When Teachers Took Attendance, He Was There--Every Time

From first grade through his high school senior year, Richie Rodriguez never missed a day of classes. Not even when his allergies to dust mites and pollens flared up, nor when football injuries put him on crutches.

So if anybody knows the value of going to school every day, it’s this Wilmington teenager.

“You don’t miss out on anything in class,” Rodriguez said. And, he has found, having an excellent attendance record also comes in handy when applying for college or seeking a job.

When Rodriguez--his formal name is Richard Randolph Rodriguez III--graduates this afternoon from Nathaniel Narbonne High School in Harbor City, he will be honored for that very rare accomplishment: 12 years of perfect attendance.

And had it not been for a bout with chickenpox in kindergarten, it would have been 13 perfect years.

“We’re very, very proud of him,” said Narbonne Assistant Principal Kenneth Keener. “This is quite an accomplishment.”

Although neither state nor local education officials keep records on perfect attendance, they said it is extremely unusual for a student never to miss a day in 12 years of schooling.

Doug Stone, a spokesman for the California Department of Education, said he has heard of only one other such case in the last several years--a young woman in the Bay Area who graduated from high school this year.

“For anybody to go to school for 12 years without a blemish on one’s attendance record is really remarkable. Obviously, this student has a great deal of commitment and dedication,” Stone said.

And Hector Madrigal, director of pupil services for the Los Angeles Unified School District, which includes Narbonne, said Rodriguez’s achievement marks him as a person of “extremely unusual determination, stability, dedication and diligence.”

Madrigal, along with others, also credited Rodriguez’s parents, Eva and Richard R. Rodriguez Jr.

“There are parents working behind the scenes that are underscoring the importance of regular attendance and providing the support for that youngster to perform that incredible feat,” Madrigal said.

Eva Rodriguez, who works from home as bookkeeper in the family’s construction contracting business, said she and her husband always have stressed to their three children the importance of going to school in their effort to prepare the children to lead responsible, productive lives.

“Being in school is the first step to learning. It’s your responsibility to be there,” Eva Rodriguez said she and her husband always told their children.

Their daughter, Summer, a student at Arizona State University, went almost 10 years without an absence, and their younger son, Ryan, just finishing fourth grade, hasn’t missed a day since beginning pre-kindergarten.

All three have been strong and healthy, Eva Rodriguez said, adding she would not let them go to school if they had been really ill or had anything contagious. And she always told them they could stay home if they felt sick.

“My kids always seem to get sick only on the weekends or vacations,” she said, laughing.

Eva Rodriguez volunteers at her children’s schools, and she served on a committee of staff, parents and students that formulated Narbonne’s strict new attendance incentive program. The program, which requires that a student have no more than five unexcused absences per semester in order to participate in such activities as the prom and graduation ceremonies, has produced a 2% improvement in attendance since it began this school year, officials said.

“A lot of kids are complaining about it, but it doesn’t affect me,” said Richie Rodriguez, with characteristic understatement.

He gives credit to his parents and friends, especially classmates Patrick Goodpaster and Chris Miller, who have been with him from first grade through senior year, for encouraging him.

That was especially true this year, when he was plagued by several painful football injuries and battled “senioritis.”

“This year, there were days when I just didn’t feel like coming to school, but my friends said, ‘Keep the record going,’ ” Rodriguez said.

Rodriguez earned his varsity letter playing tight end for the Narbonne Gauchos and likes to “hang out with friends” during school snack and lunch breaks.

His favorite school subject (after football) is history, and his least favorite are English and math.

Long intent on becoming a firefighter, he took fire sciences courses at El Camino College while still in high school. He plans to attend Harbor College this fall and join the football team. He hopes to transfer to a four-year college after that.

He is looking for a summer job with hours that will let him attend football practice every day.

“I’m determined to succeed,” Rodriguez said when asked to explain what motivates him.

“My parents taught me that when you start something, you finish it, and I do.”