Caron

BURRILLVILLE — Kayla F. Caron played the flute in the high school band, just like her older sister.

She competed on the school’s math team, just like her older sister, Bethany Caron.

And now, it turns out that she, too, will graduate at the very top of her class. As of Friday, the Caron family, of Harrisville, had two valedictorians.

Kayla says she never had an ambition to be a valedictorian — she simply wanted to give academics her best effort. Still, she says she wasn’t surprised by the way things panned out; she always thought she was a lot like her older sister — the 2004 valedictorian.

“Beth and I are very similar,” she says, “It was going to happen anyways.”

Both of the Caron girls had an unusual advantage in this day and age.

Their mother, Thelma Caron, was a stay-at-home mother and she had a lot of time to nurture their earliest scholastic pursuits.

She read to both girls when they were toddlers and made sure their homework was done when they were older. Everyone in the family had a traditional role, including Marc Caron — a vice president at W.R. Cobb Co., which makes items for the jewelry industry.

“His job was his work,” Thelma Caron says, “and the girls’ job was their schoolwork.”

They seemed to like the arrangement.

Their mother taught them to pay less attention to grades and focus on their own perceptions about their school performance.

Had they given their best?, she asked.

Apparently, Kayla’s teachers thought so. She leaves high school with a 4.29 grade point average.

“It’s corny to say,” she says, “but I really like school, studying and learning. “It felt right to work hard.”

Kayla acknowledges that her older sister was a perfect role model.

Bethany seemed to succeed naturally, simply by working hard and not worrying about performance, she says.

Kayla says she tried to take the same healthy approach, and her sister was there to help her stay on track.

Bethany also had lots of study tips, such as how to please — or avoid displeasing — a certain teacher. She had helpful advice about course choices and helped her sister guard against typos.

“I always had a proofreader,” Kayla says.

Of course, the sister valedictorians are not carbon copies of each other.

For starters, Kayla is a little taller.

She’s a standout mathematician, but she won’t major in the subject. Her 21-year-old sister studied mathematics at the University of Rhode Island, graduating summa cum laude last month.

Kayla says she’s less enthralled with numbers.

“I always liked writing and more artsy things,” she says.

She’s headed for Stonehill College in Easton, Mass., where she might dabble in subjects such as law and political science.

Teaching is another possibility, she says.

“I liked learning so much,” she adds, “so why not try teaching?”

mreynold@projo.com