Has anyone Pulled a Child out of School to Go to WDW?

[daisyduck123]

Your kids will remember & have so many memories & experiences at WDW, it will out weigh 5 days of school !!!
Get to be 41 years old like me, and I remember family times, not what days & how many days I went to school!!!!
It is a few days of school, look at the "big picture".....no child will suffer !!
I respect others opinions, but I just don't get why 5 days of school in a long 12 years of schooling is so do or die......

Well said!!

 

[Luv'sTink]

Not for WDW but for Disneyland. We told the school the truth we were going on vacation and will do it again in Nov.

 

[amy4bruce]

We pulled DD6 out of school for a week last December. Of course, she was in kindergarten, so it didn't make much of a difference.

When we did it, my wife told the teacher the truth - my parents had been killed in a car accident in May. They had taken my nephews to WDW when they each were six (a long time ago, admitttedly) and we thought it would be appropriate to use the money they left us to take their only granddaughter when she turned six. The teacher cried, and told us to go with her blessings.

(We left out that my parents were in their upper seventies, not in good health, and probably wouldn't have taken her, but, except for that, it was the truth.)

This year, we plan a September visit (free dining rocks!). DD6 will be in her first month of first grade, so, again, it's not a problem. I can't even guess at this point as to what the future will hold.

 

[declansdad]

It is a few days of school, look at the "big picture".....no child will suffer !!
I respect others opinions, but I just don't get why 5 days of school in a long 12 years of schooling is so do or die......

It does make a difference based the grade level and academic level of the child. Missing 5 days in the early grades probably would make a difference. Five days in high school or middle school could well mnake the difference between passing or falling that year.

 

[tink2]

As a teacher and parent, here is my opinion. If they are in the early elementary grades- say k-4- and are not struggling, go for it. Tell the teacher and principal way ahead of time though- my school will excuse it if you talk to the principal before you go, but not after you return. I took dd out for a week in k and I took a week myself. I plan to take dd out of 2nd and ds out of k this Dec.- and miss a week myself also. This is not something we do all the time- as a matter of fact- we may never do it again after this year b/c it may be a few years before we go back. I do not condone missing school for vacation frequently, but if they are a good student, then one week out of the year won't hurt. I also picked a week that happens to be a good one for them to miss- just before Christmas break. I realize there will be a lot of 'christmas' activities going on that they will miss, but probably not as much academic stuff. Anyway, just be sure to talk to the teacher and principal first. Every school has different policies, but it is best to be honest and upfront- they will be more likely to work with you then.

 

[Evil Queen]

Our district does not excuse them. They can allow them to make up the work.

I've pulled my youngest DS out for the last 2 years and will again this September. He will be in 5th grade.

The first year I didn't lie, I just didn't let the whole truth be known. We were leaving town for 4 days, but didn't tell them until a few days before going. This past September, I was brutally honest. It's too hard for me to not talk about Disney, I can't expect that from a youngest. He had a hard time keeping it to himself, the year I told the school, we were going out of town. So it was so much easier on him last trip because he could talk about it. His teacher knew he would be there. She let him make up work and graded it as if it was turned in on time.

My son does work hard to be a good student and until his school works suffers, I will probably continue to pull him out. He was out 5 days last trip and will be 5 days this trip too.

I will be honest next trip too.

 

[mom2taylorandemily]

We must be very lucky, our school district has written into the school policy that each student can have 5 excused vacation days per year. We live in a fairly military populated area so they write this in for parents who need to take vacations at different times than what summer allows for. So we will be pulling girls out of school in December to come down. I also have the luxury of teaching in their school, so I somewhat know already who their teachers might be and I have already told them that we will be out for the trip in December.

 

[dkal95]

I pulled our oldest DD out for 6 days when we took our trip in 04. I'm going to pull her out again for 6 days when we go this October.

At her school it's unexcused. I don't mind. She'll remember this special time with her family!

 

[sameyeyam]

I decided to check what my state (Washington) considers excused or unexcused. The state law says that family vacations are considered an excused absence. However it requests that you let the school know at least 3 days in advance so they may plan and that the child may be required to make up any missed school work.

Maybe some states are more strict. But it sure wouldn't hurt to take a look at your individual state laws and see what they say, regardless of what you school tells you.

Washington state goes even further and says that if it is an "unexcused absence" then if the parent contacts the school within a "reasonable time" of returning, it will then be considered excused.

It also states that nothing will happen unless you have more than 7 unexcused absences in 1 month, or 10 per school year. The penalty for all those unexcused absences?? You will be sent a letter that states you need to send you child to school! If you ignore the letter, then they will seek court approval to force your child to go to school.

Yahoo! That means I can keep pulling my kids out of school for Disney vacations! DD will be in High School this year, we did it in Junior High and will continue on. Pulled DD out of 8th grade for an extra week this year, somehow no one came after us and she still managed to keep a 3.79 GPA.

So I say as long as you're complying with your state laws and you feel that your children are doing well enough in school, then it shouldn't be a big deal.

 

[mom2taylorandemily]

I am glad that your state allows for you to take your vacation. I feel as a teacher and a parent that sometimes the best lessons are taught outside of the classroom. They learn at a minimum, social skills. Lets face it, sometimes manners take a back seat at Disney (I've been bumped and knocked by more than I care to remember without so much as an "excuse me" in line or just walking thru the parks), so my kids will be learning how to behave themselves in very crowded situations. Also, Epcot will clearly serve as a science lesson and social studies lesson. Animal Kingdom will also serve as a science lesson and history lesson. I suppose we are just very fortunate to have a lenient policy. However, to those who feel that I am irresponsible for taking my kids out of school: I don't feel that those of us who choose to take our kids out of school should get flamed by others who do not share our views. Just because you don't agree, don't wish bad consequences on us. We are fully aware of what our choices are, or we wouldn't be taking the kiddos out. That having been said, I stand by my decision to take my kids out of school to go. My DH works in a Nuclear Power Station, and we take our vacations according to his schedule. I knew that when I married him.

 

[7HEAVEN]

I Have Pulled My Kids Out Of School A Couple Of Times To Go To Disney And I Generally Tell The Teachers The Truth . They Are Pretty Cool With It They Give Work To Keep The Kids Caught Up And Tell Us To Have Fun. Don't Stress

 

[LBKMAMA]

I've taken my son out for last two years for 4 days each time. We usually go mid week to mid week. In both K and 1st teachers gave me most ditto work ahead of time and it was completed either ahead of departure or on plane. This year in 1st we brought 6 books which he read 1 each day. I also brought the math ditto and he did those each morning while I was getting little ones ready. Both teachers said have a great time. I'm waiting to see who he gets for 2nd...I've heard some of them don't give work (sticking to school board policy). I'm planning on enjoying these value season or Free dining times for the next 3 years and then once we hit middle school we'll need to reevaluate.

 

[3mickeys&me]

I have several times taken our kids out of school for a DISNEY trip and would do it again in a heartbeat!!! We did the 7 day land and sea cruise with Disney Last may and actually added another park day as well. The kids missed 7 total school days. They are in elementary school and their teachers were told way in advance about the trip. Our teachers and our school was cool about it. They did take some work with them and finished it on our down time.

Check with your school, as you can see everyone is different. Only you know whats right for your family. Family time is important and its not always easy to get time off when school is not in session.

 

[Caitsmama]

My dd will be in K this yr, and we will be taking her out for 3 days (We are going the week of thanksgiving, but there is no school on thurs or fri), And then the following yr, we will be taking her out a full week, as we plan to do the Disney Cruise on her 7th bday.
I have no problem taking her out of school. And i think when they are older, as long as they are good kids, and try hard in school and get good grades, i would be ok taking her out as well. However, she will know upfront, if she doesn't do well in school or gets in trouble, she won't be going anywhere! LOL

 

[Va-bear]

It's funny how different school systems are! Someone here joked "what are they going to do? Call child protective services?" Well, here in Richmond Va they actually did do that to a friend of mine! She'd informed the teachers she was taking the kids to a family wedding - but it was unexcused. Since they went over the limit on unexcused days (by one day, its a very low limit) they actually called CPS!!!! CPS did nothing but can you believe it!!! So, check those rules carefully!!!

 

[matthew&haleysmom]

It's funny how different school systems are! Someone here joked "what are they going to do? Call child protective services?" Well, here in Richmond Va they actually did do that to a friend of mine! She'd informed the teachers she was taking the kids to a family wedding - but it was unexcused. Since they went over the limit on unexcused days (by one day, its a very low limit) they actually called CPS!!!! CPS did nothing but can you believe it!!! So, check those rules carefully!!!

Here in Hampton Roads, many of the school divisions do the same thing when a child misses too many days of school.

Having said that, in two years, we will be taking our dd out of school for 3 days to go to DW. This could change if for some unforeseen reason she misses a lot of school that year.

 

[lexmelinda]

We made the decision to take our kids out of school for 4 days this fall to go to WDW because my husband owns his own business and can't take off in the summer....his busiest season. He works 6 sometimes 7 days per week. Consequently, we have little family time and have not had a family vacation in 4 years. Our children are 16, almost 13, and almost 6. We figured this may be one of our last opportunities to take the kids on a nice vacation before DD16 leaves for college and with free dining it's an opportunity to "do it right" that we could never afford otherwise. In our school system 3 unexcused absences and the student is considered truant. My friend who is a teacher tells me that the school system "forces" parents to lie about being on vacation. I consider myself a very honest person but when it comes to this much needed and long overdue vacation, I guess my kids will have to be "sick" to be excused.

 

[mom2my3kids]

Here in Hampton Roads, many of the school divisions do the same thing when a child misses too many days of school.

Having said that, in two years, we will be taking our dd out of school for 3 days to go to DW. This could change if for some unforeseen reason she misses a lot of school that year.

Its like that here in my part of Indiana, I think its 10 days of unexcused days a year...

 

[mom2my3kids]

We are pulling our kids our during fall break, they will miss 4 days of school. I will make sure to give the teachers a couple weeks notice so they can get as much work for them as possible to do. My daughter will be in thew 7th grade and my middle son will be in the 3rd grade. My smallest is only going to be in preschool this fall..

 

[Laurajean1014]

Yes, when he was in kindergarten, 1st and 2nd grade. Now we only have him miss one or two days (not 5 or so).

He goes to a private school, makes up all the missed work and besides, everyone else does it.