Prize for perfection

Seniors at nearly 20 area high schools have the chance to win a brand-new, fully loaded car worth $25,000 on one condition: a year’s worth of perfect attendance.

That requirement will greatly reduce the number of eligible seniors, says Ken Russell, assistant principal at Mead High School. Maybe 50 of the 460 seniors at Mead will make it to every class every day of the 2004-05 school year, and that figure may be generous, he said.

But next summer, one diligent senior in the Inland Northwest will take the wheel of a 2004 Hyundai Tiburon in Hallmark Hyundai’s It’s Cool to Stay in School contest. A drawing will be held in June.

About 20 high schools have agreed to automatically enter qualified seniors into the contest, which spans a 50-mile radius and covers multiple school districts.

While the contest may not influence every student’s behavior, it offers a valuable reward to those who attend class regularly, Russell said.

“It’s absolutely critical,” he said, noting the impact of attendance on academic success.

The high value of the award reflects the benefits students can reach through routine attendance and scholastic achievement, said Denny Waltermire, president of Hallmark Hyundai. He hopes the car will give students an incentive to come to class.

“I use myself as an example,” Waltermire said. “If I’d had a chance when I was a senior in high school to win a car for perfect attendance, you would have got my attention. We’re hoping that’s what happens.”

To fuel enthusiasm for the contest, the dealership will sporadically display the canary-yellow car, a 2004 special edition, at shopping malls, race tracks and sporting events throughout the area.

Seniors at participating schools must meet only the attendance requirement to qualify for the contest, Waltermire said.

“The student just has to participate, to have perfect attendance,” he said. “That’s the only catch.”