Julia Salvo (top) from Bloomingdale High School and Mark Grabau (middle) and Alexander Dyer (bottom) from Newsome High School were among the 10 members of the Hillsborough County Public School’s (HCPS) Class of 2020 to receive perfect attendance for their entire educational career.

Three Bloomingdale/FishHawk area students were recognized with an amazing accomplishment last month. Julia Salvo from Bloomingdale HighSchool and Mark Grabau and Alexander Dyer from Newsome High School were among the 10 members of the Hillsborough County Public School’s (HCPS) Class of 2020 to receive perfect attendance for their entire educational career.

According to HCPS’ Tanya Arja, each student attended 2,340 consecutive school days without logging one absence. That is every school day from kindergarten through 12th.
To mark this achievement, the students were guests at the school board meeting on June 9, where they were presented with brand-new laptops courtesy of Toyota of Tampa Bay, along with $500 scholarships from Suncoast Credit Union.

“These students have demonstrated a high level of commitment by attending school every single day. It is important for students to possess character traits such as dependability and reliability to be successful now and in the future as they move on to the next stage in their life. I am proud of the diligence and discipline shown by each of these learners to accomplish perfect attendance throughout their entire career in Hillsborough County Public Schools. I also want to congratulate their parents and families for providing a support system to make this achievement possible,” said Superintendent Addison Davis.

The students feel honored to have been recognized with the award.

“This award means so much to me because it represents all of the hard work and dedication that went into having 13 years of perfect attendance,” said Salvo. “It is such an honor to be recognized for this achievement and I’d like to thank my family, my teachers and the administration for the role they played in this accomplishment.”

Dyer, who was also Newsome’s valedictorian, thanked all who have supported him.

“I think the award is not only a validation of all the hard work I have engaged in over the past four years but also a testament to the support of my teachers, friends and families,” said Dyer.

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Kate Quesada
Assignment Editor Kate Quesada started working at the Osprey Observer in 2004 after graduating from the University of South Florida with a masters degree in Mass Communications. Since then, she has held various positions at the paper and has been working as the assignment editor since January 2020. She lives in Lithia with her husband Mike and sons Dylan and Max and stays active in the community on school PTA boards and volunteering with local organizations.