SPRINGFIELD, MA (WGGB/WSHM) -- Twin sisters Gabriella and Lauren Carrasquillo haven’t missed a single day of school since preschool, a record that has made them the face of attendance and commitment to Springfield Public Schools district leaders.

The sisters were honored Friday at Springfield Central High School as part of the ‘Attend Today, Achieve Tomorrow’ campaign. City leaders joined the event to recognize the students and their parents for choosing to stay in the Springfield School District and for being positive mentors to their peers. “This is amazing. This is unheard of. I challenge any district throughout the United States to find two students who have done the same. Never missed a day of learning since pre-K until their senior year. None of us in this room have done that...only the two of you and we applaud you,” said Dr. Sonia Dinnall, superintendent of Springfield Public Schools.

The sisters received awards from MGM Springfield, the Springfield Housing Authority, and Springfield-based non-profit “I Found Light Against All Odds” for their commitment to education and excellence. Lauren, senior captain of Central’s swim and dive team, said she was surprised by the attention. “I also want to say I’m really shocked. I didn’t think we were going to get anything out of it. I didn’t expect anything and, to be honest, after a while, you forget that you’re even going every day because it’s a habit, but yeah, I just really like going to school to see the people around me. So, it’s not really that much of a bother to come anyway,” Lauren explained.

Despite their love for school, there were moments when their perfect attendance streak was in jeopardy. Gabriella, senior president of the National Honor Society, recalled one particular day. “I sprained my ankle and I was in the ER from like 11 to 4 because it was just so busy for that day for some reason. There was a little girl, like she was getting stitches in her eyebrow and it was so, like it was full. I was in there for a long time and then I had to come to school because I had a test. I wanted to be there though because I knew it was important for me to be there,” Gabriella said.

The two are still deciding where they’ll attend college next year. Following the recognition ceremony, Gabriella headed to English class while Lauren prepared for a statistics quiz.

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