Gambling with snow days - booking day after school ends?

MaggieBags

Mouseketeer
Joined
Feb 14, 2009
OP here - we are already on our FOURTH day out this winter. Glad I didn't gamble after all. Spring Break will busy but at least I won't be sweating the dates.

Thank you for all the responses. Always neat to hear others perspectives!

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Hi -

For those of you who live in colder climates - have you ever booked a trip immediately after school ends? Did you luck out and not have any snow days?

We are only two years into our school years - 1st year = 0 snow days, 2nd year = 1 snow day. Not a lot of history to go off of.

Trying to determine our 2019 dates and would like some experience/words of wisdom.

**I should add - because of our work schedules, we need to go as early in June as possible. If not June our only other choices are mid-August (HOT) or taking our child out of school.

Thank you!
 
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Our district builds snow days into the schedule. One year, we had too many days and they added 5 minutes to the school day.
 
We had four extra snow days added this year. We had vacation planned (not Disney) right after school dismissed. I decided to split the difference, delaying vacation by two days but having him miss last two days of school.

Personally, I would buffer school ending and vacation with a week.
 
For me, it would depend on the school district's approach to snow days. When we lived in upstate NY, they would have 5 days built in. Some years, they'd need more. If we had a fluke year and we didn't need all five, they'd give the kids the Friday before Memorial Day off. A second day would be Good Friday.

Then we moved to New Hampshire. They built 0 snow days into the school schedule. It still sounds stupid to me. But, smarter minds than mine decided this, so graduation and last day of school kept moving out.

Now we live in North Carolina. Not so much snow days as weather days down here. They build 5 into the school calendar. Usually, that's plenty, but this past January, we had 2 inches of snow, then a deep freeze. The kids got 4 days off from school, plus a late start on Day 5. It cracked us up--seriously? Four days off from school for 2" of snow?!? But, our city has 1 snowplow. No sand, no salt. People don't know how to drive in any amount of snow or ice. Luckily, we didn't need any additional weather days.

So, down here--yeah, I'd book based on the stated last day of school. In our previous two districts--no, I wouldn't.
 
I woudln't chance it - your luck would be that they have several past what is graced in and then it messes up the end of the year - we had 3 built in and ended up with 6 this year - they had ot go a few days later
 
Our snow days aren't built-in - they just extend the year. as needed. Hearing how other districts do it we are backwards :( I guess I'll suck it up and extend by a few days. Thank you for your advice!
 
We did that once, and ended up having the kids miss the last week of school. Oldest was mad because it was her last year of elementary school and she was going to be given the student of the year award. But since we were going to be away, they gave it to someone else. But she lived :)
 


We did it this year. We actually booked kinda late in March after we assumed snow days would be over then had 2 major storms in April that added 2 days, he is missing the last 2 days of school well technically day and a half as last day is a half day. But it won’t kill him and dh’s Time off is very inflexible.
 
As a teacher, I say just book it. The last week of school is hold onto your britches time. As hard as we may try, not a whole lot of meaningful, lifelong learning goes on then.
Your child will forgive you for missing field trips and activities as long as it is because you are going to Disney.
 
As a teacher, I say just book it. The last week of school is hold onto your britches time. As hard as we may try, not a whole lot of meaningful, lifelong learning goes on then.
Your child will forgive you for missing field trips and activities as long as it is because you are going to Disney.

Exactly. Who cares, it's the last day or two of school. It's meaningless.
 
As a teacher, I say just book it. The last week of school is hold onto your britches time. As hard as we may try, not a whole lot of meaningful, lifelong learning goes on then.
Your child will forgive you for missing field trips and activities as long as it is because you are going to Disney.

Exactly. Who cares, it's the last day or two of school. It's meaningless.

Unfortunately, where I live, unexcused absences can play a role in a child not getting into the middle school or high school of their choice. My children had a few unexcused absences for various reasons, but I had to be selective about it. I really dislike our system of school selection. It is beyond stressful to all students.
 
Ours are built in but I wouldn't hesitate to schedule my vacation. We used more than our 5 so we did have some to make up but since I already had plans with my kids they didn't go on one of them.
You say you are only 2 years in to school years so your child will be in 2nd grade next year? I wouldn't worry about missing a day or even a few at the end of the year at all, schedule your vacation!
 
If I’m understanding correctly, your child is going into second grade, correct? Honestly, if it was me I would not factor school into your decision at all. We pulled our kids K-8. Never an issue. As for the end of school year, the earlier you go the better. Kids get out starting mid May through the end of June. The later, the more kids. Summer is not the huge crowds like it used to be but it will get more crowded as the Summer get closer and it gets hotter! That last week is mostly fun in most districts and second grade should not be a big deal at all! Middle school and night school it could be an issue with exams etc.
 
My mom's a teacher in NH and she thought she had booked far enough out that there was a buffer, but it was a year we got like 100 inches of snow in 6 weeks. She was literally sitting there in March going "we can't have any more snow or we'll have to cancel the trip"...and her district BUILDS 5 days in.

I think she ended up leaving for her vacation the day after the last day of school....so even when it's built in to the calendar, I'd add a week before leaving.

I think the district I'm in ends on June 26 (as does my sister's district in MA). There were definitely a lot of parents in the town facebook group spouting expletives with every snow/windchill/etc day this year because some of them had to redo vacation plans.
 
Where I am they cut spring break short if they need more then the 2/3 days built in. They don’t extend the year.

This year two days were taken away from spring break, lots of kids missed because of planned vacations.
 
Since your options are to go in early June, August, or to take your kids out of school, I would go with June. To me, taking them out of school at the end of the year would be better than mid-year. (We have taken out kids out mid year in the early elementary grades, though).
 
Unfortunately, where I live, unexcused absences can play a role in a child not getting into the middle school or high school of their choice. My children had a few unexcused absences for various reasons, but I had to be selective about it. I really dislike our system of school selection. It is beyond stressful to all students.

So missing a day or two in third grade would effect their ability to get into a middle school or high school? Where do you live?? Never heard of such a thing.
 

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