Merced girl hasn’t missed school – ever

A Merced girl about to move on to high school hasn’t missed a day of school in her life, Merced City School District officials announced Wednesday.

Lorena Ortiz-Vasquez, 13, has had perfect attendance from preschool through the eighth grade. She is set to graduate this week from Tenaya Middle School and, before that, was a student at Galen Clark Preschool, Stowell Elementary, Reyes Elementary and Gracey Elementary, according to a news release.

Ortiz-Vasquez will attend El Capitan High School in the fall, the district said.

A couple of other students in the district have recorded an attendance streak most students can’t touch.

Madison VanZile is about to finish up at Peterson Elementary where she attended every day from kindergarten through sixth grade, for a total of 1,260 days. The 12-year-old’s grandmother is a teacher at Peterson and has helped instill the importance of education and being present in class from a young age, according to the news release. She will be heading to Cruickshank Middle School in the fall.

Carlos Gil, 12, has had perfect attendance from first through sixth grade at Fremont Elementary. He says he’s proud of that accomplishment, according to a news release, and he’ll now take that same dedication to Tenaya Middle School.

District Superintendent RoseMary Parga Duran said the children’s “commitment to come to class every day and not miss a single day of the school year is to be commended.”

This story was originally published June 1, 2016 at 6:42 PM with the headline "Merced girl hasn’t missed school – ever."