taking a child out of school for disney trip

[ntsammy5]

Been there, done that.

 

[tigger813]

We'll be taking DD7 out of school for a week the first of December. Two of the days she will miss are 3 hour early release days for conferences. She will be in 2nd grade. I'll be speaking to her teacher at the open house at the beginning of the year.
I've just left the teaching profession to spend more time with my kids and pursue a new career. We're taking the trip during school as we've never had time off to do it during then only going in the summer when everyone else was there and it was incredibly hot and humid. We are also major Christmas nuts so we want to see all the decorations and we're bringing my parents so they can enjoy Disney with their youngest grandchildren!
Have fun!

 

[theresak]

We've also taken our kids out of school every year. It's never been a problem, I tell the teacher at the start of the school year when/how long, and remind them a couple weeks ahead of time. The teachers have been great about putting together their assignments, but reminding me that they have as many days as the child is absent to turn it in. We like to come back to school ready to jump back in place though...
One year my son's teacher got him a disposable camera and notebook, and asked him to take pics and make a presentation to the class (after a trip to New York). That was really nice, and my son had a blast putting together his posterboard. It's still on his wall!

 

[eeyoresnr]

I a going to have my son put together a posterboard with pics of his trip to share with the class when he gets back

 

[MomofCKJ]

Our kids missed Dec 15-22 last year (Dec 22 was the last day of school for us so they missed 6 days). I told the teachers in October at parent conferences and wrote a note to the Principal the week we were leaving. No one had issue with it. The week we chose was also a very light week as nothing new was being introduced, lots of fun stuff right before the holiday break.

Both girls (4th and 1st grade) made journals to bring back to class and that was it. Neither teacher gave us any homework to make up.

We are taking them out a week again this year in March. I will give ample notice and I am sure due to when we are going there will be homework to be made up this time.

Allyson

 

[cymomtx]

I'll be taking my three out of school for the Thanksgiving week this year as they changed our calendar and we no longer have the week off. I also work at the same junior high as my two youngest daughters 6th and 7th grade. With the calendar changing this year, we as a district are anticipating a large absence during that week as our families are use to having the whole week off for Thanksgiving. The only iffy part of our trip is our high schooler, he is only allowed three absenses to exempt final exams. So he will be a last minute decision if he is going with us or not. So we are saying prayers he stays healthy those first two six weeks of school!

 

[Mousermom]

I took my DS12 out of school for 5 days this past March. I informed his teacher at the first parent-teacher meeting of the year in October. His teacher had absolutley no problem with this. The only work she required was a journal of the vacation.

We are planning on doing it again this year in May. My son goes to parochial school and when we go next year, it will be during a religious holiday. So, for an 11-day vacation, he'll only miss 3 days of school!

 

[tlivgstn]

In our district, students that miss more than 12 days in a semester are retained. Parents can appeal but it's a hassle and if the child is struggling in a core area or has low test scores, the retention board will hold fast. I believe 12 days is lenient compared to other districts in our area- so check it out first.
I teach second grade. I really appreciate when parents give me plenty of time to get the assignments together. And--like a previous poster mentioned, don't be surprised if the child has a little more to do when they get back. School can be unpredictable.

 

[bettyann29]

Last year I did take my 3 out of school for 1 week.. my youngest is still in elementary so its not as hard for her to miss the time because her work is easier to make up but my DS is in middle school and DD is now in high school and its much harder for them to make that work up so now it just seems easier to do things when they are out of school.. and our school district is more strict on taking them out.. family vacations are considered unexcused abscences and they are allowed to make up their work but they cannot make a higher grade than 70... so whatever grade they make 30 points is automatically deducted from their grade.. so if they would have made a 90 its not a 60.. this isnt bad on the younger one but this could seriously affect the other ones grades.. I would have to seriously consider other options, but if they were ok with it, as they both make good grades and would be ok, but its something to think about..

at the age of your kiddos, I wouldnt hesitate at all..

 

[M-I-C-K-E-Y]

Our school district finally put their feet down and announced that any vacation trips would be termed "unexcused absences." School year vacations cause a constant struggle for the kids to catch up (many districts will assign little if any work to do in advance, and assign missed work upon the child's return) and puts undue pressure on all the teachers. I find it unusual that teachers would accept a journal or poster in lieu of missed work and tests...somewhat unfair to the other students, IMO.

I have a cousin who began taking all four of his kids out of school when they were still young, for an annual January trip to WDW. He always stated "they're young and it's no big deal." Well, they're now much older and they still pull them out of school annually. Perhaps it's a coincidence that he's always complaining that they get horrible grades and that his older son was recently held back a grade. In his instance the grade problems are probably caused by more than an annual WDW trip each year, but it's definitely one of a many questionable parental choices.

 

[Katesdad]

Sorry OP, but my thoughts probably aren't what you want to hear. I don't care what age (although K is better than 5), when you take your children out of school for something other than a family emergency, you are teaching your children that it is okay to "bend" the rules a little. For most school systems, January is the beginning of the second half. Get off on a good foot, get your bearings under you and all that good stuff. No, mommy is going to take care of everything and take us away from this for a week of fun and frivolity because she thinks it's "important". But hey, mommy can fix everything, can't she? I guess that's why you hear people who are being led off to some place that they don't want to go calling for their mommy because mommy can fix everything.

There is a time and a place for all of us. If it's work, then be at work. If it's school, then be at school. And if it's vacation, then be at the most magical place on earth.

But those are only my thoughts on the subject.

 

[Laxmom]

We took our DS, who was a freshman last year, out of school for a week when we were given a great opportunity to travel to Hawaii. We went to Oahu. We did a lot of WWII history including the Arizona and Missouri while there. It counted toward his absences but was excused. He had to make up work and only had one teacher that was slightly difficult to deal with - but then she was usually that way. He still had a 3.00 for the quarter.

I think it depends on the kid. If they struggle in school or tend to miss a lot due to frequent illness, then missing can have devastating results. We also were able to schedule our trip when they were off 1 day during that week, minimizing his absence to 4 days. He had makeup work to do on the plane.

I don't think taking him out reflected on how important school is to us. Making sure he understood that the grades had to be good going in and could not suffer because of the trip made the point clear. He also knew that if anything did change, grade wise, we would never feel able to take him with us during the school year should any opportunity like this come up again. The memories we have from that trip are priceless and I am really glad he went with us.

Now, if this were our older one..... Lets just say we never felt we could take him out for anything. School was a struggle from beginning to end.

 

[lori123]

We ALWAYS take our kids out of school for our Disney trips. They miss about 5 days of school. Their teachers are happy to accomodate. DH works for the airlines and it is impossible to travel during breaks stand by. In the end - my kids will still graduate - and have great family memories to take with them. I don't think it teaches them to break the rules - these are school approved days off - and they make up any homework.
Lori

 

[jamstew]

Our school district finally put their feet down and announced that any vacation trips would be termed "unexcused absences."

The school district my kids were in (they're grown now) was the same way. I think they were allowed 3 unexcused absences a semester, which was pretty much anything other than personal illness or death in the family. Even then, they weren't allowed to make up the work they missed. We just didn't think it was worth it. I always thought it was "overkill," but I know that some people abuse whatever system they have, which makes it much more difficult for those who don't!

I was able to get the principal to make an exception for college visits for my kids during their junior year. The school allowed two days for college visits during the senior year, which is way too late.

 

[Houston_Disney_Fan]

So much depends on the individual school district. When we lived in Mississippi, the schools were totally cool with it. Here in Texas, at least in Houston, they're positively draconian. We finally gave up and went back to fighting the on-season crowds again. I don't think missing that little bit of academics made any long-term difference in my sons' educations at all.

 

[jamstew]

So much depends on the individual school district. When we lived in Mississippi, the schools were totally cool with it. Here in Texas, at least in Houston, they're positively draconian. We finally gave up and went back to fighting the on-season crowds again. I don't think missing that little bit of academics made any long-term difference in my sons' educations at all.

Yep, I'm in draconian Texas, too Missing a few days of classes definitely wouldn't have hurt my kids, either. They were both National Honor Society, 3-sport athletes and attended college on scholarship but, HEY, Disney during the school year might have wrecked their academic career

 

[huskies90]

As everyone says, check with your school, but also, know what is best for your child. I know kids who really struggled even in early grades missing a week of school and others that can miss a week of high school and still get straight As. We did it twice and it was WELL worth it in the big picture to have a great family vacation(s) non of us will forget. My youngest had no problems (K and 1st). My oldest was fine in 3rd grade and OK in 4th. But when she was in 5th SHE told us she does not want to miss any school going forward. She is in 6th grade now and we are going end of August just before school starts. I say at younger ages K,1,2 grades, it is a great idea and the benefits way outweigh the downside, but if the school work suffers, you are better off just dealing with school vacation or summer crowds. Heck, if you do your first few trips in the off season, by the time you get to the crowds you'll be better equipped to deal with them...that is what we are hoping for anyway

 

[jamstew]

When I took my 13-year-old grandson in 2005, we left the day after Memorial Day (school got out the Friday before), and the crowds weren't that bad. The heat & humidity were awful, but the crowds were okay

 

[AurorasDad]

My take is that the earlier grades are easier to "make up" the education time than later grades. Our DD8's teacher told us to go for it now, while they're young. There are plenty of teaching tools the younger you go, like the Reader Rabbit software series.

I'd say, in general, the rules are to
1. Clear it with your child's teacher, and
2. Be prepared to make your child work to make up for lost time.

For us, time spent together as family is just as important as education. For those about to flame me, I have my MBA and my DW has a law degree, so I'm not saying education isn't important, but time with each other as a family is fleeting, especially those precious years when the children are younger. A week's education can be made up.

 

[lori123]

For us, time spent together as family is just as important as education. For those about to flame me, I have my MBA and my DW has a law degree, so I'm not saying education isn't important, but time with each other as a family is fleeting, especially those precious years when the children are younger. A week's education can be made up.

I would have to agree with you. My childrens education will not suffer just because they took a week off each year for family time.