day, she said.

It's hard to say just how rare Walker's feat is, according to education officials.

A representative of the Missouri Department of Secondary and Elementary Education said the department keeps average daily attendance records for school districts, but it doesn't have student identifiable information such as who or how many students attain perfect attendance throughout their school careers. As a result, tracking individual perfect attendance and rewarding them is a local district issue, the representative said.

Sikeston High School principal Tom Williams said while he still has to sort through some records, it does seem as though Walker's attendance record is unblemished.

Walker's situation is rare for the school, which offers students with 98 to 100 percent attendance prizes, including the chance to win a car at the end of the school year. Students must also meet other requirements, such as be free of disciplinary issues and have good grades, the principal said.

"It's not something you see," Williams said of having a student who's attended every day of school from kindergarten through senior year.

Walker will have attended around 2,300 days of school when he graduates tonight.

"I'm so proud he's done it," his mother said.

This fall Walker plans to attend Missouri University of Science and Technology in Rolla.

Walker said he didn't know yet if he'd try to maintain his perfect attendance in college, but his mother knows what she will try.

"I hope I sleep a lot better," she said.