Kids and missing school?

[ekatiel]

Originally Posted by kriswin1

In Texas, you get sent a formal letter to meet with a judge and you will be fined. It brings a criminal record. Another reason i Homeschool...

Originally Posted by JodyTG

We homeschool our son as well. We also live in Texas and a judge gave our neighbors the choice of who spent the night in jail. The mom did, (husband made more money) lost her job and now home schools all 3 of their kids.

I live in Texas, and we have pulled DS out for several years now. We get a nasti-gram from the district saying that they can prosecute, but they never do. What district did this occur in?? --Katie

[KBT35]

My DS is 10, the only thing I pay attention to is his testing schedule for standardized tests. I have done well to book 2wks prior to schools here (Bama RTR) letting out for summer. Our NYE cruise will of course be during their winter break. I don't ask for permission from the school, I request the extended absentee form and fill it out earlier (as soon as I've booked), his absence for the week is completely excused. His teachers have only asked that he have fun, take lots of pics and journal his experience for himself and maybe to share if he'd like with the class! Our school district is very supportive of family time! Tonight was declared a homework free night due to the big game! And we never have homework on Wednesday's because it's when most families attend Bible study! Gotta love the Deep South! Where Football & God reign supreme!

[breakingd_awn]

We live in a little BFE town in Ohio, and our principal is great.Rogan has had trouble with her tonsils since kindergarten. She has missed 2 weeks of school every year since then(now in the 4th grade) because of sickness...she would just catch everything, plus we go on vacation for a week every year, That's 3 weeks of school shes missed every year since kindergarten. BUT, she's a straight A student even though she misses that much school. I've asked the principal if he thinks it's ok, he feels it's important for ALL children to experience travel and going to different places in the world.(She did finally get her tonsills and adenoids? removed and hasn't been sick since then.) . Some children just seem to have a hard time in school by no fault of their own, it just happens sometimes. I don't think they should be punished by not going on vacation if their lucky enough to go. I would take them anyway. It's a good memory,that last's a lifetime.I myself would go to jail to let them experiece different cultures and experiences. I think it's sad that some parent have to do that though.

[OrcaPotter]

Teacher weighing in here.

I teach middle school, which honestly, is the gateway to high school. Especially once kids hit 8th grade, expectations and workloads are higher. In my district, a student has to be absent 10 consecutive days before being reported to the social worker.

In November, I had a student warn me he would be out for 3 weeks while his family visited Mexico. I warned him that he was responsible for making up the work. He never did, and was only mildly concerned that he failed the class as result. My school does not make exceptions for extended vacations like that, so his absences were recorded as unexcused.

I urge any parent, regardless of their child's grade, to evaluate the maturity level and academic level of their child before making a decision to take them out of school for an extended period. At least as far as the teachers are concerned, likely they won't give grief as long as the child makes up the work. Because at my school, it is my responsibility to make sure that an absent child makes up the work. If the child elects not to do it, then it's my fault and I am penalized. It's unfair to the child to double their workload, but it triples my workload when I have to go out of my way to accommodate a student who took a vacation outside of break. The teacher part of the equation is easily forgotten when this topic pops every month on these boards. All these teachers who just wave and say "have fun" certainly do not work at my school. I'll wave, but I'll also say, "make up your work!"

[3princessMommy]

My kids will miss 4 days around spring break - we hadn't intended it, but the airfare for our family of 6 was literally $3000 cheaper!

But rest assured each of those kids will be making up ALL missed schoolwork!

Wish they would give us stuff to take with us, but they'll manage when we get back. Since DD11 will start Middle School next year, this will likely be the last year we will be able to do this.

[goofyintoronto]

Originally Posted by kriswin1

In Texas, you get sent a formal letter to meet with a judge and you will be fined. It brings a criminal record. Another reason i Homeschool...

That's CRAZY!!!!!!! WOW. Here in Toronto there are no penalties at all. Kids can miss as many days as they want. I don't know if private schools are any different thou. Im talking about catholic and public schools.

[jbshell]

I do not think our school will have any issues... I was just wondering.. What others thought..thanks

[Lreip]

S

[Lreip]

Whoops don't know what happened there lol. But for me it's been easier to just take off the first few days from the start of the school year. He's still in elementary school so it's not a biggie. But when he hits MS I'm going to need to get creative lol

[newmommie77]

I am taking my dd out for Europe for 5 days the last day of school. She is MY daughter and as HER parent I will do what is in her best interest. Going to Europe and receiving a first hand history lesson is so much better than the educational experience for the last week of school.

And as an aside. My mom always let me stay home when I wanted. It was never crazy or anything, but I did stay home on occasion. She always said family and yourself is more important than a required school day. Guess what? I went on to participate in 10 years past high school, residency,and then Army, so those absences did not affect me in a negative manner. I remember thise days with my mom, when i was "sick". Way more memorable than a forgettable school day. I love that when I drop my dd off and am asked for a doctors note, i stand there and write one. The look on their faces is priceless.


Point is school attendance is not related to school success. Family participation is!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[gemxoxo]

our school district is pretty awesome, my kids get 10 excused vacation days per school year. thank goodness for me because I am a heat & crowd wimp and our trips are always during the school year. their teachers have always given us their missed work ahead of time which is great and we work on it while on vacation

[FEmpire]

Originally Posted by Magic3forme

in GA it is crazy!!! The teachers themselves had no problems at all... it is the school district itself.
our kids are allowed 10 days sick every year...
well around the 7th sick day you get a letter stating they are going to turn you into CPS. and every absence after that you get the letter.
I said bring it on. ( our district gets money based on attendance.)
Needless to say CPS never showed up at our house.

Which district in GA? My DD starts in Gwinnett Co. for fall 2013.

[BeccaBelle]

Here in KY, I have never heard of it being a major issue, at least at the elem. level. There is actually a form that parents can fill out that shows the educational impact the trip can have, with a part where students can write a report about what they learned (A great idea I think) However here, as a teacher, it is frowned upon to take off for a personal vacation which I can understand considering we have a week off for fall break, week off for spring break and the entire summer off. Unfortunately, it is hard to find decent prices during these times so I rarely get discounted prices when traveling!

[sjlnv]

My son missed school last year for the cruise and the school wasn't upset. We actually brought a letter about why he missed school, and what he learned. We made it funny, starting out We as a group as you to excuse the days missed during (the time we were gone)...
He will learn... Time management waiting in the lines at Disney, How the ocean looks up close and 10 stories high on the cruise ship.. We went on with things that we thought were great in the letter. Then we got Mickey to sign 3 copies of it and gave it to the teacher, principal and counselor! They all loved it.
I'm going to take him out again this year, but haven't informed them. He has missed a lot of school, but they are all medical excuses, so this will be the only time that isn't medical... but we need it!

[jbshell]

Originally Posted by newmommie77

I am taking my dd out for Europe for 5 days the last day of school. She is MY daughter and as HER parent I will do what is in her best interest. Going to Europe and receiving a first hand history lesson is so much better than the educational experience for the last week of school.

And as an aside. My mom always let me stay home when I wanted. It was never crazy or anything, but I did stay home on occasion. She always said family and yourself is more important than a required school day. Guess what? I went on to participate in 10 years past high school, residency,and then Army, so those absences did not affect me in a negative manner. I remember thise days with my mom, when i was "sick". Way more memorable than a forgettable school day. I love that when I drop my dd off and am asked for a doctors note, i stand there and write one. The look on their faces is priceless.

Point is school attendance is not related to school success. Family participation is!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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