My kids told their teachers today they were going to disney

[caseyd66]

'I'm going to take a wild guess, and say the PP is likely Canadian, and possibly from Ontario (with a daughter in Queens).'

Yes, we are from ontario. And you are correct about ontario school funding not being tied to funding. I also think that our absence of standardized testing (aside from the dreaded EQAO in grade 3 & 6 - which you can choose to have your child not participate) makes it easier for our kids to miss school for family trips, sports etc. My12 year old grade 8 dd is a provincial level gymnast who trains 16 hours a week and misses school every Thursday afternoon. It's never an issue with the school (mind you, she is also a very dedicated and responsible student) She is in fact more worried about missing training for a week to go to Disney than she is about missing school (her coach told her not to worry as well as her teacher

 

[Julia Says]

My kids will be missing the 5th week of school, and we let their teachers know as soon as school started (our district has a form you have to fill out). I told YDS's teacher before school started, she was very supportive, which I expected- YDS has autism and she was his teacher last year. I told her when she came to watch him play basketball over the summer. I did get a call from the vice-principal reminding me of the truancy laws (and that these absences would be unexcused), but not in any way discouraging us from taking the trip.

When we saw ODS's class assignment, we were very worried- another mom told me she had the reputation of the meanest teacher in school. I emailed her on the 2nd day of school, explained why we had chosen this time, pointed out that DS had only missed one day of school the previous year, that I knew the truancy laws, etc.

She emailed me back within a couple of hours, and I was almost in tears because she was so kind and understanding. It turns out she also has a child with special needs. I had told her it was a surprise trip, and she is helping keep it quiet, and let his other teachers know not to spoil it.

Our district is really enforcing truancy laws. 10 or more unexcused absences or tardies and you go to court. Period. My kids will have 5 UA for this trip. Neither of them has ever had an UA or ever been tardy, so I'm not really worried.

ETA: My kids are in 2nd and 4th grades.

 

[Wiloughby1]

I told my son's kindergarten teacher during orientation that he was missing the days and we would do whatever they wanted us to do- and the response? Don't worry! It's kindergarten!

I am so thankful for private school right now. Another parent said she got the exact same response from her son's 3rd grade teacher, for 5 days instead of 3 like us!

It's really hard when schools are under a lot of pressure to make test score progress. As an educator, I wish all other educators could be able to talk to parents and realistically say when vacation will have positive (most cases) and negative impacts on student success.

Have a great time!

 

[jwmoss]

The teachers in our district have so far been fine with it and excited for us. December will be the 3rd year we have taken our kids out for a week for a Disney vacation.
Our school district policy has changed this year and we were notified at orientation that this year, if a student has 3 unexcused absences, we can expect a county deputy to come interview us for possible truancy charges.
At the elementary level, I find this offensive and stupid. I also find it irrelevant because we will still be going!!!

 

[tzeitel]

My kids will be missing the 5th week of school, and we let their teachers know as soon as school started (our district has a form you have to fill out). I told YDS's teacher before school started, she was very supportive, which I expected- YDS has autism and she was his teacher last year. I told her when she came to watch him play basketball over the summer. I did get a call from the vice-principal reminding me of the truancy laws (and that these absences would be unexcused), but not in any way discouraging us from taking the trip.

When we saw ODS's class assignment, we were very worried- another mom told me she had the reputation of the meanest teacher in school. I emailed her on the 2nd day of school, explained why we had chosen this time, pointed out that DS had only missed one day of school the previous year, that I knew the truancy laws, etc.

She emailed me back within a couple of hours, and I was almost in tears because she was so kind and understanding. It turns out she also has a child with special needs. I had told her it was a surprise trip, and she is helping keep it quiet, and let his other teachers know not to spoil it.

Our district is really enforcing truancy laws. 10 or more unexcused absences or tardies and you go to court. Period. My kids will have 5 UA for this trip. Neither of them has ever had an UA or ever been tardy, so I'm not really worried.

ETA: My kids are in 2nd and 4th grades.

DD is also in the spectrum and her teachers notice a difference whenever we come back from vacation - she's actually more communicative (she is non verbal) and social after a trip Her teachers always make a big deal and use our trips to teach her new things.

 

[MrsDuck]

As a teacher, I think it's exciting when a kiddo gets to go on vacation! Like a PP said, the only time when I have a problem with it is if there are other issues (tons of unexcused absences, the student cannot handle all the makeup work, etc).

Enjoy your trip!

 

[Iamajoy79]

We pulled our DD out of school (1st grade) last year in November. I thought it wasn't a big deal since it was during election day and veteran's day. Unfortunately, she came down with Pneumonia a few weeks before our trip and missed 2 full weeks of school. We weren't canceling our trip since we were already within the 45 day window and we were visiting the area to attend a family wedding. Her teacher was not happy about us taking her out the week after she had just come back to school. We took all of her homework to Disney with us and made her read as much as possible during the trip. In the end, she caught up with her class and was fine. You'd think I wouldn't do it again this year, but we plan on pulling her out for our next trip in April....fingers crossed she doesn't have any illnesses.

 

[pigletto]

We have made several trips over the year during school with no problems (I thought). This year our girls are in 10th and 12 th grade. I told them that I had booked a trip for the first week of October back before school started (2nd week of August). THey started making noises about missing days. Come to find out, when we wen back in December they missed two days and it was very hard to get caught up, especially for older daughter with honors and AP. This time they both have honors and AP Lit classes, my senior's class is worse than either of my college Lit classes were. This time DH andI are going alone while they stay here and stay caught up. Factor in to that the fact that they both march (older is section leader) and now I discover that this is a week before marching festival! It really does get harder as they get further along in school, enjoy these trips while you can!

Agree. We have successfully removed our kids from school for a few trips with no problems or repercussions as they are both good students and their teachers had no problems with it. Then High School came for dd and she was struggling with math and it's no longer a possibility because we are literally spending an hour or two a NIGHT with her, on top of her daily school instruction, to keep her caught up and maintaining a B in the class. Now we can't go in a semester if it is loaded with her heavier subjects. We are playing it by ear for February but that is the semester with her two best subjects and gym and art so it will be less of an issue.
My son on the other hand missed the first two weeks of second grade because his appendix ruptured and he was in the hospital on I.V. therapy. He caught up completely in less than 4 days.
It's so dependant on the situation, the student, the school policy and the workload.

My kids are also in Ontario schools and like a pp mentioned, our funding isn't tied to a body in a seat so it makes a big difference in the reaction I see others get from their schools.

FWIW we grew up travelling and I also have one sister with a degree from Queens, a brother in med school, and two others working on their degrees with success so it's not the end of the world to miss time. It's all going to come down to each persons personal situation.

Like I said, we are now at a point with dd where it is not as easy as before and we have adjusted accordingly.
This may limit us to school vacations only. That will be fine, but they won't be at Disney. I can't justify March Break or Christmas costs and crowds for Disney. However that doesn't stop us from a cruise or an island or a summer trip to the mountains. We just have to be more flexible these days

 

[Luckymomoftwo]

I LOVE THIS THREAD!!! We are taking the kids (7th grade ans 3rd grade) to WDW in October. They will miss a full week of school. Our school district threatens to turn us over to the prosecuting attorney if our kids miss more than 5 days of school in a school year. I think as long as they are not habitual absences and the kids are not struggling with their grades, it should be of no concern to the prosecutors office that I take my kids out of school. Both of my kids have all A's & B's right now, so I'm not too worried.

It is refreshing to read the teachers comments on here, and finding out that most teachers aren't so opposed to vacations during school. After all, it's the teachers that the parents and students have most contact with rather than the school administrators.

 

[caseyd66]

I agree with you. We have been taking our kids out of school every year since my oldest was in SK (he is now in the 10th grade) to go to Disney and their teachers have been great about it. My sister lives in Florida and has to be very careful about how many days of school her kids miss.
To the parent who's daughter goes to Queen's - do you live near Kingston? We live about 45 minutes from there.

Yes, we live in Brighton, ontario about an hour from Kingston! Kingston is a great town & my daughter lives Queens! We drive the 3 hours to Syracuse as it's so much cheaper to fly from the states vs Toronto (dang taxes!)

 

[FairydustyPrincesses]

I'm not sure why people get so nervous about teachers reactions to family vacations. They're YOUR children! You can take them places, please stop making other people feel like they have some kind of rights over your kids - its an unhealthy balance of power we give government and other forces over our kids.

Besides people always took kids out when I was in school I'm only 30 so not too ancient and I never recall it being a big deal until only recently.

 

[rcraw45425]

I'm not sure why people get so nervous about teachers reactions to family vacations. They're YOUR children! You can take them places, please stop making other people feel like they have some kind of rights over your kids - its an unhealthy balance of power we give government and other forces over our kids.

Besides people always took kids out when I was in school I'm only 30 so not too ancient and I never recall it being a big deal until only recently.

Unfortunately now the public school systems make a really big deal of it. Hear in our district in GA they only allow a certain number of absences a semester, not for the year. now yo ualmost feel compelled to lie and have them be sick in order for make up work to be allowed. And, as others have stated, it's all about the $$$

 

[katt789]

Ah! How awesome, I'm glad they're understanding. I get it when it's not okay to miss school, but if your kids are never/rarely sick, don't miss for another reason, and are making good grades (or in school young enough it's really okay) I don't see the problem! haha

 

[Queen2PrincessG]

Unfortunately now the public school systems make a really big deal of it. Hear in our district in GA they only allow a certain number of absences a semester, not for the year. now yo ualmost feel compelled to lie and have them be sick in order for make up work to be allowed. And, as others have stated, it's all about the $$$

I think that could be said for both parties. For the schools it's about money because they are held accountable, at least here, for students test scores, low scores=less money to run school= good teachers who don't want to be underpaid.

For parents who take their kids out, its all about them wanting to save money, not be in the hot weather, less crowds.

I always find it funny when parents come to the boards to boast about taking their kids out of school. It's not something to boast about. If the teacher doesn't have a problem with it, i would question the teacher and what they are learning.

BUT it is your kid, so you CAN do whatever you want.

 

[punn]

We take our kids out every other year for Disney and they miss about 7 days of school. This year we go Sept 13-21. At our school you fill out a vacation request form 1 week prior to leaving and the teachers give assigned work to them before leaving. I have 5 children and have never had a problem with the schools or my children catching up. My oldest just graduated college and will be on his honemoon while we are in Disney this year. He loved going on family vacations during the school year. My second child is a junior. He is dual enrolled (college 1/2 day high school 1/2 day) and neither his college professors nor his high school teachers (4 ap courses) had a problem us going on a family vacation. My 3 younger boys (3rd and preschool) teachers all told them to bring back something Disney for the class.

I really think you have to consider the child. If they are willing to put the time in to stay caught up (and the parents help that to happen) then i don't see the problem taking any vacation during the year but if you have a child that is struggling in any way then of course that has to be considered. In our school we are very fortunate our teachers all offer before and after school tutoring 3 days a week to help the students if they have any difficulty in classes and for make up tests.

 

[Cyrano]

When will you people learn if you have a problem with the thread subject stay away. Those who would discourage folk for raising this legitimate topic stop it now. Comparing education systems and achievements across the world stop I now. Understood

 

[LisaTC]

I told my son's kindergarten teacher during orientation that he was missing the days and we would do whatever they wanted us to do- and the response? Don't worry! It's kindergarten!

I am so thankful for private school right now. Another parent said she got the exact same response from her son's 3rd grade teacher, for 5 days instead of 3 like us!

It's really hard when schools are under a lot of pressure to make test score progress. As an educator, I wish all other educators could be able to talk to parents and realistically say when vacation will have positive (most cases) and negative impacts on student success.

Have a great time!

Same here...so grateful for private school right now, too. Not that I don't have the utmost appreciation for public school teachers (half my family are teachers) but public schools have a difficult set of rules at times. I digress...

Her school 'requests' that students don't vacation mid-term. I took her out last year (2nd grade) for a week and the term ended the day before & the week we were gone was p/t conf prep week. It was a good choice. This year, when we decided (on 9/1) to go in Dec because they extended dining a week, I immediately emailed her teacher and asked her if there would be any tests, etc the 3 days I wanted to pull her out. They are the 3 days prior to Christmas break. She told me that was probably THE best time to pull her out. The day before will be filled with Chapel, Holiday party and review. She told me if there was any tests she could take it the Friday before she left. She was so tickled for her. I promised I wouldn't tell her we were going as to not distract her for her school work. Both this year's and last year's teacher appreciated that so much.

 

[Arielle22]

Last year I took DDs out for a week in November. They were junior and senior in high school. Older DD's school (guidnance office) gave us some grief but in the end they had a blast and their grades didn't suffer.

Their teachers had no problem with them going. Both made up assignments within the deadline when they returned.

 

[Finally08]

Unfortunately now the public school systems make a really big deal of it. Hear in our district in GA they only allow a certain number of absences a semester, not for the year. now yo ualmost feel compelled to lie and have them be sick in order for make up work to be allowed. And, as others have stated, it's all about the $$$

Yes, we only get 10 days a year to miss, it is not excused unless you have a doctor's note. So even like a one day tummy bug that keeps you out, you have to go to the doctor and pay that copay just to get a note...kinda ridiculous. Once you miss 3 consecutive days they send you an ugly letter and I think at day 5 they can report you to the truancy officers and the school board.

 

[Magpie]

When will you people learn if you have a problem with the thread subject stay away. Those who would discourage folk for raising this legitimate topic stop it now. Comparing education systems and achievements across the world stop I now. Understood

My apologies! Stopping it now.