Just e-mailed the principal

[~Kristina~]

Originally Posted by DopeyDame

Inriguing...
What would have happened if you had just said "Annabelle will be out of school for a family vacation October 12-19, 2012."

This is what I've always done, no questions asked.

[luvmy3]

Originally Posted by nchulka

Just had to say in my district that is exactly what it means. I can call and say I'm keeping my kid home for any reason I want and as long as I call it's excused. In my district unexcused means no phone call was made, excused means the parent called and said the kid wasn't going to be there. They don't ask or care about reasons at all. Any child missing school can make up the work that was done in school that day or those days for full credit. I grew up in the same district and it's only been here on the dis that I've heard about other districts that are militant about absences, it seems crazy to me!

I wouldn't call it militant, but I guess I'd rather have it that way than the lax attendance rules some of the posters here have. While you may be the parent who does actually educate your child on those days you don't want to send her to school, for every one of you, there is another parent who just doesn't bother. Having strict truancy rules helps keep that in check.
If your school policy is everything is excused that is great, but for the ones that don't have that policy, I don't think parents should be trying to excuse a family vacation under the guise of it being for education. It isn't, its a family vacation. The fact that it could be educational has nothing to do with the reason you are taking your child out of school. Like the pp said, you could say that about anything, where do you draw the line?

[Andrea464]

I had no idea this would be such a heated topic.
Simply following what her student policy manual says to do. I'd hate to not do what they've requested and then have either one of us face issues (whether it's in her education or charges against me) because I didn't do what was asked.

[Andrea464]

Originally Posted by sk!mom

Yep! Or you gave him his best laugh in a good while. Maybe he's putting together one of those, "Best notes from parent's books."

The school will never take you seriously again!

I read this and left and have come back a few times trying to decide what to say and how to word it.
I'm incredibly insulted at your thoughtless and callous words. You have no idea what relationships I have with my childs educators and the leadership at her school and your speculations and assumptions are outrageous. Yeah- it's the internet and you can write whatever you want behind your faceless screen, but come on...

[DW2010]

Originally Posted by Andrea464

I read this and left and have come back a few times trying to decide what to say and how to word it.
I'm incredibly insulted at your thoughtless and callous words. You have no idea what relationships I have with my childs educators and the leadership at her school and your speculations and assumptions are outrageous. Yeah- it's the internet and you can write whatever you want behind your faceless screen, but come on...

Try not to let it get to you. There are way too many judgmental people on this board. Although some may not agree with you e-mailing the principal, there are tactful ways and that was not it.

[smidgy]

Originally Posted by stevehousse

Catnip rules that is what I was trying to say. For our district that's all you need. Now if I were to take my kid of vacation and not let the school know, then they would be unexcused, but as long ad they know there is no truancy penalties involved. I live in Illinois.

I live in Illinois. in the 90's, in high school, you could have 10 unexcused absences.per semester. after that, you didn't get credit for the semester. vacation (however educational) was not an excuse. a doctor's note was.

my word was not. if my son was sick, I had to take him to the dr. and pay $40 for the dr. to tell me that he had a fever, have him drink fluids and get plenty of rest.

when I was in high school in Illinois (back in the early 70's, private school) my mom used to let me "cut" for opening day at Wrigley field . (see, there was her big mistake...had it been Comiskey...I married a white sox fan). (I got good grades, so she thought it was ok)

one year the school counselor went to the game to "spot" truants. (tough job for him, huh?) I was seen and suspended. my mom had to come to school and she raised holy heck. the Dean said calling in wasn't enough,she should have written a letter ahead of time requesting it, as other parents would do so for a family vacation and it was excused. my mom said I had her permission and it wasn't their business why.

so I guess laws in Illionois have gotten stricter. (maybe cause of my mom!)

[DopeyDame]

Originally Posted by smidgy

my mom said I had her permission and it wasn't their business why.

This seems to be the only logical point of view. So help me the first time someone tries to give me a hard time about when I do and do not take my child out of school.

I'm happy to accept the school's consequences for absence as far as his academic records - if DS misses school for a vacation and he can't make up a test or gets points off for missed class participation, I'm AOK with that. If that means he gets a C instead of a B, that's a risk you take when you miss school. But to have some truancy officer get involved. Nope. That would be the day DS is removed from that school.

[ccgirl]

Originally Posted by DopeyDame

This seems to be the only logical point of view. So help me the first time someone tries to give me a hard time about when I do and do not take my child out of school.
I'm happy to accept the school's consequences for absence as far as his academic records - if DS misses school for a vacation and he can't make up a test or gets points off for missed class participation, I'm AOK with that. If that means he gets a C instead of a B, that's a risk you take when you miss school. But to have some truancy officer get involved. Nope. That would be the day DS is removed from that school.

Bolded mine. See, this is the part I don't get. Parents are given the handbook. So, you know what your child can and can't do before even sending them. By sending your child, you accept all the school's consequences not just the academic ones.

Unfortunately, school funding is tied to attendance. That is what it comes down to. If you have a school that has low attendance, their funding is going to get pulled. Then, the same parents that keep their kids out will complain how they don't have the best books etc.

As the OP of this thread did, know your handbook before sending your child and adhere to it.

[DopeyDame]

Originally Posted by ccgirl

As the OP of this thread did, know your handbook before sending your child and adhere to it.

Oh I did know the handbook before sending my kid to the school he's attending. I did a TOOOOON of research, including their attendance policies. However, we're fortunate in that private schools are an option for us, and one of (among many) reasons we chose his private school is because of their respect for family time and the importance of outside-of-school education.

And if, due to a change in administration or whatever, the school ends up threatening truancy because he misses a few days of school for vacation, we have the ability to put him into a different school.

However, not all families have the ability to pay for private schools or to chose the school their kids go to. Many families have to send their kid to the local public school. So it's not really reasonable to suggest that most parents have some choice in the vacation policy before sending their kid to that school.

[kt_mom]

Originally Posted by DopeyDame

Oh I did know the handbook before sending my kid to the school he's attending. I did a TOOOOON of research, including their attendance policies. However, we're fortunate in that private schools are an option for us, and one of (among many) reasons we chose his private school is because of their respect for family time and the importance of outside-of-school education.

And if, due to a change in administration or whatever, the school ends up threatening truancy because he misses a few days of school for vacation, we have the ability to put him into a different school.

However, not all families have the ability to pay for private schools or to chose the school their kids go to. Many families have to send their kid to the local public school. So it's not really reasonable to suggest that most parents have some choice in the vacation policy before sending their kid to that school.

I agree and was going to say the same thing. We are fortunate that we can send DD to a private school and I think their policy is 15 days a semester. So taking her out for a week in the fall gives us plenty of wiggle room should she get sick or have some other kind of emergency during the year. In fact we could take a vacation in the fall and the spring if we wanted. We often let her miss a day here or there for other things as well. She's always allowed to make up all of her work. Its very common at her school for kids to be out for vacations.

I feel bad for families that live in areas where the policies are so strict and that don't the ability or the options to send their kids elsewhere. I would not be able to handle that. THere is no way I'm paying a $30 copay for a Dr. to tell me what I already know just to appease the school.

[SaraJayne]

Originally Posted by luvmy3

I wouldn't call it militant, but I guess I'd rather have it that way than the lax attendance rules some of the posters here have. While you may be the parent who does actually educate your child on those days you don't want to send her to school, for every one of you, there is another parent who just doesn't bother. Having strict truancy rules helps keep that in check.
If your school policy is everything is excused that is great, but for the ones that don't have that policy, I don't think parents should be trying to excuse a family vacation under the guise of it being for education. It isn't, its a family vacation. The fact that it could be educational has nothing to do with the reason you are taking your child out of school. Like the pp said, you could say that about anything, where do you draw the line?

Actually, the fact we have a pretty lax attendance policy is why people don't take advantage of it, but we're lucky in that our school lets us decide what is right for our families.

[ccgirl]

Originally Posted by DopeyDame

Oh I did know the handbook before sending my kid to the school he's attending. I did a TOOOOON of research, including their attendance policies. However, we're fortunate in that private schools are an option for us, and one of (among many) reasons we chose his private school is because of their respect for family time and the importance of outside-of-school education.

And if, due to a change in administration or whatever, the school ends up threatening truancy because he misses a few days of school for vacation, we have the ability to put him into a different school.

However, not all families have the ability to pay for private schools or to chose the school their kids go to. Many families have to send their kid to the local public school. So it's not really reasonable to suggest that most parents have some choice in the vacation policy before sending their kid to that school.

I hear you. If you do not like the handbook then you try to change it. If you can't you need to live with it. But, a vacation to WDW is not a requirement. If you ( a general you) are breaking the "rules" by going during school you need to accept all the "punishment" that is might bring. School is 180 days a year. That leaves 185 "non-school" days to on vacation.

In the case of the OP, she was not breaking the rules. Quite the opposite. She wrote the letter as requested.

[kt_mom]

Originally Posted by ccgirl

I hear you. If you do not like the handbook then you try to change it. If you can't you need to live with it. But, a vacation to WDW is not a requirement. If you ( a general you) are breaking the "rules" by going during school you need to accept all the "punishment" that is might bring. School is 180 days a year. That leaves 185 "non-school" days to on vacation.

In the case of the OP, she was not breaking the rules. Quite the opposite. She wrote the letter as requested.

I disagree. Often times those rules are not for the benefit of the child but for financial reasons for the districts. I think parents should have the final say in attendance. Yes there are some deadbeat parents out there, but in many areas I would think that's the minority. And some of the policies I've read on here are beyond strict. They leave almost no wiggle room at all for parents to use their own judgement regarding "their" children. I know my daughter and I know that she can handle missing a week of school. I have friends that know the exact opposite about their child and choose not to take time away from school. Thankfully our school allows each of us to make that decision regarding our own children.

[ccgirl]

Originally Posted by kt_mom

I disagree. Often times those rules are not for the benefit of the child but for financial reasons for the districts. I think parents should have the final say in attendance. Yes there are some deadbeat parents out there, but in many areas I would think that's the minority. And some of the policies I've read on here are beyond strict. They leave almost no wiggle room at all for parents to use their own judgement regarding "their" children. I know my daughter and I know that she can handle missing a week of school. I have friends that know the exact opposite about their child and choose not to take time away from school. Thankfully our school allows each of us to make that decision regarding our own children.

My school allows the time away as well. It still doesn't change the fact that public school funding is tied to attendance. What if a parent decides their child is okay to miss 10 days a semester? That could decrease funding for all students. I don't think anyone on here has a school where a child cannot miss 5 days of school.

OP - have a great vacation.

[sk!mom]

Originally Posted by Andrea464

I read this and left and have come back a few times trying to decide what to say and how to word it.
I'm incredibly insulted at your thoughtless and callous words. You have no idea what relationships I have with my childs educators and the leadership at her school and your speculations and assumptions are outrageous. Yeah- it's the internet and you can write whatever you want behind your faceless screen, but come on...

I honestly apologize that I hurt you feelings. I should have worded my post more gently.

However, I stand by the intent of my message which was to make the point that, to me, the note was over the top. I've been to WDW many times and you really stretched the boundaries of believability. I seriously doubt that the note was taken seriously.

But you're correct, I do not know you or your overall relationship with the school.