Experience on taking kids out of school to go to WDW??

[ICF]

DS is now 7yrs and will be entering 2nd grade this year. In Kindergarten, we took him in October to go on his very first trip to Disney!!

. But, next Spetember in 2010, we're supposed to be going. I personally am having a hard time pulling him out..since he'll only been have started school about a month before that. But, I'm sure he'll do just fine. My son has been on academic honors since he's started school

Do most schools put kids in K or 1st grade on academic honors???!?! Never-ever heard of anything like that. No offense to the poster I quoted, but really, what does that mean in K or 1st grade...they can count to 100 really well, tie their shoes and read all their sight words???

Our kids our in the top one or 2 school disticts in the state and at the elementary grade level (K-4) where they both are in, there is no such thing as 'academic honors'.

 

[ICF]

I think the school system forgets it is funded by the parents and there to serve the parents. As pp said, it operates like a prison camp.

silly me, I thought the school system was there to educate the children???

It is also "funded" by thousands of people without kids in school who also pay taxes in that city / county.

 

[webprinter]

We took DD out of school for one to two weeks almost every year. I met with resistance from her high school principal her Jr and Sr year when we lived in MS. When we lived in WA, (all the other years), I met with no resistance at all. We requested all homework in advance, (some we received and some we didn't). DD graduated from High School last May with a 3.6 gpa and a full scholarship to college. I don't think it affected her adversley. Maybe if she hadn't been a good student it would have. I don't honestly know, but it worked for us.

 

[monkeybug]

I think the school system forgets it is funded by the parents and there to serve the parents. As pp said, it operates like a prison camp.

I don't know when you went to school, but now they have much more money and staff than when I went. My whole class could read at the end of first grade compared to less than 50% now. As an adult, we lived in one of the better districts in another state and they felt graduating children were prepared for the world if they could read and add at the third grade level. I heard this both from teachers and a board member over several years' time. Private schools in the area had better success rates for as low as 1/4 the tuition rate as public schools get in per pupil expenditures, so blaming failure on the money issue is no good.
If that is all they hope for, I think a kid could miss a couple weeks a month and the only impact would be that the school district has lost federal funds from the lower attendance.
Here in TN my husband just hired someone to relocate here. The guy's wife is now against the move because she researched and found our state ranks in the bottom 5 for education--not a surprise to anyone here.
I have many friends who teach and am not slamming teachers--the education system has become a beaurocracy that has lost its focus and our children and the teachers are both suffering.
I commend the teachers who care and help a child get caught up. I think it ridiculous that schools interfere with family vacations because they are losing federal funds on absent kids--that is not what education should be about.

When ever I read posts like this I just feel really lucky! I had amazing teachers and schools growing up, and now that my daughter is in school we have the same experience!
Her kindergarten class planted a garden, attended plays, went to the White house, participated in the science fair, and goes to both art and music. She had 16 kids in her class and 1 teacher and one full time teachers helper. The principle knows all the kids by name, the older kids help in the younger kids classes, working on big projects together, and most of the parents seem very active in school activities. My husband and I adore the school and the teachers!!! I can't imagine how the private schools could be much better. I am always shocked when I read about how awful schools are these days, but I guess I have just been very fortunate to never experience it first hand!

 

[chipndales]

I've taken my daughter out for the past three years, all in Sept/Oct/or November and for about a week. I've never met with any school resistance and was petrified I would as I've read horror stories here on the DISboards. It's not the case here in our district in NY, so I would guess it would depend on your district how they would handle the unexcused absence.

I inform my daughters teacher (in 4th and 5th, this year I informed not only her teachers since she started 6th/middle school but also her guidance counselor) and made sure that they sent work along for her to do. In fourth grade, her teacher had her email him with random things she learned and shared her emails with the class which I thought was great. This past November when we went, she did have a lot more to make up and had to do so for a week or two when she got back. But she's an honor student and I felt it wouldn't be detrimental to her studies. She had no real problems any of the years.

In high school, however, things do change here in our district and unexcused absences are not only frowned upon, but the work is nearly impossible to catch up on. So I have two more years to enjoy this then we're probably done with light crowds at Disney for four years!

 

[jenn-]

I could be wrong, but I was under the impression that truancy laws (which I am all for!) were put in place more because of kids who skipped school due to lack of parental supervision, and not so much for kids who were going to miss a week for a family vacation. I don't think most judges would have a problem with the latter, but like I said I could be wrong about that.

This is the main cause for truancy laws, but they will still be dragging the parents to court if they miss 7 days here. The judge will more than likely rule in favor of the parents in the case of a trip, but you can't always be sure.

 

[Toad_Passenger]

When ever I read posts like this I just feel really lucky! I had amazing teachers and schools growing up, and now that my daughter is in school we have the same experience!
Her kindergarten class planted a garden, attended plays, went to the White house, participated in the science fair, and goes to both art and music. She had 16 kids in her class and 1 teacher and one full time teachers helper. The principle knows all the kids by name, the older kids help in the younger kids classes, working on big projects together, and most of the parents seem very active in school activities. My husband and I adore the school and the teachers!!! I can't imagine how the private schools could be much better. I am always shocked when I read about how awful schools are these days, but I guess I have just been very fortunate to never experience it first hand!

You are very lucky! My experience growing up was very similar. I now live in the same School District and things have changed for the worse. Each year they seem to cut back more and more on activities, yet somehow find a reason to strike every few years. The latest round of strikes in our District and surrounding districts is pushing some teachers' salaries towards six figures! Unfortunately it doesn't seem to correlate to the job some of the teachers do. While we have some A+ Awesome teachers, we have plenty who use their union to steal money!

It is very interesting, though, to hear how some of these districts treat community members who want to take family vacations. I would think the school would want to be a supporter of family time, since they are basically spending more time with the children than some parents!

 

[herodrx1]

While I agree that the school is a business and one must follow the rules set forth by that business, I don't not agree with "blind" rules. I do not think that my family taking a vacation is on the same level as sitting at home watching TV.

I also agree with the poster that asked how my vacation is different than a sports player taking off a week for a weeks worth of games.

If my children make-up any work missed and even offer to complete it before hand and also offer to do extra work (journals, reports) why should they be punished?

Needless to say, we have taken our children out multiple times, recieved the truent letter, and now are going to homeschool.

 

[baby1disney]

Do most schools put kids in K or 1st grade on academic honors???!?! Never-ever heard of anything like that. No offense to the poster I quoted, but really, what does that mean in K or 1st grade...they can count to 100 really well, tie their shoes and read all their sight words???

Our kids our in the top one or 2 school disticts in the state and at the elementary grade level (K-4) where they both are in, there is no such thing as 'academic honors'.

Um....yeah...that's it. My son is soooo good at counting to 100 that he gets A's in every subject!!!NO!!! My son goes to a public charter school and they really stress on education. And FYI, his subjects last year included makin a couple of posters along with a paper about certain subjects, participating in certain class excerises, etc. Along with homework EVERY single night and getting graded in phys ed, math, reading, spelling, and science and any other subject they had last year. His average was about 92% or better....and yes they gave him As and Bs...not smiley faces!!!!

 

[wdw&sonny]

First, let be clear on where I stand. A week at WDW is of greater value to a family than is any one week in school...if that's the only time you can afford to go.

We took our kids out for 1 day at the start of the 3rd quarter (6th and 8th grade) and still spent several days before and after making up work.

It's sooo hard to miss even a day of school...too much work to make up. It's ridiculous. I've been preaching to anyone who would listen that less (or no) homework would solve the economical situation.

Instead of spending EVERY night working on homework, projects, book reports, standardized testing, etc. we could be going to a movie, out for icecream or just playing a game. Homework destroys families.

If the president really wanted to make an impact, he would insist school districts provide a week break in between each quarter and those breaks would be shifted throughout the nation. Then, we would all have 3 weeks of opportunity to take our kids to WDW in addition to summer break.

OK, it's flawed and childish logic, but darn I want to go to Disney in winter when it's cheap...and I can't b/c of school (Yes, I am a grown up).

 

[monkeybug]

First, let be clear on where I stand. A week at WDW is of greater value to a family than is any one week in school...if that's the only time you can afford to go.

We took our kids out for 1 day at the start of the 3rd quarter (6th and 8th grade) and still spent several days before and after making up work.

It's sooo hard to miss even a day of school...too much work to make up. It's ridiculous. I've been preaching to anyone who would listen that less (or no) homework would solve the economical situation.

Instead of spending EVERY night working on homework, projects, book reports, standardized testing, etc. we could be going to a movie, out for icecream or just playing a game. Homework destroys families.

If the president really wanted to make an impact, he would insist school districts provide a week break in between each quarter and those breaks would be shifted throughout the nation. Then, we would all have 3 weeks of opportunity to take our kids to WDW in addition to summer break.

OK, it's flawed and childish logic, but darn I want to go to Disney in winter when it's cheap...and I can't b/c of school (Yes, I am a grown up).

LOL! Maybe Disney can add an incentive where one of the seven dwarfs will do homework for you for an additional fee! Or maybe it go in tiers with stitch being at the bottom and Merlin at the top and the price going up with each tier (and possibly your grade as well)

 

[Ktharee]

Am I the only one who is sick and tired of threads like these? The OP simply asked what was your school's reaction, not am I right or wrong. Just take your kids on vacation when it is the best time for you and your family. Case closed. Nobody is going to prison and a few missed days is not going to cause a child to be left back. And those teachers that say "what if WE took vacation..." please already. You knew what you were getting into with the job and you get more vacation days throughout the year than any other profession. There is a Yin and Yang to everything.

OP, our school marks the days as unexcused absences. Last year we went to Las Vegas for our wedding vow renewal and then to California for my brother's 40th B-day. This caused my daughter to miss 4 days of school. Her teacher was kind enough to give us some work to do that could be completed on vacation or after.

 

[kaytieeldr]

The only thing about this whole post that bugs me is the tone. The whole "the school district can kiss my butt" concept. This is a place where you put your child for thousands of hours a year -- these people teach and train and nurture and prepare your child for the world. Now, maybe they don't do it exactly the way you want them to, but they do it. On less money than they need and with fewer people than they should have. But they should kiss your butt because they have vacation guidelines?

We put all of these requirements on our school systems -- keep my kids safe, teach my kids, give them discipline, let them be creative, prepare them for college, teach them to work as a team, and on and on. And if they don't come through, boy are we quick to criticize. But should the school say something silly like, "It's so much easier to teach your children if they're actually here, so we'd like you to limit vacations during the school year" and all of a sudden they're the bad guys.

I get the concept of "they're my kids, so it's my decision." But I think it's unrealistic to expect the school system to not weigh in. The school system is simply telling people what the rules are. They're not saying "You absolutely cannot go", they're saying "If you go, these are the ramifications." For some systems, it means zeroes on work and an unexcused absence. For others, it means doing make-up work or keeping a journal. But no school should be scorned for simply having a policy.

Wow. Just. Wow. I virtually never quote entire posts, but this one is worth repeating. And bookmarking. Very well-said, WDSearcher!

 

[kaytieeldr]

my Ma and Pa toke me outta skool a week fer Disnet every yeer an i turnned out allrite

Of course you did...

 

[teach22180]

In our school district, you are only allowed a certain number of excused absences and you need to work with the teachers. My children's teachers were very good about giving them assignments ahead of time, but they lost the classroom interaction and learning which was extremely difficult to make up. It was necessary for them to get notes from their peers and depending on how well that classmate did on taking notes that day impacted testing.

I appreciate that you understand there is more to education than worksheets and tests! Much of what a student misses cannot be "made up" after school or during recess. I'm not against family vacations, but I do think folks need to understand that there is a cost for everything.

Am I the only one who is sick and tired of threads like these? The OP simply asked what was your school's reaction, not am I right or wrong. Just take your kids on vacation when it is the best time for you and your family. Case closed. Nobody is going to prison and a few missed days is not going to cause a child to be left back. And those teachers that say "what if WE took vacation..." please already. You knew what you were getting into with the job and you get more vacation days throughout the year than any other profession. There is a Yin and Yang to everything.

Yeah, I don't know why I answer these threads each time; I should just learn not to read them!
I am NOT complaining about not having vacation time; I was responding to someone who said their teachers went on vacation. At least here in my district, there is no such thing. Yes, I'm currently not working because my job (which I love and have for 21 years) is from late August until late June. Sorry, summer is not a vacation, just not a time I'm being paid to work. Personally, I'd love to work in a school which was 9 weeks on, one week off, but with the budget cuts, all those schools are back to regular schedules now.

 

[kaytieeldr]

but i don't see any decent teacher adjusting their schedule for you, so try to get the work ahead of time as much as possible

Respectfully, expecting the work ahead of time IS often expecting the teacher to adjust their schedule for you.

I think more of these responses are mean to the teachers than to the parents.

Especially given that (a) it's not the teachers who set the policy and (b) parents who disagree with their childrens' schools' policies need to work to change the policies.

I think the school system forgets it is funded by the parents and there to serve the parents. As pp said, it operates like a prison camp.

I think some parents forget that the school system is funded by ALL the taxpayers. I also think comparing any school policy to a prison camp is excessive hyperbole. No, that's not redundant. It IS excessive.

I don't know when you went to school, but now they have much more money and staff than when I went. My whole class could read at the end of first grade compared to less than 50% now.

Then neither the money nor the staff is being used effectively - but that's not the topic.

And those teachers that say "what if WE took vacation..." please already. You knew what you were getting into with the job and you get more vacation days throughout the year than any other profession.

Conversely, parents knew what they were getting their kids into by sending them to public schools with specific policies with which the parents don't agree or which don't fit into the parents' plans; and students get teh same vacation days through the year that teachers do. More, really, when parents take students out of school for family trips.

 

[NYDisneyKid]

just home school them....

 

[ShannonMB]

I have no opinion on whether it's right or wrong to take the kidlets out of school for a Disney trip. That said, I have done it the last 2 years (1st and 2nd grade), and will do it again this year in Nov. So far we've had no problems. In fact, Lily's 2nd grade teacher is a Disney freak herself and told her not to be bothered worrying about homework while at DISNEY. Lily brought her back a little Mickey statue, and the teacher kept it on her desk for the rest of the year.

 

[kellyg403]

OP, we have taken our children out of school several years up until about middle school. After that we routinely try to take vacations when they miss very little. We are a blended family and the kids have summer with their other parents and every other holiday. With DH/my work schedules along with others we have difficulty finding the 'perfect' time to go on a family trip. But we make due. Just know that it is possible as they move on to middle school that they will miss something that will be important that is not in the books or a handout. Class discussion that covers things, an exercise etc. Our dd's who are a senior this year and the other a jr probably will not go with us when we go in Dec even though they will miss only two days. They don't want to miss anything nor do they want the unexcused absences. They get to opt out of some exams for an A grade and no unexcused absences. I understand. I also understand this is the year they go to their other parent for Christmas and Spring Break..and with our vacations schedules at work...this is it for this year.

If you feel comfortable, the school is comfortable etc. I say do what is best for you and yours. Family time is very important.

Kelly

 

[Anglefan]

Of course you did...

I think the humor there went way over your head.

Personally, I would not favor taking kids out of school for a vacation. It's a bad message to send. When I was in school, parents who did this seemed to be kind of the hillbilly type. I'm sure each parent here who does this knows their child and is taking their best interests into account before deciding to pull their kids out of school. It's just not something that would be an option for my family.