School excuse letter?

[grlpwrd]

The search function doesn't work and I know there's a sample letter at

http://www.themouseforless.com/SchoolExcuse/SE.shtml , but would anyone care to share their versions?

Thanks! princess:

[Brian Noble]

Your child(ren)'s teacher(s) either will or won't be understanding of an absence. Trying to convince a not-understanding teacher that a vacation to WDW is really an educational excursion is not likely to help matters, IMO.

I would think a shorter letter is better. Just give the dates you are gone, apologize for the inconvenience, ask politely if there is any work s/he can be given in advance to complete before/during the trip, and make it clear that you will ensure that your child(ren) will complete any missed work on their return.

[Desnik]

DD is in 1st grade and missed 7 days of school recently. Her teacher knew of the trip because my DD and I told her about it. I didn't ask her what her thoughts were, I'm the parent I really didn't need her permission, or opinion. I thought that the school district and/or the principle would be the one to say something or have a problem because vacations are not considered an excused absence in our district. The teachers are not allowed to give them their work to do while they are gone. When we came back I sent DD to school with a short note to "whom it may concern" simply stating, "please excuse (DD name and gave the dates) her absence. We were on a family vacation." Then I signed it and included my # incase I needed to be contacted. Her teacher saved all her work and she was able to comlete it all on Thanksgiving vacation. We had no problems at all. But, every school is different. I say keep the letter short and send it in when you get back. Just let her teacher know before hand.

[LMC]

My dd's school "authority" told me to send a "sick note" when she returns to school in January. I stated that it would not be the truth that she won't be sick but that is what I was told to do. Of course, dd will let the whole world know that she just got back from disney! Anyway, if the "P" me off enough then I will just pull her out and homeschool her (like I do ds). I'm almost to that point anyway!!!

[LovePug]

I would think a shorter letter is better. Just give the dates you are gone, apologize for the inconvenience, ask politely if there is any work s/he can be given in advance to complete before/during the trip, and make it clear that you will ensure that your child(ren) will complete any missed work on their return.

This is precisely what we did...almost verbatim. We probably only have one more trip where we'll pull her out, though. After that, we'll be joining the masses at Thanksgiving or Christmas and I'll be coming here to ask for advice on that :bitelip: .

[jel0511]

In my district if your child is going to be absent from school, you have to let them know or they will contact the authorities if they can't find you or your child. I just sent a note in to her teacher (though I had told her during summer conferences) stating that my DD would be out for the week, and for her to save any work for her. I also asked that it be forwarded to the office, so they would know where she'd be so they wouldn't look for her or call DYFS. I didn't need to send anything in upon her return since they already knew where she had been. She got all her work on that Monday, and we had everything completed by Thursday morning. Now, she's in First Grade, so there wasn't all that much left to make up.

[dzneelvr]

In our district, the note is just the final confirmation of dates. When we pulled out kids out of elementary school, the note would only reference dates and "an excused family vacation". We made sure we were following the policy as written, spoke with each of the teachers WELL IN ADVANCE so we could get their homework, etc. to take along. Never had a problem because our kids were good students and never missed a beat as far as school work. Once they got in jr. high, the missed days had to stop. Just wasn't worth the hassle. We now go in the summer and continue to have a fabulous time. I wouldn't "advertise" going to WDW, just reference a family vacation.
:cool1:

[disneyjunkie]

My son's school requires a note; but the days will be marked unexcused. You can't make up the class work missed. If you can get the homework from a friend, all of it has to be turned in the day you return or you'll receive zeros.

Since the policy is so strict, we travel during school breaks. If I had to travel during the school year, I'd do it. I would just have to accept the fact that the days would be unexcused and my son would get a ton of zeros.

[Brian Noble]

I suspect you already have thought of this, but even if your child won't receive "grade book" credit for doing missed work, s/he should still do it, and still turn it in. Attach a note saying that you understand that credit won't be awarded, but if it isn't too much trouble it would be great if the teacher could give informal feedback about how well the assignment was completed. That way, your son/daughter has the opportunity to practice the skills other students have worked on. The teacher may not go so far as to fully grade it---it's much easier to grade all copies of a certain assignment at once than to do them slowly over time---but you should still get back something.

There is a secondary benefit to this---even though grades are supposed to be objective, they never are. Students who are 'serious' often get the benefit of the doubt.

This is one reason why, when I give exams, students are to write their SIDs on the answer pages, and not their names. Since we only administer a midterm and a final, my teaching assistants aren't able to tie answers to students, removing biases they may hold when grading answers.

[MrsPete]

I agree with Brian Noble. This letter is "trying too hard" to justify the absence. If you think pulling your kids out is a good idea, do it. But don't try to rationalize the decision by trying to convince the school that it's an educational trip.

[meandtheguys2]

Boy, that letter was BS if I ever saw it! And I homeschool. I am all fro parents doing what they feel is best for their child and family, but I believe in being honest about it! I will not be counting the days we are at Disney as school days!

[minkydog]

Let the eye-rolling begin!

If you want to take your children out of school, do so. But don't try to make is seem like a trip WDW is meant to further their education. It's a family vacation, which has it's own merit. But that does not obligate the teacher to accept work late. I mean, I could take my kids to the beach everyday this week and call it Earth Science, Math, Writing, and Social Studies, but it would still be a week on the beach. :rolleyes:

Cathy--mom to John, Eleni, and Christian

[CheshireVal]

As an English teacher, I also feel compelled to add that the sample letter in that link is not very well written. ;)

[Laura66]

Now that my older two are in Middle School they don't want to be taken out of school because catching up is way to hard.
My children have always been A-B students so I never thought twice about taking them out in elementary. I always let the teachers know at open house and then followed up with a note a month before the trip. I always stressed that I would do my best to make sure the work was completed as soon as possible. Some teachers give you the work ahead of time - some don't or can't. I don't act like they "owe" it to me to provide work ahead of time. And believe me - if they want the work completed before they return to school - it is. I think if you work with the teacher - and not expect them to provide work - and have it done when they want it done - you generally have no problems.

Laura

[Laura66]

You know - I just read that sample note and I don't think that would be a good idea.
Seems to me that it would put the teacher on the defensive right off the bat.
It implies that you know better what to teach the child and Disney is more important than what she's teaching in the classroom. I didn't say it said that - I'm saying it implies.
I really feel a note saying that you are taking the child out of school for a family vacation. You can mention Disney or not - and you could add that this is the time that will most fit your families needs. Also, STRESS how much you want to work WITH her to help her complete her assignments - as you know how important her schoolwork is - and get it done when you are supposed to.
Laura

[mulanrouge]

We are having this exact problem right now as well. My DH and I are both self-employed and we find it very hard to take the "alloted vacation time" the school districts set out. For example, I am a wedding planner. So pretty much my summers are all booked up with weddings, major holidays such as Christmas and New Years, as well as Easter. My husband's busy time is from the end of March to the beginning of October. When are we supposed to go on vacation if we don't pull our kids out of school??!! I am really feeling the pressure and stress right now. I really feel like I need a vacation. In addition, my FIL used to be a middle school principal and has severely warned us that it would not be in DS's best interest to pull him out of school and could be "catastrophic" to the rest of his school year (Gee, think maybe he is being overdramatic??!!). DS is in Grade 3!!

[minkydog]

Catastrophic?? in third grade??

If your child is a good reader and on grade level in math I see no reason (at this age) to not take him on a family vacation. If he struggles in certain areas, I would still consider taking him out , but know that tutoring would probably be necessary to bring him up to speed. Most elementary teachers will work with you if you give them notice. and if they don't, well, it's not their kid, is it....

[mulanrouge]

Okay, thank you!! I was starting to think it was just me!! DS was struggling a couple of months ago, but has since been doing great (last two math tests he got 85% and 89%), when he was struggling, we got him a tutor - who has still been coming by once a week to work with him. I thought maybe we would get her to work with him twice a week when we return from vacation to bring him back up to speed. Teacher won't be much help. Basically told us that she would not provide homework for while we are gone!! Sheesh!! Just can't win!!

[Mortlives]

We always start by developing a relationship with DS's teachers at the beginning of the year, so that they know they can talk to us about any issues that arise. At that time, we tell them about our vacation plans. We request the work be sent with him, and acknowledge that we are requesting a favour from them which will require extra effort on their part. Usually, they have no problem. In fact, we already know what DS will have to do for French in February. :cool1:

Two weeks before our trip, we will write a note for him to take to his teachers outlining the days absent, and requesting the work. This serves as a timely reminder, and gives the teachers advance warning to prepare any work to send with him. The day before we leave, DS is given a note to turn into the office, because they need to be informed separately, due to the safe arrival program we have in place here. The note just says that DS will be absent from x-date to y-date because we will be out of the country, and if they have any questions they can contact us when we get back.

Kungaloosh!
Morticia.

[bdcp]

We took our boys out of school twice, both times in Nov to go to WDW. The first time they were in preschool and kindergarten. No problem then. The second time, they were in 7th and 9th grades. My 7th grader didn't get any grief, but my 9th grader was in the Governor's High School (Math and Science) and most teachers said since we had planned it out so far in advance and didn't know he'd be in that school at the time since you have to apply, test and be recommended for it, they allowed it, but normally they say no, it's unexcused absences which can adversely affect your grades because they're not required to allow you to make up the work. (breathe now, long sentence) Anyway, it was not favorably looked on by any of the teachers. It's not something we did except for those two times. We just happen to find WDW easier and the weather better at that time of year.

BTW, they're both in college now, so obviously they gradudated and had no permanent problems with the trip.

[canwegosoon]

As a teacher, I really dislike it when parents come in (and many times it is as they are picking their child up on the way to the airport) and ask for a week or two worth of work on the spot. Asking ahead is very nice, and offering to pick up work after trip is fine too. I am very flexible, but other districts may not allow their teachers to be so flexible.

Personally my children tell their teachers they will be out, and I let the office know we will be away. I grew up in a family that owned hotels, and never had a summer vacation. My parents pulled me out for 10 days for a vacation every year, but I know times have changed and so have school policies.

Finally, true story, please do not lie about vacations. At my son's school a parent pulled a child out of school saying they (the parent) were having surgery. The kindergarten class prayed for the parent and the student, and upon the student's return the class asked about the "surgical canidate parent", the child had no idea what everyone was talking about, and said they were away on vacation and that his mother was fine. I wonder who felt foolish that they did not just tell the truth, I know the teachers were all praying for the parent and truly concerned.

If your school district is a stickler for attendance, ask the school secretary or the attendance person for advice on wording for the note. I like " Please excuse Johnny Smith. We will be away 3/20-3/30, according to the school calander this includes 3 days of school (the 3/21, 3/22 and 3/30). Any work that can be provided ahead of time will be completed and returned on the first day back to school. Additional work that needs to be completed will be done so as soon as possible. Thank you"

[crazymomof4]

We took our 6th and 1st graders out for 10 school days last year. I do believe that kids can learn a lot in WDW but I agree with other posters that to try to make a WDW vacation sound educational would insult most teachers and put them on the defensive. Our school district allows up to 10 missed days for a family vacation, which made it a lot easier. Still, I was nervous. I sent a letter to the principal and spoke with each teacher about 2 weeks in advance. I gave them my personal assurance that the boys would complete every bit of work assigned. I said that I understand that missing class instruction may effect their understanding of the assignments. I said that I would help them in any way that I could so that the missed days would have as little impact as possible on their schoolwork. When you let them see that you value your child's education and will put your own time and energy into making sure the make up work is done in a timely and satisfactory manner their attitude softens.

[bdcp]

My husband wrote a letter and had each teacher sign off a couple of weeks before we left. The schools knew what what we were doing and why. I've never heard of a school district giving days for family vacations though.

[crazymomof4]

I've never heard of a school district giving days for family vacations though.

Yup!
I was surprised too. The attendance policy was revised about 5 years ago and in "Section H" it states that up 10 days school days can be used for a family vacation, but only one such occurance in a school year. These days are considered "excused".

[marciemi]

I just sent emails to each of my son's teachers explaining the trip to them and asking their opinions (we haven't decided whether or not to bring my 11 year old, but that's a separate thread - check it out if you want to help! :love: ) Basically I told them what a great opportunity it was for us since DH's company would pay much of it, explained he'd miss 3 days of school, but would gladly make up any work before or after, and asked if they thought he could handle it. I did also throw in that I though he was a good student and responsible enough to make up the work. So far the responses (I've heard from 2 of 6) have been along the lines of "I'm sure he can make up the work. He will, however, miss classroom discussions which are irreplaceable." Still deciding!

[McDisney]

We will be gone the first week of the new semester (Jan.), at the beginning of the school year I went to the office to find out the policy and they handed me a form to fill out. It asked for the dates and destination(s), and had a space at the bottom for a description of what kind of educational activities we may be doing along with it. That was it, I have been in constant contact with the teacher and she was very understanding and wished us a good trip, and no makeup work was necessary (she's in kindergarten).

[eeyore0062]

Here is mine:

Dear ______,
We will be out of town on family business from ____ to ____.
I would appreciate if we could get ______'s work so she will be able to keep up while we are gone.

Sincererly,
____________


Works everytime. They don't need the details.

[crazymomof4]

Don't be surprised if the teacher will not give you any work for your child to take on the trip with you. I was quite upset that this was a "policy" in our district that was strictly enforced. I'm still not sure what the reason for this is. (????)
Anyway, I just took DS12 's textbooks along and he read ahead a chapter or two. Then he and I went over the summary questions at the end of the chapters and I explained anything he didn't fully understand. He said later that doing this really helped him breeze through the make-up worksheets, etc. that the teacher gave him after we got back.

[crazee4mickey]

The more notice the teachers have of the trip the better. :D
The "school excuse" letter on "the mouse for less" website IMHO is insulting to a teacher's intelligence--what a ridiculous letter!
I work in a school and we honestly have had kids who were just "gone" one day and when you ask the other students, they tell you the student and their family have gone on holidays with absolutely no notification from the parents.
In our instance, we were not going until December but let each teacher of our 4 children(grades 1, 2 10, 12) know immediately in September of our plans, I then sent each teacher (9 teachers in all-personalizing each letter for the teacher and subject taught) and the administration a letter approx. one month before we left indicating again that as per our discusiion earlier in the year that our trip was quickly approaching and we would like to request any work the kids may be missing so they do not fall behind. We received plenty of work beforehand that our kids could get caught up on. Many of the teachers supported the trip as this is the only time we have ever pulled our kids for a vacation.
example of letter we used(I even put a Mickey Mouse graphic at the top--they all know at our school that we love Disney):

Please be advised that ___________ will be out of school from ________ to __________. We are also asking for any homework which he/she may miss during this time so he/she does not fall behind.
The reason for this absence is that we will be driving to Florida on a family vacation. We know this is not the best time to pull our children out of school but it is the most affordable time for us.
We believe that ______ will be learning many things during this trip as we will be travelling through many states and that his/her education will continue in his/her absence from school.
If it is possible for him/her to get any assignments which he/she may miss during this period that can be done ahead of time, please let us know as soon as possible.
Thank you for your attention to this. If you have any questions or need any further information, please feel free to contact me.

[sconstantz]

Why do I feel like I am a 12 year old back in middle school, raising my hand, requesting permission to go to the bathroom?

Last I checked, my kid, my tax dollars, my decision on the best way to educate my child.

I mean, comments like, some classwork can be made up, but discussion and lecture is irreplaceable. Well, jeez, I'm not an idiot, and i did think of that. however, a lot of teaching is done straight from the textbook.....

I am dealing with this right now, as we just decided to take my DS first grader in January. It works best for us for many reasons. Reasons that I don't feel are the teachers business. I have a good relationship with her, and intend to send my son back to school from Xmas vacation with a note. We will tell the truth (DS coudn't keep it a secret if he wanted to). We will request any math and reading sheets she can give us. DS has been warned that he will have to read every day, including his flashcards. I'm not worried about his math and social studies, but he needs extra work in reading. Well, not extra work, but it won't be helpful to him if he doesn't practice for week. And we made him practice during Xmas vacation too!!! Not because we had to, but because it is the best thing for him!!!

Hopefully she will be able to give us a few things, but if not, we will be bringing our own. I am doing that because I want him to know that a) we believe school work is important, b) one doesn't shirk responsibilities, and c) he needs to practice his reading. If I could bring the piano with us, so he could practice that every day, I would!!!

Thanks for all the comments regarding this. I read it because I was really struggling with this. After reading the posts, I decided that I shouldn't really be struggling with our decision. We have made it and will stand by it.

Shelly

[sunkissed212]

I read the letters and they were very informative about the trip.

MY family used to go to WDW during the school year every year. We would be in FL for 2 weeks every year and I would miss those 2 weeks of school. What my parents did was write a letter to each teacher individually telling them about my absence from their class. We would also ask the teachers to let us know what schoolwork would need to be completed during that time. We would take my textbooks to my mom's office and copy pages to be read and exercises to be done for each class and I'd have a folder for each subject that I would take with me on vacation.

I had "homework time" every day. I could choose when to do it but I had to do at least 2 hours of homework each day until the work was completed. This way, I didn't fall behind while I was on vacaiton.

My parents found that the teachers were much more understanding of the vacation once they realized that my schoolwork would be incorporated into the vacation on a daily basis and we never had any problems. This occurred for me from 1st through 10th grade.

[crazymomof4]

Why do I feel like I am a 12 year old back in middle school, raising my hand, requesting permission to go to the bathroom?

Last I checked, my kid, my tax dollars, my decision on the best way to educate my child.Shelly

I felt exactly the same way in 9/03. Then I spoke with a teacher and also read from a thread (where many teachers posted) that was on disboards at the time. From those two sources I found out that many students taken out for any vacation (not just WDW) NEVER make up any of the work missed. They lag behind for a long while bc. of this. My son's 6th grade teacher told me that she has had to take literally hours of her own time to teach a child the things he/she missed so that they could be on the "same page" as the rest of the class.
I think you and the majority of the the posters here, including myself, are the "best case scenario". We value our children's education and show it by our actions. We see to it, personally, that our kids are not behind bc. of absence. But the teachers and administrators often see the other side of it, parents and students who just don't care. Because of this, they may get their backs up when you tell them about an upcoming trip.

[sconstantz]

Crazymom, thanks for that perspective. I understand the reaction from a teacher now. Unfortunately, people are judged based on bad behaviour from the past, even I do it : )

Hopefully, our DS's teacher will understand and be willing to work with us. But, even if she doesn't, we will still work on our own. Because it is the best thing for our Son.

Shelly

[sha_lyn]

Please keep in mind that school work isn't the only hurdle your kids will have if you take kids out of school for vacation. It might be different now that more people take their kids out for vacation, but I know one of the biggest problems for me was my classmates. Of course a lot of the problem was how my parents handled it too. My parents took me out of school for the 1st week of 2nd grade. We went to WDW, Daytona Beach and a couple of other places. It was the first week that rates went down. They didn't notify the school so the school assumed we had moved. They took me off the role and the teachers told everyone I had moved. I also didn't know that school had started the week before.
It was pretty tough for a couple of months. Kids would say things because I had gone on vacation instead of coming to school, and rumors started about why I was really out. I found out that origionally I was asigned to the same teacher as one of my best friends, but they put a couple of new kids in that class and put me in the other class.

I'm sure teachers have seen similar situations over the yrs and that is another reason they frown upon it. I know from conversations with my aunt and uncle that once a kid gets a label from their classmates, it will stick for a long time. When we were moving 7 yrs ago we planned on DS attend his old school for the 2 months before the move. All the teachers I know personally urged me to enrole him at the new school (even though it meant a 30 min drive every morning and afternoon with a newborn who hated to ride in the car). It wasn't because of accademics, it was because kids who move into a class later in ther yr tend to be labeled as "that new kid" for yrs and have a much harder time fitting in that new students who start at the beginning of the yr.

[sha_lyn]

Last I checked, my kid, my tax dollars, my decision on the best way to educate my child

When you chose to enrole your child in a school you agree to the rules of that school/system. Schools can not allow parents to change the rules to suit then because it is "their tax dollars and their kid". Otherwise there would be a different set of rules for each child. If you don't want others making educational deicisions for your children, you should consisder homeschooling. Otherwise you have agreed to let others make many of the decisions for you.

[sconstantz]

[ If you don't want others making educational deicisions for your children, you should consisder homeschooling. Otherwise you have agreed to let others make many of the decisions for you.[/QUOTE]

To some degree I agree with you. There is a level of control that is handed over to the educational system. But, our educators are learning that the best system includes the parents. It doesn't alienate them and make them feel like children or outsiders.

Fortunately, we live in a district that values parents input and help. If it started to treat me with any less degree of respect (that I am my child's mother, and therefore the best equipped to make final decisions for him) than I would make the decision to change. Either to a private school or home schooling.

Shelly

[marciemi]

Just had to add in one of my favorite life's motto's that I read here on the DIS boards many years ago. It's a paraphrase of Mark Twain, and states:

Never let school interfere with your child's education.

[sha_lyn]

True, the best schools encourage parental involvement. However I think the system also has seen absences getting out of hand. In Ga now 5 unexcused absences (which would include vacations they are not excused) and they are reported to family and children services. Several yrs ago DS had a classmate (who was also a distant relative or ours) that would very often miss school because he was up all night watching TV. When he did make it, he was often asleep in class.

[AmazingGrace]

My hubby's military,getting ready for the second deployment in a year. So, we will be taking our kids out of school for Disney when he returns. We always take one big trip a year, and I've already let my kids' teachers and attendance moniters know that. Bribery doesn't hurt either. This last time, I sent a souvenir with the kids with their notes