Educational letter for school excuse/taking the kids out of school

[HM]

Good luck OP. Our school doesn't see WDW as an educational trip. They also didn't see a trip to NYC as educational. That one surprised me.

We don't take our kids out of school anymore for vacations. It's too hard to make up school work once they get past elementary school and if the teacher isn't required to give them makeup work because it wasn't excused, that brings their grades down (this hasn't happened when we've had the occasional day out....but we're not taking any chances).

 

[pacrosby]

I agree. I think it is kind of funny that the "anti" camp on this issue is always saying "Do what you want, but be aware of school policies and prepared to live with the school's consequences" but then comes down squarely AGAINST providing something that the school is requesting to have the absence excused. As far as I can tell what they're really saying is that Disney vacations shouldn't be excused absences, and even if the school gives parents a way to make them excused parents shouldn't comply because excusing vacation time is wrong.

I love my school district. No hoops to jump through - any absence that the parent calls in to verify is excused, no questions asked, and truancy is handled on a case-by-case referral basis because the school recognizes the intent of truancy laws (Does anyone believe those laws were written because of a terrible epidemic of families vacationing together? ). To paraphrase BamaFan, our district values family more than bureaucracy and understands that many families cannot travel during the summer, whether do to work obligations (agriculture, construction, and marine services are the biggest industries in my community) or inability to afford peak travel season pricing.

 

[pacrosby]

Take what they say on the website with a grain of salt...........

If they want to take us to the truancy officer, let them. They'll see they are wasting their time on a student who is in school 99.9% of the time and it won't ever become an issue.

This.

Thank you for being a voice of reason. It is clear in reading the opinions of some on these boards that many schools have accomplished exactly what they had hoped to accomplish when they wrote out these ridiculous threatening policies. They've scared the bejeeus out of parents and... voila, fewer parents now take their kids out of school for vacation. Guess who's happy now?

Only an irrational controlling school district would actually follow through on such threats (provided there aren't other issues going on of course ). It defies logic to fail a child who is otherwise a dedicated responsible student just because mom and dad decide to take them out of school on vacation. Defies it even more to clog the courts with such nonsense. To be honest, I wouldn't want my children educated in that kind of environment, by people who support such strict, inflexible policies. And I wouldn't care how 'high-performing' the school supposedly is. It's an attitude that I find disturbing. Personally, it'd be reason enough to find an educational alternative.

 

[DisneyBamaFan]

DisneyBamaFan & Quentina,

I see you are both in NJ/PA/NY area. I think about 10 years ago, many schools changed their policies towards families and vacations. (remember that important date a few weeks ago?) Vacations during school is much more tolerated.

However, in our school, they are very touchy about testing days. They don't recommend kids missing either ERB's or PSSA days - even though makeup days are offered, they would rather have the kids take them with their class on the "normal" testing day. Obviously, makeups occur due to sickness, but they'd rather not have them occur due to vacations. I always ask for those dates early and plan around them and most teachers/principals are appreciative of that.

Same here - We considered taking our boys out this past May for a week, but the only time that worked with my work schedule was during the test period, so we agreed to give it a miss. Both of my boys are high scorers on the tests and the school asked that we try to be there. We did. So, even though they encourage family vacations, they have periods during the school year in which it is not encouraged - even frowned upon. I support that sort of strategy as it makes sense for everyone.

 

[Goofypop]

Our school system is pretty strict about what they consider excused or not. But, they never give us any grief about taking the kids out of school. Their policy is that a Secondary School student can miss only 6 unexcused days in a semester before being flunked on their 7th absence. The only excused absences are medical related and require a doctor's note. The Primary and Elementary schools are a little more loose about this. It sounds strict, I know. But this school system has some of the highest testing scores in the region.

That being said, it still doesn't stop me from sending a letter in to my children's teachers so they are at least aware of the upcoming absences. It is more of a courtesy thing. With the exception of last year we always go during the the Fall Break at the schools so that they miss less days. Usually it is only 3 days missed instead of 6. The following is the letter format that I use.

-------------------------------------------------------

[Our Name]

[Our Address]
[Our Phone]
DATE: [Date]

RE: [Child's Name] school absence

This purpose of this letter is to inform you that [Child's Name] will be out of school on:

October 12th through October 19th

He will miss these days because our family will be out of the state during this week. He will be returning on Monday, October 20th.

If it is possible for [Child's First Name] to take any assignments with him that will be due while he is gone to turned in before we leave, completed during the trip and sent in, or to be turned in when we return please let us know as soon as possible. We will have some time in the airplane and on the road to complete assignments.

If you have any questions or need any further information, please feel free to contact us at [Phone] (h), [Cell] (c) or . Thank you.

[RIGHT][RIGHT][Your Name][/RIGHT][/RIGHT]
[RIGHT][RIGHT] [/RIGHT][/RIGHT]
[RIGHT][RIGHT]________________________________[/RIGHT]
[LEFT]
[/RIGHT][/LEFT]
-------------------------------------------------------

 

[wvjules]

I can't imagine planning a vacation where my child would miss 7 days in a row. That is a lot of work to make up and/or do on vacation. A day or two, sure but over a week? No way!

Counselor.

 

[Jaime4004]

This.

Thank you for being a voice of reason. It is clear in reading the opinions of some on these boards that many schools have accomplished exactly what they had hoped to accomplish when they wrote out these ridiculous threatening policies. They've scared the bejeeus out of parents and... voila, fewer parents now take their kids out of school for vacation. Guess who's happy now?

Only an irrational controlling school district would actually follow through on such threats (provided there aren't other issues going on of course ). It defies logic to fail a child who is otherwise a dedicated responsible student just because mom and dad decide to take them out of school on vacation. Defies it even more to clog the courts with such nonsense. To be honest, I wouldn't want my children educated in that kind of environment, by people who support such strict, inflexible policies. And I wouldn't care how 'high-performing' the school supposedly is. It's an attitude that I find disturbing. Personally, it'd be reason enough to find an educational alternative.

Exactly! But you'll still get the horror stories of friends of friends that have been pulled into court or had their children fail... I take the kids out every year, never checked the policy, don't really care what it is. I always inform the teachers in advance that we are vacationing in FL and always get a "have fun" response. Really, what else could they say? Your 2nd grader will probably never get into a good college because you pulled them out of school for a week every year? Maybe it's because I live in a small town and they don't have the money to be keeping kids back a year for no reason or hauling parents into court, they are busy trying to find the money to bring back the assistant principal who was laid off...
That being said, even though I don't care what the official policy is, if I were specifically asked by the school to give an educational letter, I definitely would. I find it hard to believe that anyone wouldn't, if asked.

 

[Goofypop]

Wow. If they fail your kids you actually have to go to court where you are? That's harsh. This school district here says that if your Secondary school (6th to 12th grades) child misses 7 or more days then they fail that semester and have to retake those classes the next year but they don't make you go to court over it. They just send out a letter explaining that the state required amount of days in class have not been met and that the student did not fully receive the education that the semester attempted to give them. Simple. Why the court date?


And, that being said, none of my children's teachers have ever had anything negative to say about our trips and have actually allowed my children to make up the work either before we left or when we got back with no issues. And that work still counted as long as they did not miss over the 7 days.

 

[badblackpug]

I'm in NJ. The district reserves the right to take the parent to court for excessive absenteeism. That is described as more than 16 days of "allowable" absences or more than 10 "unexcused" absences. Both of these situations can result in a child being failed. In defense of the district, they do attempt to work with the parent when the number of absences creeps toward the limit. They do call the parent and arrange a meeting and try to work out what is going on and avoid the child going over the limit. Usually the court is only brought into play when the parent does not comply with the school after to meeting or if the parent does not contact or attempt to work with the school.

My example: My friends son, who does not do well in school (go figure) missed a lot of school during the year for silly reasons. (my contacts were bothering me, I didn't sleep well, etc) All of these with a parents note, so and allowable absence, but not an excused one. (loong story as to why she allowed it) anyway.... the school called her in for a meeting and told her Bobby missed so many days, this is what we need to do. Well.... my friend took him out of school for a week for WDW. (this is a high school student) They did take her to court, and they did fine her $875, and her son had to do credit make-up on Saturdays in order to pass for the year.

 

[Goofypop]

I could see that being a court issue then. But we live in a smaller community so our school system is a little more laid back. It used to be out of control here with truancy. When I went to school here I would regularly take 5 days off to go on a road trip with my friends several times a school year. Even though I made all of that work up, thank God, some of my friends did not and they ended up failing a grade or two. It was bad here with absenteeism. Then one year a while back ( I was already out of school by then) the state stepped in and told the district that the problem was out of control and the district better get a grip on it, quick. That's when they switched to college blocks and quite a few college prep classes and several courses of study that a new Freshman can choose from to streamline their education toward a particular college goal. It's actually not too bad. I wish they had this when I was in school here. LOL My daughter is currently focusing her studies on art. She still has to take the usual classes like English, a science, a history, and a math but she has her electives centered more toward art and photography.

 

[pacrosby]

Wow. If they fail your kids you actually have to go to court where you are? That's harsh. This school district here says that if your Secondary school (6th to 12th grades) child misses 7 or more days then they fail that semester and have to retake those classes the next year but they don't make you go to court over it. They just send out a letter explaining that the state required amount of days in class have not been met and that the student did not fully receive the education that the semester attempted to give them. Simple.

IMO (and yes, it I recognize it is only my opinon) even this goes too far. I thought the point was to learn the material? What if they've been a responsible, dedicated student who has demonstrated good effort, good grades and good attendance up until the vacation? If they can demonstrate that they have learned the material and can complete the missed work in a timely manner, why should they have to repeat an entire class?

Actually scratch that, because I know. To teach you a lesson! A pathetic abuse of power in my opinion.

You know, I have often wondered, if this really does happen....do they just allow the child to stay home from school for the remainder of the semester?

I mean, why in heaven's name would a student even bother to come to school and sit through the remainder of all those classes if they are just going to have to repeat next year anyway????????

 

[DisneyBamaFan]

IMO (and yes, it I recognize it is only my opinon) even this goes too far. I thought the point was to learn the material? What if they've been an A/B student up until the vacation? If they can demonstrate that thye have learned the material and can complete the missed work in a timely manner, why should they have to repeat an entire class?

But, you know, I have often wondered, if this really does happen....do they just allow the child to stay home from school for the remainder of the semester?

I mean, why even heaven's name would a student even bother to come to school and sit through the remainder of all those classes if they are just going to have to repeat next year anyway????????

It is about the way that the schools get federal funding - not about the education of the child. Sad, but true.

 

[NikitaZee]

We've lived in three states, different rules for each school district. District #1 - vacations are okay, just send in a note and it'll be excused. District #2 - frowned upon, warning letter sent home. District #3 (current district) - frowned upon, but no consequences are outlined in the school handbook.
We're taking the kids out for a week in November (both elementary level). I'll send in a note to each teacher, no make-up work is given ahead of time, so I'll help the kids get caught up when we return.
Point being - it seems that vacations/absences/excused or unexcused is completely arbitratry and at the whim of the superintendent of the district you live in. My husband and I have decided to make these decisions ourselves, and not allow the bureaucracy to do it for us.

 

[Goofypop]

IMO (and yes, it I recognize it is only my opinon) even this goes too far. I thought the point was to learn the material? What if they've been a responsible, dedicated student who has demonstrated good effort, good grades and good attendance up until the vacation? If they can demonstrate that they have learned the material and can complete the missed work in a timely manner, why should they have to repeat an entire class?

Actually scratch that, because I know. To teach you a lesson! A pathetic abuse of power in my opinion.

You know, I have often wondered, if this really does happen....do they just allow the child to stay home from school for the remainder of the semester?

I mean, why in heaven's name would a student even bother to come to school and sit through the remainder of all those classes if they are just going to have to repeat next year anyway????????

Simple answer.... That's why we are the parents. We have to make the decision whether to take the kids out and risk them getting into trouble with whatever policies our schools have in place or go when the kids are out of school. And if you do not have the option to go when the kids are out of school then sorry, you don't get to go. It's about being responsible and not just looking at what you want but rather what your child needs. If you know that your school has a policy that will fail the children if they miss more than XX amount of days then either do not exceed those days or do not take them out. We never exceed the 6 days, simple.

And I have no idea about why a student would continue to come back if they knew they were going to fail. I always thought that was a flaw in the thought process too but we never break this 6 day limit anyway so it doesn't matter.

 

[pacrosby]

My example: My friends son, who does not do well in school (go figure) missed a lot of school during the year for silly reasons. (my contacts were bothering me, I didn't sleep well, etc) All of these with a parents note, so and allowable absence, but not an excused one. (loong story as to why she allowed it) anyway.... the school called her in for a meeting and told her Bobby missed so many days, this is what we need to do. Well.... my friend took him out of school for a week for WDW. (this is a high school student) They did take her to court, and they did fine her $875, and her son had to do credit make-up on Saturdays in order to pass for the year.

This actually confuses me.

Juniors and seniors (as well as most sophmores depending on the time of year) in high school are of an age where they can drop out if they so desire. How then can they fine a parent for not sending their child to school?

Maybe your friend's child was younger?

Actually your friend's problem seems less related to her WDW vacation than her overall lack of interest/involvement in her son's education. The WDW trip was just the straw that broke the camel's back. I'm guessing if he were out for anything that couldn't be considered absolutely necessary at the point, the truancy board would've been brought in. And appropriately so.

 

[Goofypop]

We've lived in three states, different rules for each school district. District #1 - vacations are okay, just send in a note and it'll be excused. District #2 - frowned upon, warning letter sent home. District #3 (current district) - frowned upon, but no consequences are outlined in the school handbook.
We're taking the kids out for a week in November (both elementary level). I'll send in a note to each teacher, no make-up work is given ahead of time, so I'll help the kids get caught up when we return.
Point being - it seems that vacations/absences/excused or unexcused is completely arbitratry and at the whim of the superintendent of the district you live in. My husband and I have decided to make these decisions ourselves, and not allow the bureaucracy to do it for us.

Your state may be different then but in Indiana it is up to the state as to how many days a student is required to attend classes. The superintendent has nothing to do with it here. They just enforce the rules. They of course have their own rules but they also have to defer to the states rules over anything else. I hate to see parents here take their kids out of school for 2 weeks at a time and then gripe and complain that it isn't fair that their kids are failing. They knew the rules but they had the same attitude about it "My husband and I have decided to make these decisions ourselves, and not allow the bureaucracy to do it for us." but the thing is, the bureaucracy will win.

 

[castleview]

If you're willing to take the kids out of school for WDW, do you really care if the absence is excused? Just tell them you're taking a family trip and will catch up when you get back. Some teachers may give some work if you wish, some might not - they aren't obligated. I supposed you can try and tell them you're going to teach physics while riding Rock-n-Roller Coaster and that you'll be doing the cultural thing at Epcot (although teaching them that German girls regularly walk around in wide dresses and pig tails isn't very productive).

Honestly, though - most teachers are good with it as long you don't demand upfront work or expect special treatment if your child doesn't catch up.

 

[pacrosby]

Simple answer.... That's why we are the parents. We have to make the decision whether to take the kids out and risk them getting into trouble with whatever policies our schools have in place or go when the kids are out of school. And if you do not have the option to go when the kids are out of school then sorry, you don't get to go. It's about being responsible and not just looking at what you want but rather what your child needs. If you know that your school has a policy that will fail the children if they miss more than XX amount of days then either do not exceed those days or do not take them out. We never exceed the 6 days, simple.

And I have no idea about why a student would continue to come back if they knew they were going to fail. I always thought that was a flaw in the thought process too but we never break this 6 day limit anyway so it doesn't matter.

With all due respect I think you kind of missed the point.

If my child is in school everyday, is doing well and getting all A's and B's, is a contributing member of the school community, and then we go away on vacation towards the end of the semester and they miss X number of days (that just happen to go over the alloted allowance) than how does it make any sense to completely discount everything they've done up until then and make them repeat their classes? Truth is, it doesn't. It's illogical. If that is their rule, they are simply on a power trip.

And maybe that's ok with you as it seems your point of view is simply "follow the rules and accept the consequences". That's fine for you, really. And I'm not being snarky. I just happen to live in a world where rules must make sense.

And btw, what do you think? Do you think little Johnny should just be allowed to take the rest of the semester off? I mean nothing is going to count anyway, right? I think this is a very valid question and worth investigating.

 

[castleview]

I think you kind of missed the point.

If my kid is in school everyday and is doing well and getting all A's and B's and then we go away on vacation and miss X number of days (that just happen to go over the alloted allowance) than what they have already done should not be completely discounted. That's just logical.

Apparently your point of view is simply "follow the rules and accept the consequences", which is fine for you, really. I live in a world where rules must make sense.

And btw, what do you think? Do you think little Johnny should just be allowed to take the rest of the semester off? I mean nothing is going to count anyway, right? I think this is a very valid question and worth investigating.

Ah, yes. Rules apply to every one but you. I've got no beef taking kids out for WDW, but honestly that attitude makes it hard for other to do it. By your logic, because the middle school here is MUCH more work than the elementary school then the middle school should water down its workload because it just doesn't make sense for your child to have so much more work to do when they return.

 

[pacrosby]

Ah, yes. Rules apply to every one but you. I've got no beef taking kids out for WDW, but honestly that attitude makes it hard for other to do it. By your logic, because the middle school here is MUCH more work than the elementary school then the middle school should water down its workload because it just doesn't make sense for your child to have so much more work to do when they return.

That's not what I said. I said 'in my world, rules must make sense.' Please don't try and start an argument.

And your comparison to the workload in middle school? Huh?????? Of course the work load would be greater. in middle school than in elementary school. That makes sense. Not that that even qualifies as a 'rule'


ETA: I haven't even commented on how I would handle the situation so this isn't about defending my choices. I'm just talking about controlling school districts and how absurd and illogical some of their 'rules' have become. No matter how you slice it, it does defy logic. There is no good reason to hold back a child who has mastered the material in order to prove a point. That is the definition of childish.