Not missing a single day of high school is a feat that not many
can claim. But for one Hollister family, 720 days of perfect
attendance is more than a feat, it’s a family tradition. The four
children of Adele Leal and her husband have all received honors for
perfect attendance at San Benito High School.
Hollister – Not missing a single day of high school is a feat that not many can claim. But for one Hollister family, 720 days of perfect attendance is more than a feat, it’s a family tradition. The four children of Adele Leal and her husband have all received honors for perfect attendance at San Benito High School.
The tradition started with the family’s eldest son, Nick.
“I had more fun at school than staying at home,” Nick said. “I wanted to go see all of the girls and guys and I never wanted to miss practice.”
Nick, 25, said that he had never wanted to miss practice because that meant he wouldn’t be able to play in the next game. Nick played on the school’s varsity basketball, football, volleyball and swim teams.
Following in the footsteps of her older brother, Jill, also completed high school with perfect attendance.
“I did it because Nick did it,” Jill said. “Once I had finished the first two years, the rest was easy.”
Like her brother, Jill was also involved in four varsity sports – in her case, swimming, soccer, track and water polo. Jill said that because she was involved in so many school activities and sports, she came to be expected at school because so many different people were counting on her.
When it was Matt’s turn for high school, he said that the expectation for perfect attendance was already in place. And like his older brother and sister, Matt, now 20, was also involved four varsity sports: track, football, basketball and swimming. Matt even went to school one Monday after he had broken his collar bone in a football game the previous Friday.
“I had a broken collar bone and my girlfriend had just broken up with me,” Matt said. “It was really hard (to go to school) that whole week.”
But Matt kept the tradition going for younger sister Kristina, 17, who graduated from SBHS two weeks ago. Following the precedents set by her older siblings, Kristina also participated in four varsity sports: tennis, volleyball, softball and basketball.
“It wasn’t that hard because I got to see all my friends everyday,” Kristina said.
These unique siblings were never forced by their parents to go to school.
“Our parents didn’t have to do anything,” Jill said. “We just did it.”
Nick said that it helped because there were always two siblings in high school together and the older one would make sure the younger one got to school.
And although Adele and her husband never forced their children to go to school, they were both very supportive.
“They both went to every sporting event,” Nick said. “They have always supported us.”
Nick, a national television advertising manager, said that unlike high school, college was a different story. And although he missed some college classes, he hasn’t missed, or even been late to, a single day of work in the last two years.
Despite their separate interests, goals and activities, they still spend plenty of time together, Nick said.
“I am so very proud of them and cannot believe that they did this,” said mother Adele. “It was a hard thing to do especially when all of their friends were cutting school and going to the beach.”
Brett Rowland covers education for the Free Lance. He can be reached at 831-637-5566 ext. 330 or br******@fr***********.com.
