Taking kids out of school ! Help !!

[dcedwards]

Here in AZ we have charter schools and I am "shopping" around for where to put my child. I always ask the question about missing school, etc. Some give the definitive answer...they shouldn't miss any school...it is too important...and typically is hard to make up. Others tell me that they believe that time is important and will work with me to catch the child up, etc. Guess which ones I go back to for a second look?!

<B>BounceyOne,</B> I agree about not asking...instead I will politely inform them of my plans. I firmly believe that I am the best decision maker for my child and I WILL make those decisions.

<B>Kimruth</B> - I like the phrase family matters and will definitely use that in a year when my son enters kindergarten. That is a very matter of fact way to state it. Thanks.

 

[tiggerfan58]

Our family can only take vacation in January every year because that is when my husband gets his 4 weeks of vacation! Most people would find this to be terrible...not us...we live in New York where it's cold in January so we head for WDW. Yes we have to take our children out of school. What we do is plan in advance with the teachers. The first year we had 2 kids one in 11th grade and one in 4th grade. The next time we went we only had one child to go with us since the other was off to college. She was in 6th grade. We just meet with her teachers and got all the work she would be missing in advance. I took the text books to a copy store and copied all the pages she would need so we did not have to pack the text books. Since the parks all close at an earlier hour in January, each night she would spend at least one hour doing her school work. When we returned home she turned in all of the work she had done. The test and quizzes that she missed the teachers let her take when she returned. She is a very good student and it never effected her grades. Yes, the school district called them "illegal" absences, but we had to make a decision as what was best for our family. We felt a family vacation was important and to be able to do so taking them out of school was necessary. So we just included the school work into the vacation. It worked for us....maybe it would work for you.

tiggerfan58

 

[Bobrow]

My parents took us out of school every year for a week and I did not suffer from it at all. My children are involved in travel sports and occasionally miss aday here and there for a tournament,I let the teachers know in advance. Most are very supportive. There are some lessons that can not be taught in school. I believe that the life lessons my children are learning from traveling are equal in value to what they learn in a classroom. They are very well rounded as a result of traveling. Go for your vacation,20 years from now,who cares if a spelling test was missed,the memories of Disney will be what matters!

 

[meeshi]

Would you take older kids out of school? We are in the stages of planning our next trip which will hopefully be the week after Thanksgiving 2003 (They will be in 10th, 7th and 6th grades). Our kids always have the Monday after Thanksgiving off, so they will only be missing 4 days of school. (The summer is out of the question because youngest dd has special needs and can not handle the heat.)

 

[Bobrow]

meeshi,
I personally don't think that 4 days of missing school is going to have any life altering effects. I'd do it in a heartbeat. Before you know it your 10th grader will be off to college and doing their own thing.If thats whats best for your family you should do it. LOL

 

[MEM]

Not to contradict my earlier post, but you do really need to get the teachers' "blessing" for the trip. So far, we have not found a teacher or principal who could not be persuaded this is a good thing. At my children's schools, unexcused absences of a certain number of days could lead to repetition of the year. "Unexcused" is subject to interpretation. Make sure you know how the school defines it.

Rather than just telling the teachers you are taking the children out for a family event, I would (and did!) work with them by presenting a rough educational plan and asking for their input. You can be assertive without being aggressive. Each school district is different and I would find out what the procedures are for yours.

My son is autistic and I have convinced his teachers that the WDW trip is a form of therapy for him and based on his improvement and advancement after each trip, so far the teachers have agreed with the wisdom of my decision.

 

[AZKathy]

We decided to take the kids out the last five days of school this year. The kids don't do much at the end except for parties and my DS just had to do a research paper instead of taking a final exam for one of his classes, otherwise the teachers said no problem.

I had no problems taking my kids out of school in the early years, but found this year to be harder for me to justify only because DS is in middle school and they miss a lot with the classes. Fortunately, his teachers were very good about this in May.

We also don't have to worry about it any more since we are now in a school district that is modified year round school, so after each 9 weeks, the kids get two weeks off. Yipee! We can now go back to going to WDW in October if we want! (unfortunately, one of the families we are travelling with this next trip are in traditional schools, so we have to go in June one more year!)

 

[travelitis]

I asked my kids teachers prior taking my kids out of school for Disney, and they both were in favor of it saying the kids would learn more from the experience. I told them we wanted to take the kids out of school because that's when we could get vacation and asked them if they would object. I think by asking you're showing the teachers respect, and in turn they'll show you respect. By asking for their input, you're showing a concern for your child's education, and they'll respond favorably to that. You might get a less positive response if you simply tell them that's what's happening and in any way insinuate it doesn't matter what they think.

 

[MrsPete]

You're asking this quesiton on the Disney boards -- most posters are Disney fanatics who have made Disney trips a major priority in their lives.

If you really want to get an answer with everyone's viewpoint, you should ask here, AND on a teacher's board, AND on a parenting board. I suspect your answers will be very different.

 

[Jordan's MOM]

I think that before you "ask" a teacher if they object to your children missing school, you need to decide what your responce will be if they object. If they have a problem with the trip, will you go anyway or are you willing to change your trip. Asking, for permission if you are going to go anyway would most likey make the situation worse. If you however plan to adjust your plans according to your child's teachers responce then that will work fine. Somewhere along the road of education, you will meet a teacher that will object to your vacation plans. Our plans are made far before the start of a new school year and I am aware of the schools policy on vacations.Ours is very vage and allows for lots of leaway. I therefore inform, VERY politely, the teacher of our plans, and then ask HER advice on the best way to make sure that DS stays caught up. Never been a problem yet. Every family is different and that is OK.

Jordan's mom

 

[dcedwards]

I am a teacher and yes, I do like Disney, but it is not the major priority in life. I think one gets a lot of different perspectives on these boards as people are from a variety of walks in life. So, I do think you get the perspective of parents, teachers, administrators and disney fanatics. But, it never hurts to ask elsewhere, either.

Bottomline is that it is the parent's responsiblity to make educated and informed decisions in regards to their children. The final decision in regards to removing a child from school for a period of time rests with the parents - not the teacher or school district. As a parent, you and your child will live with that decision -- not the school district or teacher.

Asking the teacher's opinion is fine but, as Jordan's Mom posted, what is your response going to be if they object? It is something to think about.

You need to do what is best for your child and your family.

 

[ellyn2000]

I've never had a problem taking my 3 kids out the week of Thanksgiving. They, too, were at private school and the teachers told me that they felt that an important part of a childs education was this type of family vacation/adventure. When 2 of my children went to public school, I was just as blessed with the response from the teachers there. I just notified them at the beginning of the month and requested any work they could do in advance or when they returned. Our kids now have exams sometime in Dec., so that wouldn't be an option. Just discuss it with the teachers and let them know you're looking for options, not permission. Hope you have a wonderful trip!!!!!!

 

[karenward]

Last year I took my two children out of school for four days during the end of September. My 5 year old did not miss a thing and my 8 year old made up her work no problem. We did some work in the airport, on the plane, and we tried to do some work in Disney, but not much got done. This year, we are going to Disney during the first week of school, so I know that my kids will not miss a thing. I just have to let the school secretary know that my kids will not be there the first week, as I do not yet know what teachers they will have. I think this will be the last year of taking the kids during the school year, as it is more difficult to make the work up as they get older.

 

[crazyme5kids]

I would and have taken my kids out. There is a lot said about only taking a child out if they have good grades, but I feel it should not matter. Kids with poor grades struggle regardless, and I think it is a nice way to let them know how much you love them. Why do we always make kids feel penalized for not being the best and brightest?

 

[Wish Upon A Star]

I was just having this same conversation with my DH this morning before we left for work.

This will be the first and probably only time we will be taking our DD (13) and DS (9) during the first week of December. We would really like both DD and DS to be able to experience some of the Disney Xmas Magic I've read so much about. We usually go during Spring Vacation and we went this July.

Personally, we feel that the kids are only kids once. Ok, so they miss a week of school . . .they could miss a week of school from being ill too . . .do teachers frown on that too? Teachers take vacation, sick and personal time during the school year, we, as parents do not ask questions on how they use their own time, so why should they frown when we use ours?

I do plan on sending each school a letter to the principals and then I will inform their teachers during November conferences. My DD and DS will both make up any work and/or tests that they will miss if their teachers do not want to give them any work to take with them. But basically, I'm not asking the school's permission to take this family vacation, I'm telling them I'm taking this family vacation.

 

[BounceyOne]

Wishuponastar, If you normally go during springbreak or in July, you will get spoiled going in December! I'm willing to bet you go again after trying it once! There is no comparing July and Dec.

 

[Wish Upon A Star]

Stacey - LOL! I know, I've heard so many good things about going in early December with regards to the low crowds, the beautiful decorations, etc . . .I just had to try it once

 

[meeshi]

Wish Upon A Star....... We went the week after Thanksgiving last year. It was incredible! The weather was perfect, the decorations, beautiful and the crowds were low. So now I'm working on a 2003 vacation for the same week. My kids will only miss 4 days of school. I'm a little nervous because they are older, but keep thinking 4 days really isn't that much. Anyway.....I think you might get hooked on that time of year!

 

[juliesue]

Oops, I accidently posted this as a new thread. Here's the link to my reply: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=236985

 

[IGDDDF]

I read these 3 to 4 times daily. And I appreciate all the information that you guys leave.

We had originally planned to take our vacation in June, however, we just bought a house and ------ you know ----- money issues. However, we postponed out trip until July. Hello! we are still here. Now, we have re-rescheduled our trip for December 2 - 10. I am so excited. But!!!!! My children who will be seven, six and 4 all before December 15th will be in school. Pre-K, 1st Grade and 2nd Grade. I need to know from you seasoned posters at what time should I alert the teacher that my children will be out of school, which will be approximately 8-10 days.

I cannot delay going to the world any longer. My children are hounding me every day. Anxiously awaiting responses. Thanks