On days when the rain is pouring down, it can be very tempting to stay in bed and skip school, because getting up is often half the battle. However, for some New Orleans students, staying in bed was never an option. They didn’t hit snooze. They didn’t make excuses. They got up every single day. Naiya Washington, a New Orleans high school graduate, says, "It's a very big accomplishment for me to have missed no school at all." No matter what was going on at home or how little they slept, they chose to be there. Naiya's mother Dianisha Washington said, "It wasn't always easy to wake up for school every day, I know some days she was tired and some days she was frustrated, we have dealt with a couple heart breaks in recent years, and she lost a couple loved ones and she still pushed, no matter what." Sixty students across NOLA Public Schools were finalists in the Stay in School Program. These high school graduates with perfect attendance got the chance to win a brand-new 2025 Toyota Corolla LE.