school excuse

[drise]

We need to send a form for ds7 to be excused from school to go on the cruise for 7 days. I need ideas for writing the educational benefits of this vacation?

 

[lbgraves]

I wrote out everything that we would do on the cruise, along with the agreement with the teachers to do all the work ahead of time along with tests that would be missed & DS wrote a travel journal. The 7 days were still unexcused because our new principal just doesn't believe in missing any school. In the long run, it doesn't make a difference if the days are excused or unexcused...but next year I wont make the kids do the travel journals or any work on the ship.

 

[Mickee]

While on this subject, at what age do you start not pulling the kids out of school for trips?

For us I use it as an incentive for them to keep grades up and I will give them a perk and let them have off a week out of the year for vaca's.....

 

[lindakmonty]

I think the geography is very important as well. our children need to see how different parts of the world live and what their everyday lifes are like on the islands ... sounds good anyway I do show my son on a map where we'll be going, and a little about their history etc... and he's only 4... but my ex, and I both have traveled quite a bit so he knows a lot about the U.S. and where most of the states are... "your dad is working here this week... " good luck and enjoy your cruise!

 

[mmouse37]

While on this subject, at what age do you start not pulling the kids out of school for trips?

For us I use it as an incentive for them to keep grades up and I will give them a perk and let them have off a week out of the year for vaca's.....

College.....then it was too tough for them to make work up, but all through grade school and high school they missed at least a week of school due to our Disney cruises....none the worse and IMO much more well rounded and attuned to cultural differences than if we had not gone to all those places and talked about the food, clothing, lifestyles and of the poverty of places other than the USA. Our cruises were all great life lessons....and fantastic family time!!

 

[michelle9343]

I agree with mmouse37. I also think a lot of times schools just do not understand how important a family vaction is. When we would travel from NY I alwasy called it "theme park therapy", no one ever questioned it. Here in Florida you would think I was asking if it was OK to something horrible. They always say NO!! But that doesn't stop me. Last year I actually received a nasty letter from the school board that my son had 5 unexcused absences in 1 marking period and if I could not explain why I could be proscecuted. Nothing did happen but it was an eye opener.

 

[BuzzBoyMom]

Educational angles -
ship navigation...
different cultures...
numbers (there's lots of research on numbers of....crew members...rooms, beds, pillows, pounds of bacon, etc)...could be a math angle

Could your child do a report on how the ship navigates in its very simplistic form? Get one of the officers to explain it to your child...they could come back and explain it to the class and share some pictures.

or

Talk about different cultures - bring home some momentos for the class..try to see how many CMs you child can meet from different cultures and take his picture with each of them...share with class....put the pictures on a big world map to show how many cultures mix on a Disney cruise.

or

travel in general...his observations of airline travel, aiport security, cruise terminal, etc.

 

[brerrabbit70]

We're going for a week in September and it'll have to be our last for a long time. DS will be in 8th grade and DD will be in 6th.
Here in Leon County it's very hard for high school students to miss school. They can actually earn an "A" but be given an "F" if they have excessive absences. They see anything over 3 per grading period as excessive!!!!!
If your child has over 3 absences they all have to be excused (trips do NOT count as excused) and you have to go to a meeting in front of a "board". I used to work in a high school attendance office and know how hard it is to get anything excused.

 

[alial]

I don't know how to post links,but try Deb's unofficial Walt Disney World Information Guide you can just google it.I found some tips under "school age children" in the planning section.I used some of these last year for our then 5th grade daughter.

 

[Billinaz]

I used the kids excuse letter for WDW and just changed a few things to make it work for DCL....

 

[jodifla]

I miss the good old days. My mom and day would simply write a note and say that I was out. They didn't feel the need to beg to the almighty school board.

Anyone who makes families feel bad for trying to spend time together in this day and age SHOULD BE ASHAMED OF THEMSELVES!

 

[Danthesand]

In the long run, it doesn't make a difference if the days are excused or unexcused.

Not in the system my children are in. Go above four unexcused absences in any grading period, and the child is hit with remedial and disciplinary action which is recorded on their permanent school record.

And from discussions on that subject with college and grad school classmates (who are all over the country), I know this sort of policy is increasingly common.

Bottom line: the "good 'ole days" when everybody could just casually yank their kids out of school for extended vacations whenever they wanted to are slowly but surely fading. This is because the "leave no child behind" initaitives are forcing systems to track and enforce attendance much more closely than they used to.

Don't like that? Blame Washington.

 

[tvguy]

I miss the good old days. My mom and day would simply write a note and say that I was out. They didn't feel the need to beg to the almighty school board.

Anyone who makes families feel bad for trying to spend time together in this day and age SHOULD BE ASHAMED OF THEMSELVES!

I am not ASHAMED to say DS, now 19, made it from Kindergarten through 12th grade without missing a minute of school, even for an orthodontist appointment. Since school is in session for 34 weeks, we always managed to schedule vacation in the remaining 18 weeks. Not an issue for us now since I get no vacation time now in my new job.
Having made that disclosure, I fully understand this is a personal choice. Best advice is to see exactly what your state or school district policy is and follow it to the letter.
Here in California, there are rather severe legal consequences possible for unexcused absences, which are considered truancies here. . Up to a $10,000 fine and 30 days in jail for the first offense for the parents. Every semester you see the truancy raids on the news, an interesting mix of parents who just who don't care, to parents like you who felt strongly about the value of the trip. Either way, you end up explaining it to the judge.

 

[DisneyCruiseFansMc]

I have taken my kids out of school for our last 3 cruises and never received ANY backlash whatsoever. In fact, our principal even encouraged me to take them out when I told her the price difference between school vacation and a month earlier in January (we DO go Martin L. King week, so it is only 4 days missed). I do believe they are learning "life experiences" that will last a lifetime. We go every other year & I am concerned as my son will be a freshman in HS, but as mentioned in an earlier thread the family took them out up until college, so that's good to know. Then we can continue (as long as the kids want to continue) going in January since colleges get a much longer break. Maybe my experience has to do with the fact that they go to a Catholic school which we pay for & we get more lenient treatment?? Any thoughts on that theory?

I will continue taking them out as long as they still want to come along!!It's such a short time before they are off & grown up. ENJOY it while we can.

 

[GreenGirl8]

I would take a look at the standards at your child's grade level and connect which ones will be met by going on the cruise. I bet very few parents do that and the school would really appreciate a parent looking into what teachers have to cover.

Teachers and school systems are put under so much pressure to get the standards taught and prepare students for high stake testing each year. Things are even worse in CA where teachers are constantly being asked to put together independent studies with very little notice. Although many parents here may get the work done; many times, parents don't bother to do any work in the independent study....basically wasting hours of the teacher's time to prep it ahead of time. This is why so many teachers get upset at parent/s for taking their children out. I think the anger is towards the wrong person though....

I def. think parents should have an opportunity to take thier children out for vacations...etc. The experiences are priceless! I just wish teachers did not take all the beating when test scores are printed in the newspaper. It is a group effort.

 

[jodifla]

I would take a look at the standards at your child's grade level and connect which ones will be met by going on the cruise. I bet very few parents do that and the school would really appreciate a parent looking into what teachers have to cover.

Teachers and school systems are put under so much pressure to get the standards taught and prepare students for high stake testing each year. Things are even worse in CA where teachers are constantly being asked to put together independent studies with very little notice. Although many parents here may get the work done; many times, parents don't bother to do any work in the independent study....basically wasting hours of the teacher's time to prep it ahead of time. This is why so many teachers get upset at parent/s for taking their children out. I think the anger is towards the wrong person though....

I def. think parents should have an opportunity to take thier children out for vacations...etc. The experiences are priceless! I just wish teachers did not take all the beating when test scores are printed in the newspaper. It is a group effort.

This is true....schools do take a beating now that they are "graded." Teachers nowadays have a very tough profession. (It was always tough, but now it's gotten darn near impossible.)

 

[jodifla]

Not in the system my children are in. Go above four unexcused absences in any grading period, and the child is hit with remedial and disciplinary action which is recorded on their permanent school record.

And from discussions on that subject with college and grad school classmates (who are all over the country), I know this sort of policy is increasingly common.

Bottom line: the "good 'ole days" when everybody could just casually yank their kids out of school for extended vacations whenever they wanted to are slowly but surely fading. This is because the "leave no child behind" initaitives are forcing systems to track and enforce attendance much more closely than they used to.

Don't like that? Blame Washington.

One of the many reasons why more people are homeschooling their kids.

 

[Qball]

Geez, I haven't even thought that far since DD is only 4 years old and in preschool. To be honest, I feel a bit guilty that she's missing 3 days of school for our trip. I'm not sure how our school system feels about absent days but I'm sure we will find out once DD is in the "real" school system this fall.

I remember in the "good ol days" that parents just wrote a note and off the kids went. You'd get your homework in advance and that was ok. Not that my parents ever pulled us out. My dad was a teacher, at a college, but still, we only took holidays in the summer so it was not an issued. But I do remember being pulled out alot when I would compete in the music festival and that was not a problem. In fact the principal wanted to know the status of all the kids who were in the festival and their "winnings" so that it would be announced at morning announcments.

I'm not sure what will become of us, since neither one of us are teachers, and going on holidays in the summer is always busy at most tourist type place and DH hates crowds and line ups...I guess we'll have to see...interesting thread.

 

[rottie110]

WOW I cant believe the way schools are, I never missed school as a kid, but my son starts kindergarten in Sept, never thought about how that works, even though he will always go, but if a trip is in the plans, I cant believe that if the child is going to do the work and is a good student how a school district can tell you how to run your life. I am sure its like that around here too, Guess I will find out at the registration appt in March.

Good luck, I think the geography, the marine biology, and the cultures and ship things should be a great lesson for kids, my son already wants to know how the ship works and has been asking for months, how it floats etc...

 

[GreenGirl8]

I think the problem stems from the large amounts of people that just let their children stay home for no reason at all. Schools would have a hard time figuring out who was actually going on vacation and who is letting their child stay in bed on a regular basis. With the demands placed on school districts to get high scores on tests...it is impossible to let parents make all the of decisions. Unlike those here, many don't look out for the best interest of their children. Schools lose funding, staff...etc. when scores are not high enough.