Excused Absences

[Jack Rabbit Run]

I was just wondering what excuse peaople used to take there kids out of school? And if they were excused absences?
Our kids are in 7th and 3rd grade. Both honor roll and rarely miss.
We'll be going on a 7 day cruise on Sept 8th on the Fantasy. WooHoo!!
Our 1st Disney cruise and we are EXCITED!!!

 

[disney1990]

No excused absences for cruises where we are. You receive a zero for each assignment that you miss and you are not allowed to make up tests or papers. Hope you have better luck where you are.

 

[DisneyMomto3Boys]

My kids are in elementary school, and its a lot more laid back. We plan to be honest w/ the teachers (one of whom is a friend of ours), and while the absence is unexcused, it'll be no problem to make up the work. I personally believe that traveling and family time are both an enriching experience, and an education is more than books and lectures, its about educating the whole self. Sometimes it isn't feasible to take trips strictly during school breaks. There is more at play with family dynamics than the school calendar. My children RARELY miss (I think they missed 1 day last year due to illness), and if I were in a position where they would be penalized for missing for our trip, I am not above bending the truth. I am not suggesting that you or anyone else should bend the truth, that is just what i would do personally.

 

[mhconley]

We've taken our DS out of school for one week vacations every year since he started school. We have done this in both California and Florida. We always give his teacher plenty of notice, and repeated notes until the vacation arrives. His absences have always been unexcused. (no biggie) Every teacher, without exception, has provided assignments ahead of our vacation so he does not fall behind. (He's an A/B student.) We ensure he completes them and turns them in when he returns to school.

My sister and I were also taken out of school every year for family vacations and we turned out pretty good.

IMMHO - family trumps all.

Martin

 

[MinnesotaMouseketeers]

Our sons schools had NO problem with us taking him out of classes up to a week for our vacations. The only rule was; he had to go to each of his teachers two weeks before we left and get them to sign off on a sheet so they knew he would be gone. Only one teacher was upset, the others asked if we could take them along. He received some assignments in advance, some to do while on vacation and some make-up homework when he got home.

We have taken him out up to a week while in grade school and in both October and November they had a week with Thursday and Friday off. So when he was in Jr. and Sr. High we chose one of these weeks to go so he missed only three days. It never had any negative affects on his grades, always on the Honor Roll.

 

[MTmomma]

Holy messy thoughts!
DS school allows vacation time, as they understand that sometimes family time is more important than school time.
The rules are you notify in advance, so that assignments can be given to the child, or alternate assignments can be created (hellooooo studying geography and culture of the country we are visiting reports)
I am in the process of notifying my sons school for our trip in MAY. Yes it may be a bit overkill doing it this far in advance, BUT better early than late. This way, nobody has a nasty surprise later.

 

[quickcat]

It really depends on each school district. Ours is fine with family vacations. The student just has to make up the work when they return. When we took our son out this past January (6th grade) several teachers asked if they could come along!
I am glad we are at a school that allows family vacations. I have read on here several do not.

 

[Ssamara28]

I told them that it would be an enriching cultural experience. I promised that we would read everyday and learn something new. I also paired the time off with extra school days off in October. This is elementary school and the teachers and principal were understanding. We made sure it didn't interfere with any major test. I think it's going to be harder as they move to he higher grade. We had to fill out a request to be out orm, but it was just a formality or I had already talk to the powers that be. We were able to make up the missed work.

 

[Calfan]

We will be taking our DD (5th grade) and DS (3rd grade) out of school for a week in April for our Fantasy cruise. Our school is pretty laid back about absences. This might just be applicable in CA, but if the child is going to be gone for 5 or more days, they can do independent study, and the school still receives its state funding. The school actually prefers that a child be gone for 5 days (so independent study and state funding is an option) than 3 or 4 days (where the school won't get paid). I agree with the PP's who said that travel is educational in its own right. Our kids very rarely miss otherwise, so I don't really feel guilty about it.

 

[mtncruiser]

Our school district in California allows children to do an independent study contract if the child will be out a minimum of 5 days. The teacher gives all the assignments to the child before their absence (we give at least 2 weeks notice) All work must be returned on the first day they return to school. If the contract is completed, the child is not counted as absent and the school still receives their money from the state. You might check to see if this is offered in your school district.

 

[cruisecrasher]

I was just wondering what excuse peaople used to take there kids out of school? And if they were excused absences?
Our kids are in 7th and 3rd grade. Both honor roll and rarely miss.
We'll be going on a 7 day cruise on Sept 8th on the Fantasy. WooHoo!!
Our 1st Disney cruise and we are EXCITED!!!

Private school. We tell the truth and move on from there.

 

[Gina]

We've taken our DS out of school for one week vacations every year since he started school. We have done this in both California and Florida. We always give his teacher plenty of notice, and repeated notes until the vacation arrives. His absences have always been unexcused. (no biggie) Every teacher, without exception, has provided assignments ahead of our vacation so he does not fall behind. (He's an A/B student.) We ensure he completes them and turns them in when he returns to school.

My sister and I were also taken out of school every year for family vacations and we turned out pretty good.

IMMHO - family trumps all.

Martin

This is exactly how it is for DS & I. I have taken him out for at least a week every year, but nothing is ever an excused absence except for illness with a doctor's note. We just tell the teachers ahead of time, do any work they offer beforehand (NOT demanding work beforehand, I consider it a gift if they do) and catch up on what he can when we get back. He knows he needs to go into vacation with a "cushion" of good grades, and so far so good! It has worked for us for 12 years now.

 

[sftnslky]

Every time we have taken our kids out all the days are Un-Excused, but 80% of the time with several weeks notice they will allow them to take their assignments with them to work on. However they are NOT allowed to make up any test or do extra credit. And if your child is striving for perfect attendance they obviously will not earn it. I only mention this last part because a friend of ours daughter had perfect attendance for 9 years in a row, and would rather stick a hot nail in her eye then pull her out .

Not sure about other States/districts but in Northern Ca you are NEVER allowed to pull your child out for ANY reason during Star testing or the High School Exit exam. Our next cruise we literally leave one day after Star testing is over and our Jennah past her CHSEE last year as a Sophomore. Hope this helps.

 

[ttbell]

We've taken our girls out for at least one weeks vacation every year since they started school. They're in 6th grade right now (their school goes K-8) and I just emailed the teachers this week that we will be out for 1.5 weeks this month. The absences are unexcused but I've never had an issue with the teachers or the school. Kids get honor roll so not really worried about it. I'm not sure if high school will be different?? We'll cross that bridge when we get to it.

 

[GatorMomInNC]

We live in Wake County, NC and are fortunate to have year round schools. Instead of being off in the summer, we are out school for a total of 12 weeks in September, December, March and June (different kids get different months off throughout the year). My kids "track out" from September 12 to Oct 1, and September 16 we are going on a weeklong California Pixar Cruise on the Wonder.

But because of this, I am hesitant to have them miss much school, since we should be able to work vacations around this schedule (and save quite a bit of money traveling off-season). Our local policy is 10 unexcused absences per year, after that??? I think you get a stern warning to improve.

Anyway, I wish school districts nationwide would adopt year round schools. You save money because you utilize the school the entire year and therefore can accommodate 30% more students, meaning you build less schools and save taxpayer dollars. And families who like to travel save on vacations.

 

[Silverfox97]

We live in Wake County, NC and are fortunate to have year round schools. Instead of being off in the summer, we are out school for a total of 12 weeks in September, December, March and June (different kids get different months off throughout the year). My kids "track out" from September 12 to Oct 1, and September 16 we are going on a weeklong California Pixar Cruise on the Wonder.

But because of this, I am hesitant to have them miss much school, since we should be able to work vacations around this schedule (and save quite a bit of money traveling off-season). Our local policy is 10 unexcused absences per year, after that??? I think you get a stern warning to improve.

Anyway, I wish school districts nationwide would adopt year round schools. You save money because you utilize the school the entire year and therefore can accommodate 30% more students, meaning you build less schools and save taxpayer dollars. And families who like to travel save on vacations.

I would absolutely ADORE that year-round school around here & I think DD would also!!! You are so lucky!!!

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

 

[kpaulson]

Before I even thought real hard about booking this cruise I called my daughter's school (she was in pre-k at the time) and told them I was planning a cruise for this September, and I was informed that as long as we notify them ahead of time that it is perfectly fine (and excused) as the school district allows for family vacations.

 

[jjgarv]

I would absolutely ADORE that year-round school around here & I think DD would also!!! You are so lucky!!!

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

Yep...research shows that year-round school is best for students' learning, and I think my DD would do well with it. However, as a public school employee, I enjoy having the extended break over the summer to just be 'mom' to her. That is actually one of the things I like best about our Disney cruises...a week to just enjoy the family with no 'regular responsibilities' (other than putting sunscreen on the kid!).

 

[su_A_ve]

I would take a cruise or WDW vacation over perfect attendance ANY TIME.

 

[DisneyMomto3Boys]

I would take a cruise or WDW vacation over perfect attendance ANY TIME.