By Nicole Falco
A child who brought home a report card with a zero would in most cases probably face parental punishment, and it's a sure bet there would be a seat saved for him or her in summer school, but not Kelty. A zero never looked so good. Former Howell Road School Principal Roseanne Keltos gave Kelty an award at her sixth-grade graduation. Former Memorial Junior High School Principal Robert Kaufold gave Kelty another award when she completed ninth grade. Dr. Ronald D. Valenti, superintendent of the high-school district, said Kelty would receive yet another award at the next board meeting.
Each award recognizes that Kelty never missed a day of school, and she has the zeros in the attendance column of her report card since the first grade to prove it.
When school ended on June 11, Kelty could finally breathe a sigh of relief. Completing that day meant her streak of perfect attendance was safe. Kelty attended 2,184 consecutive days of school (based on a 182-day school year).
"When I got to Memorial, I said I might as well continue [the streak], and then at Central I said, 'I did it at Memorial -- I might as well continue it,'" Kelty said. "I guess it's an achievement. It's just something I did every day. I just got up and went to school."
Kelty got off to a rocky start in kindergarten. The then 5-year-old was absent seven times after coming down with chicken pox. Perhaps missing school was a traumatic experience for the first-time student, because she never did it again. There have, however, been close calls, particularly this year. But even with the inclement weather and the temptation to miss a day to go to Great Adventure, Kelty made it to school.
"After 12 years, I just couldn't [end the streak]," she said.
Kelty, the third of five children, isn't the only one in her family with awards for perfect attendance. Her siblings, Jimmy, 22, Kyle, 19, Kara, 15, and Kayleen, 12, have all been honored with perfect-attendance awards for a particular year or string of years.
According to Arleen, Kerri's mother, when it comes to excellent attendance, the kids take after both her and their father, Jimmy, a fire marshal with the Fire Department of New York.
It was in fourth or fifth grade that Kelty realized she was working on an impressive streak. She wasn't forced to go to school when she didn't feel well. Her mother would have made her stay home if she had a fever, but Kelty always seemed to get sick during holidays or over weekends. Besides, if she was absent from school on a game day -- she plays basketball, lacrosse and soccer -- she would also have to miss the game.
Voted Most Athletic Female by her classmates, Kelty refused to miss a game even if she didn't feel well, and she can't recall ever missing a game in any of her sports. She recalled one basketball game at Holy Name of Mary in which she scored 35 points, then, at game's end, immediately ran off the court to the girls' bathroom to throw up.
Kelty has already secured a spot on SUNY New Paltz's basketball team, though she won't start college until late August.
Besides her own play, Kelty has coached the Valley Stream Soccer Club and Police Athletic League basketball team, and refereed for the Valley Stream Knicks. She's a member of the National Honor Society, Varsity Club and Language Honor Society. To top it all off, she graduated with a 99.025 weighted grade-point average. Her transcript includes eight advanced-placement courses.
"She's obviously very well-rounded," said Amy Weinberg, her high school guidance counselor. "She's obviously able to spread herself out in a variety of directions while maintaining a high overall average."
Weinberg said it was Kelty's mother who first brought her daughter's perfect record to the school's attention. Arleen was wondering if the school was going to recognize her daughter's accomplishment. While Central does not have a specific award for perfect attendance, Valenti said Kelty would be honored at the Board of Education meeting in July.
"I think [her accomplishment] is wonderful," Valenti said. "The district should be honoring a student like her at a board meeting. Attendance ... speaks to a student's industry and dedication. These are the types of activities we should be modeling."
