BALTIMORE — You can win an award just for showing up, as long as you keep showing up.
Excel Academy at Francis M. Wood High School won the Mayor's Attendance Challenge on Wednesday.
The challenge promotes daily attendance at Baltimore City Schools and rewards schools that have increased their attendance over the last school year.
Excel Academy improved by over 16%.
"I thank you for showing up for these students every day," said principal Gina Young. "I thank you for buying lunch when they need lunch, I thank you for buying them Ubers when they need Ubers to come to school, I thank you for just sitting and listening to them talk. I thank you for sometimes holding a baby while they go take a test. Not every school does that."
This marks the third winner of the challenge, with Bluford Drew Stem Academy and Booker T. Washington Middle School both winning earlier this year.
