DVC'ers - do you take your kids out of school?

[hellerjw]

Again I don't know how it works in the States so I might be wrong.

Most American schools have mandatory attendance policies that are dictated by state and federal laws, and since it could affect their funding, schools are very strict about sticking to it. I think a 10 day limit is pretty common but their stance on missed tests and homework and what is given out beforehand varies widely.

In South Carolina they often have teacher workdays where the kids aren't required to attend. These happen a couple times a year (Spring & Fall) and usually last 2 days. We often try to time our vacations around them to limit the number of days the kids actually miss.

 

[tjkraz]

OK, so I have trip planned for mid-May...

However, as the time is drawing near, I am having second thoughts about taking my kids out of school. They are both excellent students - 4th and 6th grades.

In your case, the biggest recommendation I would make is to discuss it NOW with their teachers and see what sort of feedback you receive. The school calendar varies by district but generally mid-May is when things are winding down for the year. That could be a very difficult time for them to miss if the teachers are wrapping up material and planning for tests. Or it could end up being a perfect time to go if teachers have mostly parties and activities planned.

We have taken our kids out of school for up to a week most years, but it's a situation that I continue to monitor. Other absences have been almost non-existent throughout their school career. I don't think either of the kids has ever missed more than one day per year due to illness.

We took a week's vacation last October and my son's grades slipped a bit--like from an A- to a B+ or B. He did plenty of course work on the trip and we also had him keep a journal just so he had some extra writing/responsibilities while away from school. I have no idea if the trip was to blame for the grades or if it was just harder course work, other distractions, etc.

Some school districts have issues with unexcused absences due to state or federal funding requirements. That's something worth investigating. Our kids attend private school so that's not an issue for us.

We have a cruise planned for next year. It's just a 3-night cruise so they could miss as little as 2 days, and I scheduled it during a week when the school is typically off on Friday for conferences. We are leaning toward taking that whole week off and spending a few days at WDW, too. But we still have a couple of months to make that decision before booking any rooms.

The kids are in 3rd and 1st grades so I know we're living on borrowed time. Come 2011 we've already begun considering a Thanksgiving week trip to minimize the time missed.

 

[Pixieflip]

My DS has a friend who misses a lot of school for being "sick." He doesn't have anything major, he's just kind of a whiny kid and his mom babies him so he misses A LOT of days. One time in 6th grade, he missed 8 or 9 days of school in a row and we all knew he was just faking it (except for his mom), but he was able to make it all up no problem. I was like, good grief! We could have a rockin' Disney vacation over 9 school days!! I'm not going to worry about the measly 5 that we miss!

Now that he's in high school with honors and AP classes, we really have to taper it to 2 or 3 days at a time. Connecting to Thanksgiving or President's Day, etc. But until then, if it works academically for your kid, we vote for enjoying the memories of a lifetime with your family.

 

[SamSam]

Our kids have been grown and gone for many years, but when they were school age we took them out for a week at a time every year. In middle and high school, they had to take a permission slip to each teacher and get it signed, plus get schoolwork assignments ahead of time. They usually would get most of thier work done before we left and were easily able to catch up the rest of the work within a few days of returning to school

Both our kids were excellent students so I think that made it a pretty easy decision for us. Of course, we had to plan around debate tournaments, sport schedules, major test, etc., but it always worked out.

 

[awilliams4]

We have taken our children out of school 1 week every year (mostly the week after Thanksgiving, last year it was mid October) since 2001. It is a bit rough to get caught back up but we still do it.

 

[Starr W.]

WOW! Reading all these post makes me realize its much easier to pull your kids out in Canada than in the US. While our schools "frown upon" pulling them out there really isn't much they can do about it. I've pulled my DD out for the last month of the school year in both grade 6 & 7 and sent her away to England to visit my sister's family.

I believe she learned more History in the first trip than she has in her high school history class. All because she went to some very interesting tourist places. Not to mention that because it was a fun and incredable experince for a 12 year old to travel accross the ocean by herself. She missed hole units in science, religion, english and social studies. They just graded her on what she was present for.

I pull my kids out all the time for family time. When they were younger we would pull them out for a few days during the week to go to Niagara Falls. Money and school shouldn't dictate when you can spend some quality time together as a family.

Many posters have said that due to their work schedules they can't always travel during school posted holidays...school should take this into consideration. While I agree that it gets much harder for the kids to catch up in the higher grades( we made the mistake of pulling DD16 out for two weeks at the end of a semester, this year we are doing it near the begining instead) I don't believe that a middle school student getting a 0 because they missed a test while away is going to wreck their chances of getting into a good college. Again I don't know how it works in the States so I might be wrong.

Our district here in Ohio doesn't seem to mind, but if I was going to pull them out, I would double check when the "official count days" are. They happen I think 3x per year and their funding is based on the average attendance on those days. That and State Testing(which is now 3rd week of April) are the dates they want you to work around.

When my eldest started Jr High, I got The Form, he needed to get signed by all his teachers to get homework for those 2 days, the office staff asked when and how long or trip was. When I told them Mon-Tues of Thanksgiving week, comment was "Oh a lot of people do that, no problem."

I'm with Brian, I think if I had a chance during the year to go to Europe , my kids would get pulled out of school, a Disney trip we can easily work around their schedules and ours to minimize missing school.

 

[dphie28]

I didn't get a chance to read all of the responses, so excuse me if I repeat someone else's point of view.

This May we are taking our kids out for 3 days before Memorial Day. They are only in K & 3rd Grade. I plan to tell the teachers in advance and request work/reading assignments that will keep them caught up with their class. Aside from this, my kids have only missed 1 day each this year due to illness. We don't do this every year because I am a TEACHER (in NJ)!!! I am taking 2 personal days to be able to go to WDW for 6 nights to celebrate our 10 year wedding anniversary.

As a teacher...here's my view. If the student is a GOOD student who doesn't struggle and does all his/her work without a problem, then it is usually pretty easy for the teacher/student to catch up and also the student should be able to understand subsequent lessons. I currently teach middle school and have taught high school and in these grades it is more difficult for students and teachers to get together to work on what they missed...so it is usually done independently. A struggling student will have a hard time filling in the gap on his/her own. The struggling student also may just give up and not complete the missing work and end up with a lower grade as a result of being out for an extended period of time.

With that said, I have 150 students every marking period and almost every other week a student is out on vacation! I just had a student get back this Monday after missing 7 school days. He has YET to make up any work (although his mom promised he would) and the marking period ends tomorrow. I have given up my lunch to meet with him all week and he has not shown up once. I have another student who is away right now and she turned in all her work before she left! So, each situation is different. I know once you get to high school, if you miss so many days, you may not get credit for the course. One school I taught in allowed 16 absensces for a year long course and 8 for a semester course. So, if you take a week's vacation, that would be 5 of those days right there. If the student doesn't get credit for the course he/she may have to take summer school or graduation could be delayed.

Oh, and like other people said, piggybacking a holiday is sometimes 'expected' by some teachers and the work load may be lighter around that time. I hope that helps!!!

BTW - NJ ASK testing for 6th grade is May 3-6 and is May 10-13 for Grade 4. If your child misses their testing week, they would then have to take the make up sessions the following week...and would miss that week of 'school' too.

 

[DizGirl20]

Wow - it is great to hear from the perspective of a middle school teacher! My kids go to Parochial School and have finals the first week of June so thankfully they would not be missing any important testing.

Thank you to everyone for your responses. I am continually amazed and overwhelmed that people here on The Dis take the time to reply to my questions with such enthusiasm and well thought out responses. You all have given me a lot of food for thought!

 

[Judique]

OK, so I have trip planned for mid-May to celebrate my graduation from Nursing School. It has been a long road and my family has sacrificed and put up with a lot for me to get my RN degree. A trip to Disney seems the perfect celebration.

However, as the time is drawing near, I am having second thoughts about taking my kids out of school. They are both excellent students - 4th and 6th grades.

Here's my question - have you ever pulled your kids out of school for a week? I would love to hear from those who have kids similar to mine in age. I am looking forward to our first trip as DVC Members and have almost everything planned but I am so overwhelmed with guilt. Ugh - I don't know what to do.

Thanks!

My senior was out of school just last week for 4 days to go to WDW - her choice. She could have stayed home. She did take the initiative to talk to her teachers and do advance work - she's an excellent student and they all love her. They have even recruited her into their classes the past few years. We have been to WDW many times so this wasn't a huge 'they'll get so much more out of a trip to WDW' thing. She was just ready for some warm weather and fun.

It's a personal choice.

 

[lanand3]

I didn't have any problems taking my kids out of school while they were all elementary age,but now dd is in 6th grade so I am a little concerned about her missing work.She is an A student and does well,but I still worry.However,this year I am taking them out in May for 5 days(going over both weekends to maximize out time there)I am an RN and live in the northeast,vacation in the summer from Memorial day through labor day is considered "prime time",we put in the week we want during month of March and we are not informed if it's approved until April1st...this makes it neearly impossible to plan during the summer(I have had many vacations denied and had to pick a different week)We are not allowed vacation during Thanksgiving or Christmas week,and the 2 breaks we get during feb and april are very popular,so it's iffy wether it would be granted.That being said,I am going to try my hardest to plan future vacations during feb or april break,but if it a choice between pulling out of school or no vacation then I will take my kids out of school.Our family time is too important and they grow up too quick,we will have wonderfull memories that will last forever.

 

[Pixieflip]

We just went with our DS15 to the high school AP class info night last night. He's so excited about getting ahead for college, which is wonderful, but having just read this thread yesterday, all I kept thinking about was how can we take him out of school for WDW with a heavy courseload of AP classes?! (Seriously, he has 9 AP classes he wants to take over the next two years before grad. Don't think he'll get them all in, but I do think a grad trip will be well deserved, don't you?)

 

[photobob]

We just went with our DS15 to the high school AP class info night last night. He's so excited about getting ahead for college, which is wonderful, but having just read this thread yesterday, all I kept thinking about was how can we take him out of school for WDW with a heavy courseload of AP classes?! (Seriously, he has 9 AP classes he wants to take over the next two years before grad. Don't think he'll get them all in, but I do think a grad trip will be well deserved, don't you?)

My daughter is in the same boat and we wouldn't even consider taking her out for a vacation. Actually she'd probably worry her self to death about it, se is a stickler for following the rules and fears getting in trouble. She takes the toughest curriculum our schools offer and missing a week would make it very difficult. We too have a graduation WDW trip planned for her in 2011!

 

[skylynx]

We just went with our DS15 to the high school AP class info night last night. He's so excited about getting ahead for college, which is wonderful, but having just read this thread yesterday, all I kept thinking about was how can we take him out of school for WDW with a heavy courseload of AP classes?! (Seriously, he has 9 AP classes he wants to take over the next two years before grad. Don't think he'll get them all in, but I do think a grad trip will be well deserved, don't you?)

When our kids were in elementary school, we took them out for a maximum of three consecutive days (for a Disney Cruise) piggybacked around other scheduled days off for holidays or teacher conference days. Each time, we worked with the teachers in advance and got the work done. A couple times teachers just asked my kids to keep a journal and share stories upon their return, and accepted that as "alternative education."

They are now in middle/high school, and DD is in her junior year with lots of AP classes. She's getting a celebration grad trip, too...5 nights on the Dream in June 2011, though of course we all benefit

There's just too much work for the kids to make up right now, though, so
for the last three years, we have bit the bullet and paid the captive market inflated prices for Disney cruises during the summer months. Our 7 night cruise last summer on NCL to Alaska was actually pretty cheap compared to this coming July's 4 night Wonder. When you look at the costs of the same Disney cruises "off peak" you just have to cringe. We'll pay the price...for now.
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I know there's lots of debate on this topic. Like many others posters, I don't necessarily see the School Day as sacrosanct. There are plenty of days I know both my kids have done next to nothing at school due to standardized testing scheduling, major assemblies, etc. They watch movies, have bagel parties, etc. I don't see this as a big deal...as an adult, nearly every place I've ever worked has had its share of long buckle-down days as well as days when there was a team lunch or conference during which felt like I did no work. At school, some days the kids learn a lot, other days, not so much. I guess I see it as cumulative. As a former middle and high school teacher myself, I didn't kid myself into thinking my classroom was the only place my students could learn something valuable.

School districts are driven by desperation to cling to state aid...attendance is mostly about dollars. Punishing families who take their kids out of school by not letting them make up work would be tough in our district. We have large Indian and Mexican student populations who regularly return to India and Mexico for extended times during the school year with no apparent detriment on their grades or promotion.

So I guess the best thing is to consult your own Jiminy Cricket, and let your conscience be your guide!

 

[Starr W.]

Actually she'd probably worry her self to death about it, se is a stickler for following the rules and fears getting in trouble.

OMG! That's my 7th grade son. He has to take around "The Form" to have the teachers sign off on, and he's so sure one of them is going to yell at him for misssing 2 days of school.

Then you ask him how it went and half his teachers want to stowaway in our suitcases.

 

[SamSam]

We just went with our DS15 to the high school AP class info night last night. He's so excited about getting ahead for college, which is wonderful, but having just read this thread yesterday, all I kept thinking about was how can we take him out of school for WDW with a heavy courseload of AP classes?! (Seriously, he has 9 AP classes he wants to take over the next two years before grad. Don't think he'll get them all in, but I do think a grad trip will be well deserved, don't you?)

Just depends on your child and your school. Our son had all AP classes (except one) his junior and senior year, plus debate and swim team...he was fine with taking a week off, and usually had all his work done ahead of time. He eventually went on to law school and graduating #1 in his class, so I don't think his week in WDW hurt him.

 

[UConnJack]

We took our 1st grade DD out for a week for WDW last year, but are giving April vacation a shot this year. Not because we have issue with taking her out, but because we want to take a couple long weekend ski trips and our school only allows 5 unexcused days.

I agree with most of the posters here that it is a personal decision that you need to make in consideration of you're child's ability to handle it and, unfortunately, your school districts rules. I can understand placing some limits on the number of unexcused absences, although I think 5 is too few (7-10 would be more reasonable IMO), because I think it should be the parent's right to decide what is best for their child. I know schools are forced to do this by State and Federal rules (more examples of unfunded mandates and the nanny state), there are enough bad parents out there to ruin it for the rest of us.

I know I may get flamed by teachers, but the thing that burns me is how some schools and teachers decide how to manage unexcused absences, such as not giving out work ahead of time, automatic zero's on tests, etc. I understand it can cause some extra work for the teachers, but presuming the teacher is a good one and the parents give sufficient warning, they have lesson plans and a curriculum already established for the year such that it shouldn't be that hard to give a child work, or least an outline of what they should study, during an absence or give a make up exam. In my job, I couldn't very well tell my client that I can't do something reasonable for them, and that's what parent's and their children are: the government, school, and teacher's clients. From what I understand, teacher's unions have a large part in these kind of policies, which burns me even more.

 

[Anal Annie]

I know I may get flamed by teachers, but the thing that burns me is how some schools and teachers decide how to manage unexcused absences, such as not giving out work ahead of time, automatic zero's on tests, etc. I understand it can cause some extra work for the teachers, but presuming the teacher is a good one and the parents give sufficient warning, they have lesson plans and a curriculum already established for the year such that it shouldn't be that hard to give a child work, or least an outline of what they should study, during an absence or give a make up exam. In my job, I couldn't very well tell my client that I can't do something reasonable for them, and that's what parent's and their children are: the government, school, and teacher's clients. From what I understand, teacher's unions have a large part in these kind of policies, which burns me even more.

Our school system does not consider vacations excused unless you ask for an "administrative exception". So when we planned a 4 night surprise trip to WDW last May over Memorial Day weekend as DS's birthday present (his birthday was a couple of days before) I wrote a letter to the principal as soon as we planned it and asked for 1 1/2 days excused so that he could make up any work that he missed. We had an afternoon flight on Friday and were coming home on Tues. to save on the airfare costs. But if it was not excused they would not let him do any make-up work. I think that is a real load. He is an honor roll student but it only takes missing 1 grade to throw the whole semester off if it's a grade that is weighted heavily. Here, not everything is graded with the same weight. Some things are 90% of the grade while others may only be 10%. A 90% assessment would be a huge thing to miss - esp. in middle or high school. I think it was near enough to the end of the school year and over a holiday weekend so I don't think there was a whole lot going on so that was helpful. Here, if they even miss a warm-up quiz & don't make it up they don't have to let them take the next unit test. It's crazy how missing 1 little thing can mess them up for the semester. You really have to investigate what's involved in your own school district.

 

[bethy]

We take our kids out for at least one week every year in January or April. Due to my DH's work schedule it is impossible for us to take family vacations during traditional school vacation times.

 

[alamode]

It will be our family's second trip to WDW, May 27th to June 4th. My son is in Grade 4, and is struggling with his reading and writing. My twin girls are in Grade 1, and are the leaders of the class.

I've talked with both the principal and teachers from my children's school (which BTW is on SESAME Street, how cool is that), and I've already created projects with them for my children during the trip. We did the same thing with my son last year. He was studying plants, and we went during Flower and Garden festival... great timing.

I think, like others have said, that if you work with your teachers and school that it can be done without harm to the kids school year, based on the student's ability.

 

[emma'smom]

We're pulling our dd7 (second grade) out for 13 days this spring for a cruise to Europe. I checked the law and the technical limit per year is 21 days. I alerted the teacher and principal to our plans last year and then mentioned it again during the first parent meeting this year. My dd7 also mentions it occasionally as we are beginning to prepare for the trip itself.

I've been planning a number of independent work activities for her to do and have a meeting with her teacher next week to make sure we're on the same page about what we want her to accomplish academically while we are gone. I've pulled the state standards to identify specific standards that will match up with our plans and will touch-base with the teacher about this as well.

I'm a licensed teacher as well....so, if necessary, I am happy to call it "independent study" and turn in lesson plans to the principal. However, everyone seems very supportive and on the same page about our plans.

We purposely waited until after the standardized tests are over (and the teacher did call to double-check our dates in regards to the testing dates).

We'll probably pull her out every year for at least one-week until middle school since the college where I teach runs on a different spring break calendar than the public/private schools. There are lots of faculty children in our school who do the same thing.

They will all go to a public middle school---so we won't have the same flexibility then.

Also, I should note that we are at a small private school. The school's funding is not dependent on school attendance---so that is an non-issue. One reason we are in a private school is so that we can have the freedom and flexibility to do these kinds of trips where the teachers see the educational value and where their hands are tied so tightly by bureaucratic policies.