Do you take your kids out of school to go?

[MAGGIED]

I am taking my children out of school this week.... they will miss Thurs and Friday... I always contact their teachers ahead of time to let them know... my DS (14) is staying after school Tues and Wed to make up a lab he will miss and my DD(17) will have some work to do on the plane....I just received an email from her teacher thanking me for letting her know about DD absence and she noted that DD is a conscientious student and will have no trouble staying on track... so I think a lot depends on the type of student you have... my kids do pretty well in school (both honor students) and are really good at making up work.... also communication is a must...

 

[leighe]

There's a huge difference between taking your kids out for a family vacation and having a teen skip school for nefarious purposes.

Is the system so moronic that it cannot see the difference?

The "get a note from the doctor" policy is also DRIVING UP OUR HEALTHCARE costs. DS shouldn't need a note from the doctor if he barfed all over the teacher's shoes -- get a clue, school system and truant officers. He's SICK.

The lack of common sense is appalling!

I totally understand your frustration. However, no, the system really cannot tell the difference. I think most responsible parents would be really shocked at what an issue attendence is in schools. An unexcused absence is an unexcused absence and in the current atmosphere of high stakes accountability for schools (but very little for students or parents, unfortunately) family vacations are going to be considered unexcused absences in most schools. The rules have to apply equally to everybody. Our district doesn't require a dr's note for a medical absence until the student has missed a certain number of days - I think it's 7.

 

[pixiepoo24637]

There's a huge difference between taking your kids out for a family vacation and having a teen skip school for nefarious purposes.

Is the system so moronic that it cannot see the difference?

The "get a note from the doctor" policy is also DRIVING UP OUR HEALTHCARE costs. DS shouldn't need a note from the doctor if he barfed all over the teacher's shoes -- get a clue, school system and truant officers. He's SICK.

The lack of common sense is appalling![/QUOTE]

I couldn't agree more!
How ignorant would it be to take a child to the doctor for a virus just to get a doctor's excuse? Physicians can't do anything for a virus so essentially you would be paying for the doctor's excuse.
I used to work at a group home for girls. They had been removed from their homes for a variety of reason including extreme truancy. If any of the girl's parents had cared enough to ever take them to Disney they probably would have never ended up in the group home.
Edited to add my sons teacher was very supportive about our decision to take him out of school for a week in April. She made the same decision last year with her children & said she would absolutely do it again.

 

[blessedby3]

I, personally, wouldn't take my kids out of school just to avoid the summer crowds or higher rates. I think it sends the wrong message about priorities. I would take them out if during the school year was the only time we could vacaton for some reason.

But that's just what works for my family and me. I'm sure others feel differently.

Everyone has different priorities- one of our top priorities is FAMILY TIME. DH works LONG and HARD hours and doesnt get to see the kids as much as he likes. Our family time - and vacation time especially- is SO IMPORTANT to us. We always pull our 3 kids out of school to be able to have a better time in Disney. We go in the off times when it is less crowded and we can relax more. We have DD17 in 11th, DS11 in 6th and DD8 in 3rd. All of our kids are great students and we always get their work ahead of time and do it before we leave for vacation. That takes a lot of pressure off of us and lets us have a much more relaxed vacation. We have our oldest in public school and the two youngest are in private Christian school. We have never had a problem with teachers thinking this was a bad idea (except for DD17's Honors English teacher- but this woman lives and breathes English and thinks everyone else should too!!). Most teachers said -"hope you have a great time and wish I could go with you"!!!!

 

[leighe]

Everyone has different priorities- one of our top priorities is FAMILY TIME.

Family time is one of our top priorities as well but it doesn't necessarily have to take place at Disney. Please don't insinuate that family time isn't important to those who chose not to take their kids out of school just to avoid crowds or higher rates. That's just silly.

Like I said, if we could only vacation while the kids are in school I would certainly do so. We are fortunate that that hasn't been the case for us so far. It would just upset our priorities to put our bank account or our "crowd comfort level" ahead of teaching our kids about the importance of commitment, sacrifice, and education.

 

[Kellyscrapbooks]

I take mine out of school because it works for us. It's much harder for my husband to get vacation time during the summer, often downright impossible.
So, we go during the school year and make sure that it's not during any "peak" times when they might learn something important.

 

[loopner67]

We take our kids out. We'll be doing this in April. We have to get permission to take them out for a year. I have to fill out paperwork to then explain the educational purposes of our trip. It's *VERY* easy to think of things they'll learn while in Disney.

My kids are in Kindergarten and 3rd grade. I've already spoken to their teachers and we'll be getting some extra work the weekend before we go (we have some time off for Easter *before* we go) and then we'll be doing some work when we're away. We're also very aware that they'll be doing some catch up when they get back. My youngest has only missed 2 days this year and my oldest hasn't missed a day, which gets taken into consideration in taking them out of school for a whole week.

 

[loopner67]

I take mine out of school because it works for us. It's much harder for my husband to get vacation time during the summer, often downright impossible.
So, we go during the school year and make sure that it's not during any "peak" times when they might learn something important.

Yes! We also take this into consideration when chosing a time to go (a non-holiday for everyone else time). We aren't going in March this year because my oldest DS has state testing, so anytime that month wouldn't have been a good idea. April means that's all done!

 

[CrazyDisneyMommy1]

We have taken our kids out every year. My daughter 3 times and this April will be the fourth and my son will be the second time. It will be 10 days of missed school for a 15 day trip. Two years ago was 12 days of missed school for a 18 day trip. We have no problem doing this at all. I have even had teachers say they can learn a lot more then what they can teach them with a vacation experience. Enjoy, Enjoy, Enjoy, what ever you decide!!!

 

[desertbloom]

For us it is a matter of money. We can't afford to take a vacation during school break times. The airfare alone is double the price. We can barely afford to go as it is. If DD was doing poorly in school we would totally skip vacation. We also don't get time off during the summer. I work 3 jobs. March is the only time I can manage a week away from them all! The teachers have all been very understanding. Although we do get the disclaimer that we may get a letter from the school and/or state since attendance records affect the schools funding. Of course here everything boils down to our standardized testing. Now they teach for the test instead of giving kids a well rounded education. The state puts way to much pressure on the kids and the teachers...but that's a whole 'nother can of worms.... don't even get me started....lol.

 

[TheDizMom]

We have taken them out for 2 different trips and haven't had a problem with the school or the teachers. Everyone has been very supportive of our family trips. Although, now I have to be very careful about how many school days DS misses due to illness. My standards of what qualifies as "stay home status" has had to go WAY up!

This is where I have a problem. I don't have one if you want to take them out of school because you want to go on vacation. I do have a problem with you then sending your child to school sick because you took him out for vacation and NOW your worried if you keep him home he'll have missed to much school. When you do this someone else may have to keep their child home because yours passed on their illness to everyone else in the class! If your child is sick they need to stay home and if that means they are now missing to much school because of the family vacation, then you have to deal wtih the consequences of that decision. It's not fair to make someone elses child pay for your decision. You may think I am being hard nosed about this (and I probably am) but I would be willing to bet most parents would agree with me. I don't send my child to school ill because I don't want them to make others sick.

 

[Lovemy3babes]

My girls (2nd grade & kindergarten) were out for 4 days this past November. It did make me a little nervous but I sent letters to the school a month ahead of time, requested their work and made sure to communicate with their teachers. We had no problems. They were able to get all their work done on the plane there & back. I probably wouldn't ever take them out longer than 5school days though. And as they get older, I don't know about taking them out of school that long. Maybe. We'll see.