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Student Never Missed Class

By Associated Press

Montgomery, AL – There were about two-thousand-285 school days during Sosthenes Sealy's 13 years from kindergarten through 12th grade.

Get this: He never missed a day of school.

The perfect-attendance streak is actually longer than that because he never missed a day of preschool, either.

The soft-spoken 18-year-old says "it's not really a big deal. You just do it."

During a recent interview in the assistant principal's office at Robert E- Lee High School in Montgomery, Sealy says if you really want to do it, you will do it. You have to have dedication.

Sealy, an offensive lineman on the football team, and his little sister Gennesaret -- a seventh-grader also with perfect attendance -- have never had the chicken pox or other childhood diseases.

State Superintendent of Education Joe Morton says it's dedication that makes the Sealy's story "about more than one student going to school every day."

Education officials aren't sure how many Alabama students have had perfect attendance for their entire secondary education, but the say the number is small.

(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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