Kids and missing school?

[jbshell]

Did anybody's school give you grief for pulling your kids out of school for a week?

 

[Billinaz]

Other than on here, no!

 

[Bear3412]

We were concerned about the schools reaction. Ironically they were supportive and encouraged the sailing. Of course DD is an "A" student fwiw. Of course DD11 had to write a daily journal of events. Other than that they joked about it on the intercom at school. I was shocked.

Point is don't be shy. Ask your school. You might be surprised by their reaction. We were.

8 days, excused too, go figure.

 

[Bear3412]

Other than on here, no!

 

[jpeppers]

I really get sick of the thought that a school would have a problem with me taking my child on a vacation (as long as she was in good standing academically). My daughters school has late start every Wednesday and they cancel school if there is a trace of snow. They have teachers in service all the time but they want to suggest you are being neglectful if you try to take your child on vacation with notice even though they will cancel school at a moments notice leaving you to struggle for daycare. I have not had a problem with my daughters schools and have taken her out for the last few years for a week but I'm definitely starting to rethink it the older she gets and the more involved she is but as long as your child is doing well I think it should be your choice, a week out of school is not going to devestate a child who is doing well.

 

[jmarsh]

I have taken my DD10 out for vacation in the past. At her school they have independent study so she will not have any absences as long as she does her work while gone. My DD10 and I have spoken about this and she knows that she will be required to do schoolwork daily while in our cruise and WDW. She is a good student and has no problem having to do some school work. She even made comments about doing most of it on the airplane and layover so she can have more fun on the cruise and WDW.

 

[lanejudy]

While we haven't had any trouble, I think it depends largely on where you live and what the rules are in that district. I understand from postings here that Texas is particularly strict about kids missing school for vacation - statewide law or something. That said, if your child is in good standing and you have good communication with the teacher(s), even if it's against "school policy" you may be able to get the work in advance and/or allow for make-up. Also, the older your child the more difficult it may be for him/her to catch up after several days out of the classroom. Many people report that starting around middle school they no longer pull their kids out of school for vacation because it's too hard to catch up. But that's an individual decision.

As to whether your school or district has a policy related to missed days for family vacation - you should check the student handbook. Personally, I think there is a lot "educational" that can be gained from a family vacation if it's approached the right way. Get creative in suggesting "assignments" your child could do while away and the teacher will appreciate your effort.

 

[luv2sleep]

No. I'm in CA and as long as you apply for Independent study they don't care. My son was 5 when I took him out for a 2 week cruise. Taking him out didn't work out well though for us. It took him a month to reacclimatize to the school environment. He's only in kindergarten but the emotional and behavioral aftermath made taking him out a mistake.

 

[dorkeemn]

We try to schedule around breaks - especially now that DD1 and DS are in High School. DD2 is still in elementary school (which isn't even graded) so when older two were younger it wasn't a problem.

HS here is a bit pickier - they never cancel school - unless there is a blizzard on the day of school (we've had school when there was a foot of fresh snow.) And they only allow 6 absence days in HS per year. If you exceed the number of absences they will automatically lower all grades by 1 letter - so an A becomes a B, B becomes a C, etc... Not worth it for a cruise or vacation. And yes our HS does a late start one day a week for teachers to communicate, plus at least 1 in service day a month.

When they were in MS and Elementary - it was never a problem to miss 4-5 days for a vacation. Teachers and admin understood and accepted that families couldn't always schedule around the school and their bureaucratic way of scheduling breaks.

 

[LoriV]

We have taken our kids out of school for vacation many times over the years. We always email all the teachers about a month in advance and then again 1 week before we leave. Only one teacher has ever given us grief about it in all these years. Ironically enough, it was one their phy ed teachers. DD had to come to school early every day for a week to "make up" her gym classes. I had to laugh, though. I'm pretty sure she got way more physical activity on the excursions we did than she would have gotten at school.

Having said all that, our kids do not struggle academically, behaviorally or socially. If they did, the school might be more opposed to it. Of course, I wouldn't take them out if they were struggling anyway.

 

[LoriV]

One other note - I do not ask permission to take them on vacation. I tell them when they will be absent and ask what work they would like them to do before, during, or after vacation.

 

[kcashner]

One other note - I do not ask permission to take them on vacation. I tell them when they will be absent and ask what work they would like them to do before, during, or after vacation.

I'm still amused that when we did the EBPC, the only teacher who gave us a hard time was the geography teacher.

 

[braysmommy]

My DS is only in kindergarten but his teacher was very supportive when I told her he would be missing 3 weeks of school for our upcoming Panama Canal cruise. He will make it back for the last 4 days of school since they are done the end of May. Now as he gets older I am not sure I would have him miss this much but for now not a problem.

 

[gemini2727]

My kids' schools were always wonderful about them missing days for our vacation while they were in elementary and middle school. No problems or regrets at all...once high school rolled around, we decided it would be too much work to make up for my daughter, so no more trips during school time for us any more. I think the high school would have been less forgiving about the missed days as well.

 

[MissDaisyofTexas]

No, my son's teacher was fine with it. The school district's policy is to fill out a form, get it approved, and the days are considered unexcused. But, my son was still able to make up the work. I'm glad I did it 2 years ago and we're doing it again in a few weeks!

 

[LoriV]

I'm still amused that when we did the EBPC, the only teacher who gave us a hard time was the geography teacher.

 

[DJinPA]

If you children are old enough, you may want to be aware of when the state standardized testing is done, or when midterms and finals fall. In our district, if kids miss those dates, they need a doctor's note.

 

[Gina]

If you children are old enough, you may want to be aware of when the state standardized testing is done, or when midterms and finals fall. In our district, if kids miss those dates, they need a doctor's note.

That's the only thing I make it a point to schedule around, along with marching band competitions. Otherwise, I don't lose sleep over it, lol. Even here in strict ole' Texas, even with DS a Junior in high school. We've been doing this since he was in Kindergarten, so he knows what he has to do, and has a whole year to plan for it. He also knows that if his grades were to slip, we wouldn't be able to go, so it has always been a great motivator.

Other than the robo-letter that is always sent out when X number of days are missed, I have never received a moment of grief and nothing else has ever been said.

 

[mcgrawfan]

Our DD is in second grade and we have taken her out every year since Kindergarten without problem. We always let the office and the teacher know in advance and they get her work together. (except for Kindergarten, they didnt have her do any make up work

 

[SnipsNSnails]

My son is in Kindergarten. We tried to minimize the amount of school he will miss. Even though it's an 8 day cruise and we are driving from MI to TX he will only miss 5 days since 2 days were already scheduled off during the time we are gone. His teacher was excited for him and said that she will send work home before we leave. I do worry about how much he has missed, we've had some boughts of sickness here so he missed about 6 days his first trimester due to illness and now my husband's grandpa died so he will be missing two days this week so we can travel to the memorial service. I just hope he stays healthy the rest of the year. At the start of the year I said, no we weren't taking him out for a vacation but he's done so well, that I changed my mind.