St. Ed's senior poised to finish K-12 with perfect attendance

Like a typical teenager, there have, inevitably, been some days where Maggie Coyle just doesn't feel like going to school.

She either felt colds coming on, was up too late studying the night before, or didn't want to deal with the stresses of high school social life.

But Maggie's track record show's she's anything but typical.

The St. Edward Central Catholic senior, who, upon this writing is just 10 days away from graduation, has never missed a day of class.

In her life.

"There's days where I'll be sitting at home and not wanting to get up," Maggie, of Gilberts, said. "But I'll drag myself up and keep going. This has been my goal for a long time. I have to reach it."

As a fourth-grader at St. Isidore's Catholic School in Bloomingdale, Maggie was recognized for having perfect attendance since kindergarten.

It was then, she said, that she decided to make a goal of keeping the streak going for the next eight years.

While perfect attendance has taken a great deal of determination on Maggie's part, she's also been lucky.

All of her childhood illnesses, her father, Dan, said, have fallen over school breaks.

She broke her leg, several years ago, over Christmas break. And a finger on a weekend.

Her mother, Janet, said at times, it's altered the family vacation schedule. They couldn't extend their trip by a few days to lock in cheaper flights, or stay a few days longer if younger brothers Nolan, a freshman at Hampshire High School, and Reid, a fourth-grader at St. Thomas More Catholic School in Elgin, had different vacation schedules.

Margaret spent her high school career running cross country, swimming, and as a member of Students Against Drunk Driving (SADD).

With a 3.8 grade point average, she's a member of the National Honor Society, and plans to attend Carthage College in Kenosha, Wis., next fall to study biology. If she can, she says, she hopes to keep the streak going throughout college.

Dan Coyle said it struck him that there are no scholarships out there for perfect attendance.

With just two weeks left to go, Maggie says she's not taking any precautionary measures - beefing up on vitamins or getting extra sleep - just to make sure she reaches the finish line. May 10, St. Ed's unofficial "senior ditch day" - Maggie was one of about 20 of 100 classmates to make it to school for all or part of the day.

"My friends don't really give me flak for it," she said. "They're more in awe."

"I'm just hoping this will continue," she said.