Kids go free - what about School?

[Luvdisney]

What do you all do about school? Our kids start school around first week in Sept. I can't see having them start just to pull them out right away. Seems to me they are behind right off the bat.

[manleykr]

It all depends on the grade your kids are in. I am not usually able to take off during the summer at my work, it is our busiest time so we always went in September. We talked to our kids schools each time and they would always tell us it was fine. They always told us that the first few weeks of school would be the best time to take them out, better than at Christmas or any other time. They are usually just getting into the swing of things and playing catch up and review from the previous year. Last year was our last year to do this. We have a sophomore now and leaving during school is harder, it affects credits now. We leave in 2 weeks for U.S., I.O.A., and Disney. Good Luck in your planning.

[Humpbacks1962]

Mine were taken out for a week during December. We managed just fine. I have done it twice already. The parks close early during that week, so we just headed back early and did homeworks before bedtime.

On the second trip I just encouraged them to do all their work the weekend before we left, so they would not have to do school work in the hotel.

Just ask the teachers to give you the work for the week. The kids should be OK.

Wanda

[Disneydenise]

As an elementary school teacher I would say that if you are going to take them out the beginning of the year is the best time. It is usually getting into the routine and review.

[HunnyPots]

I'd say go for it! The first six weeks or so is review anyway. You might find out from the teacher what will be covered while you are away and go over it with the kids while you are traveling. Practice muliplication tables, or whatever. If nothing else, it will help pass the time in transit!

PS - I've seen this turn into a "heated" discussion a few times (on other boards of course ;)) so beware.



http://members.aol.com/_ht_a/vltdisney/pooh09.gif

[DisneyFix]

Just remember that not all kids are "school age" for this deal. Kids 5 and under would benefit. I forget what age you have to start paying at WDW, either 2 or 3...either way, some kids would benefit. We always take ours out of school for Disney, but I don't know if I would in early September - it doesn't seem fair to them.

[chris1gill]

We took our DS out of kindergarten last September for 2 weeks.. He'd gone to school exactly six days before we left... He didn't miss a thing... I'm planning on taking him out for 2 weeks in December... He already works on a second grade level, so I'm not worried about him missing anything in grade 1... after that I'm just going to see how we progress... we may go during Thanksgiving time, missing only 1 week total, or go during vacation times or what have you... We'll have to see how he's doing say around grade 2 & up...

[epcotitis]

It's no problem with creative teachers if you take your children on a family trip once a year during school. Do check with the teacher before ressies are made and encourage your child's teacher to come up with related activities! I love it when I can live through my students trips. A little girl in my ds's class went to Japan this year and the teacher made the experience fun for the whole class!

[Humpbacks1962]

I don't see why this should turn into a heated discussion. It is a parent's decision and no one else's bussiness anyway.

I give early notification to the teachers, well after school starts. then I send a reminder the week before we leave in December, collect homeworks, dittos, etc., and encourage the kids to have everything finished before we take off. When they do not, they usually start working on the papers during the plane trip.

Since we do it during value season dates, the parks close early. We head back, eat, shower and end the day going over classwork. The most school days they missed was 8, and they caught up just fine.

One BIG piece of beneficial advice, though:Bring sweet and simple souvenirs for the teachers along with thank you notes upon your return!!

Wanda ;) ;)

[lisapooh]

Absolutely would not work in our county. If your kids are absent for more than 3 days you get called. More than five you have to meet with the counselor and principal. Goes down after that. being absent can be a crime around here. Scary. One of our students was absent for good reason (surgery) and still his Mom was reperted to child welfare.

[Humpbacks1962]

I give plenty of early notification and the absence is excused. *I* am the mama. *I* make the decision and the reservations and notify. It is *our* vacation. My children do not miss a day of school during the year except for when they have a doctor's excuse otherwise. I have never had a problem.

I never heard of such a situation, sounds like a very dramatic step. Normally there are severe reasons before the schools call the state. I'd be surprised if child protection agencies have so much free time or available staff that after three absences from school, the officials visit homes.

Could it be because truancy and unexcused absenteeism was a big problem with the students involved?

Wanda

[Cindy B]

Hey also in September, check for days off in the school year. For instance our son has two days off in two different weeks due to Jewish holidays Rosh Hasashanah and Yom Kippur.

Its a public school system, so they do both Jewish and non Jewish holidays. (ie Christmas week)

If you could work around that, that would take away a day or two, (these days are within a week of each other)

Our public school has a 5 day policy. Absent for more than 5 unexcused days (ie trip), not illness, you can go truant. We asked my sons teacher, he's in kindergarten this year, and they said no problem.

[PoohBeth]

Our school system is also very srticy with students missing days. Parents are called if a child misses 3 days, & meet with the truent officer after 10 days -- this is regardless of the reason/excuse, I'm not sure exactly when we are reported to DFACS but I know this is part of their policy. Our teachers also seem to be "trained" to be "not so nice" to students who miss days. We have a new school board and over the past two years, our schools have a new, very strict dress code along with the absentee policy. I have taken my child out for a week in October before, but it was years ago when she was in first grade. She is now in high school, and would probably be failed in classes for missing for a vacation. :(

[mattlm]

Good grief - it's school, not prison. Travel for any age is a good learning experience. Even more so with a little effort. Applied math, geography, social graces, world studies among others.

If your school does not see this then you might consider private school - that's where we're at.

Oh yeah, you can afford playing on the Internet and going to Disney so you can afford private school.

[pamk]

I read an article in the newspaper recently that the state of Massachusetts is trying to pass some law that if your child is out of school for more than - I think it was 3 days - without a doctors note that the parents could be fined $100.00 and possibly have other charges broght against them. The article specifically included students being taken out for vacations. We're going in November so I hope that it doesn't pass before then!

[Lisa P.]

Just a thought for those with kindergarteners and first graders... while the public schools may enroll children as early as age 4 (turning 5), your state may have an older age for required attendance.

Here in NC, for example, the age is 7 years. Consequences for "truancy" may not apply for younger children since they are not legally bound to attend anyway. We home school and younger children aren't bound by the testing requirements for home schoolers either. It may be worth checking in your state, if your vacation is questioned.

When we lived in CT, we received a nasty form letter for the kids missing public school for 3 days Thanksgiving week... threatening truancy charges if they missed more. And the trip had been pre-planned and approved! When we moved to NC, the same thing happened here! It's not that uncommon and seems to be getting worse. Here, I've read that school funding is affected by attendance (same as bus transport funding) which is just one more reason why they offer incentives for perfect attendance. Perhaps that influences some boards to get more rigid.

Flexibility is not why we home school now but it sure is a nice benefit of homeschooling. We're "in session" year round. Throughout the year, we just choose about 8 individual weeks (plus occasional days) to take "off," spreading them out to whenever it suits our family. It's really too bad parents are so often kept to such strict requirements and the schools all seem to keep to similar schedules, making vacations more expensive.

[CapeCod53]

I dont know about reporting you to the authorities, but starting 6 years ago, at the junior-senior high school level our school system switched to a block schedule ( the kids go to 4 90 min classes each day) so that each class meets 2-3 times each week or 5 times every 2 weeks. At that point if a student missed 10 days or more in the entire school year for any reason at all, points would be taken off their grades, lowering their gpa. More points for each additional day missed. There are absolutely no excused absences (college interviews, surgery, death in the family, vacation, etc) so unless you can guarantee that your child will never break a leg, get the flu, have a grandparent die, etc no one is willing to use 5 days or more on a vacation. I know Mass takes every holiday in the book, & we get both a Feb & April vacation week, so once my daughter reached 7th grade we only took wdw trips during April vacation. However, we did take 3 October trips when she was in elementary school & had no problems with her keeping up with her work.

[Humpbacks1962]

Wow, Lisa, that was pretty awful! I live in Connecticut and have never had a problem taking my kids out to go on a vacation.

Just speak to the teachers before you do it and give plenty of time warning. Like I said before, I always have the kids write a thank you note and bring a little soemthing from the trip. They catch up and everything is just fine upon our return...

Wanda

[chris1gill]

I just wanted to agree with the poster that said some schools actually lose money when the student misses days... that's one reason they push the attendance so hard... I've heard that from many parents.... I'm personally of the opinion that travelling as a family & spending family time together is ONLY a positive, great learning experience... it's really unfortunate that schools feel the pressure so as not to allow that... It does sadden me to think about that.... I just hope our next trip in December is a success... our son will be in first grade, and he already does second grade work... I hope they don't give us any trouble... Pamk said in her post Massachusetts is considering a truancy law? Hope it doesn't come to pass....

[Disneydenise]

The absence ruling sometimes has to do with federal funding. If your county can say they have a remarkably low rate of absenteeism your funding sometimes is better. You know its always about the money honey.

[Keli]

Now that our DD is in high school we are having a hard time pulling her out for one week each year. We have done it both her freshman and sophmore years but her grades did suffer a bit both times because the absences weren't excused.

[Disney Debbie]

We also have block scheduling - and a policy that if you have a C average and have only missed one day you don't have to take finals, B average - 2 days and A average 3 days. Needless to say this makes DD want to be at school! Luckily we're also on semester so she got out May 18th. That's still early enough to get discounts, decent weather and small crowds.

When she was in the 4th grade, we took her out for a little over a week to go on a trip to Britain with her grandparents. All her teachers and the headmaster thought it was great but one! Her math teacher gave her a ton of make up work - they were doing it on the plane over and back. She also acted very ugly to Becca when she said something about not being there the next week. She acted as though she didn't know a thing about it! Even though I'd personally talked to her, her home room teacher and the head master! I think she was about half senile!:rolleyes: Anyway - I'm sure she got much more out of a trip to a foreign country then she ever would have gotten out of one week of math!!

[Teach]

Missing school for no reason is illegal. Bringing a gift to the teacher will not make him break the rules just for your vacation.

[cdrn1]

All my kids are out of school now, but I took them out of school for WDW and other trips. I feel that there is much more to learn in life than what they learn in school. The school system didn't care for it especially, but overall they did very well in school and now they all have a love of travel and a desire to see the world. As a matter of fact, my oldest dau is in Spain even as we speak. If I had not taken them out of school for trips we would not have taken as many and they would have missed out on a lot. They are successful happy adults. What I am trying to say is a few years from now they won't miss that week of school, and they will have some very special memories. It's worth it.

[Bearybad]

A while back I remember reading about a parent from my state (Texas) who had to go before the District Attorney for pulling her child out of school to go to Disney World. While I do agree that you should be free to make the decisions about your child. I also feel that you should teach your children to obey the law. In some States-- like mine-- it is against the law not to send your child to school unless it is a "real emergency". Please make sure you check your State and Local laws so that a wonderful family vacation does not turn into a nightmare when you get home.

[chris1gill]

I remember that post!! It was awful for the poster... How do you go about finding out what the local & state laws are? I wouldn't have a clue as to who to ask?

[mommyto3]

We have taken our kids out of school 3 times and will again the first week of December. We have not had a problem, and I live in Texas. My kids are A students, if they weren't, I would not take them out. They are in grade school so it's easy right now, but once they start middle school, we will probably stop. My children attend a private school so that probably makes a difference. I make sure I volunteer a lot at the school, and stay really involved, that way I am on "friendly" terms with the teacher. That may help me also. I personally feel family time is more important than a week of school. This may seem morbid, but you don't know what the future holds. Tomorrow may never come for you or someone you love,so you should live everyday to the fullest. My husband is a firefighter for two different departments, so every time he walks out the door, I realize there is a chance he might not come back. So that tends to keep things in perspective. Family time will always be the most important to us. And that happens to include a trip to WDW!; :earsboy:

[kbeverina]

chris1gill--My dh is an attorney and he told me to check out www.findlaw.com for this info. From there go to the State laws section and it will lead you to searchable databases. Do some searches under "school absences". I haven't checked out Virginia yet, but I did try Texas and found that a school attendance officer can go after parents for 5 unexcused absences in a school year. However, "unexcused" is left to the discretion of the principal or superintendent of the school.

[kbeverina]

Okay, I just clicked on the link--from there click on "Laws: Cases & Codes", scroll down to the States section and click on your state.

[wackywitch]

If a child misses "X" amount of days, the school can take action against the child and the parents. They're even thinking about imposing a fine?

How about this scenario: instead of "vacation", substitute "death in the family". What if the child were out of school mourning the loss of a beloved grandparent?

Let's say the grandmother, who was always around since the child was born, died on a Monday. She would probably be buried on a Thursday. The child has lost someone who felt like another mother to them and probably would be missing most of that week at school.

Since most public places have become hard-core "Zero Tolerance", by law they would also have to sanction that child, adding additional stress to an already grief-stricken 8 year old. Ooooookay.....

Our freedoms are being taken away from us one by one, and this is just another example of it. When I become a parent, I intend to play by the rules where school attendance is concerned. But I also expect to be able to remove my child when I deem it necessary. I do not expect to have to "plead my case" and wait for their decision as to whether the reason is satisfactory to them.

[kbeverina]

I just did a search on Virginia using "school attendance" (there was nothing under "school absence"). The attendance officers are to make sure the parents are "aware of and support" the child's absence, that's it if the parents do indeed know of and support the absence. Last year my son missed a week with the full support of his teacher. I wrote a note to the principal before the trip and it was counted as an excused absence.

[erinch]

Here in our pennsylvania school district students can be excused for up to 10 days for "educational" trips. This means kids who make a disney trek have to go to Epcot, write a paper or do a project. It has to be worked out ahead of time. Since it's an excused absence the school district still gets their state money.

This year our schools don't start till October 1, because the high school is in a building project. Due to bussing, all schools have to run on the same schedule. We weren't planning a disney trip, but with the combination of codes at Disney resorts, reduced rates and FOTL at Universal and the opportunity to go after labor day we are springing for it.

My daughter will be in a private kindergarten and will miss the first week and a half of school. I am not informing them of this much before the fact, because I don't want them to give her slot away. She's a bright kid and will catch up without problem.

It would be worth checking out your school district's requirements to see if they offer educational absence excuses.

[chris1gill]

I'm having trouble finding the information.. I even looked under Virginia with "school attendance" & came up empty... could you give a direct link to the state listings? I don't know if I'm at the right place!! Thanks!

[kbeverina]

Try this:

http://guide.lp.findlaw.com/11stategov/

Once you click on your particular state, click on "primary materials" or whatever heading has to do with state codes, regulations, etc. Then use the search function.

[DisneyBound4Ever]

I am worried about this also.. OUr trip is scheduled for Dec 12- 18th, my son who will be in the 8th grade this year will miss 2 days before they let out for vacation..I am very worried about how his teachers will handle it... He is a good student and usually doesn't miss any school at all...

[mom23guys2]

There are two different perspectives here. Usually parent's of high school students find it quite difficult to take their children out of school for any extended vacation although a day or two attached to a school holiday is usually no problem. Most High schoolers I know have far too much work to just skip school for a week or more for any trip, Disney or otherwise. That's why WDW is crowded when school are out. Most parents are just more concerned about their children's education.
For elementary students it's a little easier to miss because most parents can explain the work. From the teacher's perspective, I don't encourage parents to take their children out of school but I don't discourage it either, it is their choice. Usually parent's request work early but I can't always give it to the children until a few days before they go. Pacing is not always exact, I may need to take longer to explain concepts that kids don't understand or sometimes I can fly through something they grasp easiily.conseqently I not always sure what exactly they will miss those days. It take hours of extra work to gather one child's work for a week. What I really HATE is when that child comes back from vacation with NOTHING done and a note saying they didn't have time on vacation.(I usually only give the bare minimum anyway.) Parents then often expect me to stay after school to catch up their children, especially in math. Multiply that by 25-30 kids and you can see the frustration. Finally, when children still don't understand a concept they missed and get a lower grade, parents sometimes use the excuse that they were on vacation and should not be held responsible for that work. Most parents are not like this. Their children come back with everything done and with many wonderful experiences to share but there are some...
So I think you need to weigh the consequences and try to choose a time when the kids will miss the least school time.

[jgates]

We went every fall and every spring on various vacations when my ds was in elementary and even up into middle school. My dd has been off too. However, with my son in high school (Jr this year) it was too hard to do this. His school is also block scheduling but only 4 classes at a time so if he missed a week, it would equal two weeks of work. He is still carrying a 4.0 so gpa is a critical issue right now. We do however take a Thursday and a Friday off a few times per year and have a long 4 day weekend. He has never had any problems working ahead or catching up and of course the 2nd grader doesn't either.

When he was young I felt (and his teachers were very agreeable and cooperative) that things like reading maps, studying the geography of what we were driving thru, mileage, time, history, etc were all valuable skills he was learning. He also explored caves, state parks, national historic sites & monuments, forests, musical performances, etc.....Normally he would come back ahead of the class because the teachers would either over prepare or the class would just get behind for some reason. Its up to the parent to make it a learning experience and some just don't have the desire, effort or are not capable of that.

However.....if you want to take them to the doctor, your own word is not good enough. You have to bring a signed excuse from the doctors office or they will consider them truant, even though the parent has come to the office to pick them up. Gone a week for vacation? Fine! Gone to a funeral? Fine! Gone 45 minutes to the doctor? We don't believe you! :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

[Qwackertoo]

We took our first grade daughter out for a week last December and after speaking with her teacher AND the principal the 5 days were counted as Unexcused BUT they both said GO & Have a GREAT Time but they will be unexcused.

Now after reading this topic it comes to mind after talking with some of the neighbors with older children that the very SAME school has a 5th Grade yearly trip to Washington DC AND a 6th Grade yearly trip to WDW. I bet ya the 6th graders WDW trips days aren't recorded as unexcused.

You can bet when we go this December I will be pushing much harder for EXCUSED absence. This year will be a first for a "modified" version of year round school so we can squeeze in that extra trip in October for 10 nights with no school problems.

Deana

[Too Charming]

Disney should be counted as an educational trip!! Where else in the world can you take your children where they can learn about other cultures, dinosaurs, animals, American heritage and still have a blast!?

Our school has been very lenient everytime I take my children out of school. As a matter of fact they encouraged it. One of my sons teachers went so far as to have his homework on the internet when we were in Pennsylvania visiting family.

I thank God for my school district everyday!

[DreadpiratK]

As a homeschooler, I can tell everyone that if you sit down with your child for 1/2 hour a day, you can easily cover a days worth of public shool material. remember that the pacing in class is set for how fast 20-24 kids can go together. 1 on 1 you can teach it much faster and better, especially since you know you child much better than the teacher!

We have found that ANY trip can be educational if you make it so. My kids know more about oceanography, weather, geography, not to mention how to deal with different situations and people across the country than most public school kids (not looking for a fight here, :) )
We get comments all the time about how well and confidently our kids handle themselves in public.

Kids can learn more about life traveling with thier families for a week, than they will in school for a year.

I would like to reaffirm one thing that was said. I spent 10 years with DCF here in CT, and if and whoever said that social workers have better things to do than investigate families for taking their kids out of school for vacaion is correct. Any report that we got of this nature would probably not be accepted, or at best one visit to verify that this is all it was, Shake hands and expunge the case. The kinds of families we dealt with were gnerally not the kind that take thier kids to Disney for a week, school or no!! I've seen plenty of cases of the school systems wanting social services to do something they cannot, when there is no iminent risk to the child. :crazy:

[RugratsMom]

The school year 2002/2003 our schools both public and private are going to a modified year round school year. Every 8 weeks we will get a week out of school but our summer vacation is being cut from 12 to 8 weeks. I am looking forward to this as we will have a week of vacation in September plus a whole week at Thanksgiving and 3 whole weeks at Christmas. Then there will be weeks out in February, last of March and first of May. This will keep us from taking the kids out of school but still getting to take advantage of the value season at WDW.

[chris1gill]

RugratsMom, that sounds really GREAT!! Wow... the other good thing, is that summer isn't so long... children can lose up to 3 months knowledge between June & September if they aren't kept academically active... I read that recently!!

[2boys'mom]

when these rules are so strict. I think the schools feel the pressure for increasing test scores. There is so much talk about teacher's pay being tied to test scores. It is also a sign that if you can afford private school and can get in a good one, you certainly should consider it. We couldn't get in a private kindergarten near our home. I tried 4 different ones that are well established and aimed towards academics. My son is smart, too. Just a thousand people trying to get into the same schools.

BTW, a family at church is taking a month long trip to Australia with their 4 kids this fall. Yes, I'm jealous. If I didn't have small kids, I'd volunteer to babysit the elderly mom on the trip. I'm thrilled that they have the opportunity.

[mickey7861]

When our kids were in elementary school we always took the week before school vacation off as well as the week of so we could still have our 2 week vacation but the kids would only miss 1 week of school. Now they're in High School and we only vacation in the summer. There is just too much information to miss in a full week of high school.