Help ! Take Kids Out Of School ??

[Rustysmom]

I'm writing the teacher a note right now and I'm getting hives. My DS will only be out 2 days, but he hasn't been doing well on tests. He just started Middle School and boy is it hard, especially since he's in special ed.

I'm so tempted to not even write a note and then say he was sick, but I can't do that to him because I know he'll be excited and want to tell people. I just hope the teachers don't penalize him.

We wouldn't even be going during the school year at all if we didn't win this trip. They have blackout dates during holidays and we were already there during the summer for a trip that we already paid for before we won the trip. Ah, the stress Gonna sign DH's name on the note.

 

[*love*2*shop]

fROM A fAMILY who is taking the children out of school 5 days for a 7 day vacation....

DATE:
TO: [school official]

FROM:

RE: [students name and vacation dates]

Please be advised that [student] will be out of school during the week of [date]. We ask that his absences be excused.

The reason for [student]'s absence is that our family will be out of the state during this week. While we are gone, we will be visiting Walt Disney World. We believe that [student] will be learning many things during this trip and that his education will continue in his absence from school.

Some things [student] will learn about:

• Different cultures of the world, including architecture, language, diet, and dress, by visiting the different countries in the Epcot World Showcase (Japan, China, Germany, Mexico, Norway, Canada, France, etc.) [student] will have the chance to explore the exhibits for each country and speak with natives from each country who work as cast members.
• American history by viewing the Hall of Presidents presentation in the Magic Kingdom and the American Adventure show in Epcot.
• Nature and conservation at Animal Kingdom.
• Science by exploring the Mission:Space ride in Epcot where he will have a chance to see and feel what it would be like to travel by rocket to Mars and by experiencing the Universe of Energy exhibit which teaches about fossil fuels, energy, and conservation.
• Economics by managing his own spending money and making budget decisions on how to spend his money.

[student] will also be learning about map reading by navigating in and to the different theme parks, as well as the resorts and water parks via the Disney bus system, sociological aspects of crowds including patterns and behavior, physics of the different rides, breakthroughs in technology at the Innoventions computer lab in Epcot, art and animation and the history of film, and mathematics.

We believe this will be a wonderful and educational experience for [student] and hope you agree not to charge him with unexcused absences as a result. If it is possible for [student] to take any assignments with him to be turned in when we return or to turn in before we leave any work that will be due while he is gone, please let us know as soon as possible.

Thank you for your attention to this. If you have any questions or need any further information, please feel free to contact me.

[Parent's Signture]_________

 

[LoriZH]

Okay I didn't read all the responses, but here is what is happening to us right now and since our kids are almost the same age this may help you. Our 10 year olds (twins) did fine, they made up the work in record time and were all caught up in three days, no problem, until one got sick with a 102 temp and had to miss a day, the other one got it a week later and had to miss a day. We are now having to meet with their teacher and she hinted about the "vacation" thing. Now, the 14 year old is going through hell with only one of her teachers but the teacher is NOT budging. She had stayed up till midnight doing her make up work and homework the first week back and scheduled all her quizes for the 2nd week, no problem, with the exception of her English class, apparently the teacher told her she had to make up the quiz in a "timely" fashion and by a timely fashion, she meant the first week she was back, only she never told her that. Just said, nope can't schedule it, too bad too sad. I spoke with the teacher and she said (and I quote) "due to her little vacation she took, she cannot make up the quiz, I am sorry" Umm...little vacation she took? She is 14 and had no choice, plus we hadn't been on a family vacation in 2 years! The teacher also went as far as to say that my DD should even drop down a level (she's in accelerated) due to her not being able to make up the quiz! This upset DD so much, she wants to be a journalist and English is going to be her major and if she drops down a level that will look poorly when she tries to get into college! How dare this woman! Well, when I told her that, she felt like a jerk (I could tell because she said she may have overreacted) and that she could have two weeks to finish her work and since DD has all A's in her class, that this should bring up her grade significantly, but she will not allow her to make up the quiz. Well, DD has decided NO MORE vacations during school, she's done with it, it's not worth it to her she has asked me to tell you that it's "rough" and not worth it This pangs me, that the teachers would punish children because of us parents. First, my DH is s firefighter and works two jobs, cannot just pick up an go, it's political and he gets what he gets for vacation period, my vacation can't be taken until the end of August, so we go when we go when we can afford and when our jobs allow. I don't blame my dd, she had a hard time catching up and she worked very hard to do so.

So, my thoughts are that the 10 year olds will be fine, but the HS student may have a rough time. My other DD went when she was in HS but she was not in accelerated classes so she had no problem and would take a vacation every week if she could So, I would definitely talk to the teacher's first and ask their policy also see if they can bring some work with them. I personally believe that it's fine to take your children out for FAMILY vacations especially if it's the only time your family can afford or schedule a trip to Disney World. We may or may not be taking our sons next year, if not DH & I will be going by ourselves.

 

[kmcford]

With kids that age you have to really be careful with finals and the end of the semester. You wouldn't want to mess up your children's grades.

 

[clareita]

fROM A fAMILY who is taking the children out of school 5 days for a 7 day vacation....

DATE:
TO: [school official]

FROM:

RE: [students name and vacation dates]

Please be advised that [student] will be out of school during the week of [date]. We ask that his absences be excused.

The reason for [student]'s absence is that our family will be out of the state during this week. While we are gone, we will be visiting Walt Disney World. We believe that [student] will be learning many things during this trip and that his education will continue in his absence from school.

Some things [student] will learn about:

• Different cultures of the world, including architecture, language, diet, and dress, by visiting the different countries in the Epcot World Showcase (Japan, China, Germany, Mexico, Norway, Canada, France, etc.) [student] will have the chance to explore the exhibits for each country and speak with natives from each country who work as cast members.
• American history by viewing the Hall of Presidents presentation in the Magic Kingdom and the American Adventure show in Epcot.
• Nature and conservation at Animal Kingdom.
• Science by exploring the Mission:Space ride in Epcot where he will have a chance to see and feel what it would be like to travel by rocket to Mars and by experiencing the Universe of Energy exhibit which teaches about fossil fuels, energy, and conservation.
• Economics by managing his own spending money and making budget decisions on how to spend his money.

[student] will also be learning about map reading by navigating in and to the different theme parks, as well as the resorts and water parks via the Disney bus system, sociological aspects of crowds including patterns and behavior, physics of the different rides, breakthroughs in technology at the Innoventions computer lab in Epcot, art and animation and the history of film, and mathematics.

We believe this will be a wonderful and educational experience for [student] and hope you agree not to charge him with unexcused absences as a result. If it is possible for [student] to take any assignments with him to be turned in when we return or to turn in before we leave any work that will be due while he is gone, please let us know as soon as possible.

Thank you for your attention to this. If you have any questions or need any further information, please feel free to contact me.

[Parent's Signture]_________

As a former high school teacher, I would strongly advise not using such a letter, as you will only piss off your children's teachers. The implication is that it is okay for kids to miss school because they will be learning just as much at WDW as they would in school. If this is really true, you owe it to your kids, if at all possible, to find them a different school. You would be much better off sending in a simple note stating that you will be on vacation and requesting that the teacher provide makeup. Of course, the teachers are under no obligation to provide the makeup work before you leave.

In these many debates, I've read that parents think missing school won't be a problem because their kids do their homework before/during/after the trip. I think there is a misunderstanding about what homework is. Homework is about preparing students for a lesson in class or reinforcing what they have learned in class. It does not replace being in class, and in many cases the homework is meaningless and difficult to complete when you miss the lesson.

 

[kmcford]

As a former high school teacher, I would strongly advise not using such a letter, as you will only piss off your children's teachers. The implication is that it is okay for kids to miss school because they will be learning just as much at WDW as they would in school. If this is really true, you owe it to your kids, if at all possible, to find them a different school. You would be much better off sending in a simple note stating that you will be on vacation and requesting that the teacher provide makeup. Of course, the teachers are under no obligation to provide the makeup work before you leave.

In these many debates, I've read that parents think missing school won't be a problem because their kids do their homework before/during/after the trip. I think there is a misunderstanding about what homework is. Homework is about preparing students for a lesson in class or reinforcing what they have learned in class. It does not replace being in class, and in many cases the homework is meaningless and difficult to complete when you miss the lesson.

That is so true! People really underestimate what takes place in a classroom. The real learning takes place from effective classroom instruction not the assignments a child completes. Usually an assignment is used as an evaluation to see if a student understands a concept.

I am by no means saying don't take a child out of school but realize that you will not replace the instruction that the child is missing simply by completing missed assignments.

 

[jey]

We are taking our son out of school for a week in Jan. to go to DW. He is in kindergarten and doing well. I wouldn't hesitate to take him out of elementary school, but middle and high school are a different story. Evan's teacher and principal are fine with him going. I am also an elemetary school media specialist. I already have my substitiute lined up and okay from my principal. Just a side note, I am taking the days off with no pay. My husband is a farmer and traveling in the summer, fall break, spring break, etc. just is impossible.
In regards to a previous post, to the parent who was upset that her child wasn't given like 2 weeks to make up a quiz. I have to disagree with you. Work should be made and and all quizzes/tests completed within a week at the most. Teachers have so much to teach and grade, they should not have to wait weeks for a child to make up work because of a family vacation. When I taught middle school, I had 6 classes with 30 students to a class. It is hard to keep up all the students who are absent and the work they need to complete on top of everything else we do.

 

[cinjoe22]

I would recommend checking your school handbook to see if there is a policy listed. If there is not one listed, then I would contact the principal directly. My son's k-9 school had a wonderful policy on excused family vacations as long as the work went with you and was completed (each teacher had to sign the form we filled out, that was forwarded to them by the Principal, and it specified what dates we needed his work in advance for). For us, it was just as simple in high school as it was in elementry because it was a district wide policy. We never took more than 1 week and 1 day (eg six school days total) but I do know he had friends that went on vacations longer than that. Good luck!

We are a year round track school and the policy is take them out if you must....get zero's for all work missed

Make sure you know your policy

 

[TiggerGuy67]

I used to feel very strongly about this and I appreciate the comments by all above, particularly the ones by former teacher Clareita. I agree with her about not sending the note posted by love 2 shop, as neat and as true as it is. I think you will only make them mad.

We have spent a few late August vacations in the oppressive heat so that our kids did not have to be taken out of school. It also had a lot to do with the fact that my wife is a school librarian and could not take the time off. We found as many positives as we could during that time: the crowds are not as bad as they are in June or July, you can eat as much as you want and not gain weight because you sweat it all off (believe me we have tested this theory as fully as we could) In the end, it's Disney World. If you can't enjoy it whenever you are lucky enough to go, you should probably save your money.

So, why did I USED to feel strongly about this? We had another such trip planned this past August. About a month and a half before our departure, my wife was diagnosed with esophageal cancer. Her treatments and all that went with them made the trip an impossibility and a trip planned with love and much anticipation had to be cancelled. We decided then that we would go as soon as she was able, whether the kids were in school or not. Well, the treatments are nearing an end and we were just given the green light by our medical team. So we will be arriving in the World on December 15th. It is not what we wanted of course but we will finally be able to see the World decorated for Christmas and are staying at PR, where she has always wanted to.

I still feel that we are all too quick to put education on the back burner. But I also feel that there are times when exceptions are made. It would be great if we all put a little more thought into this. Put more thought before we pull our kids out of school. Can we do this another way without missing school? And put more thought before we judge those who do make this decision.

Peace, Love and Positive Thoughts for you all.

 

[Caitsmama]

I must be a minority. I have no problem pulling dd out of school for trips. I think any and all family time is the most important thing besides church, that we can give our kids.

Case in point, i am taking DD out of school for the following all this year:
3 days in November - WDW
3 days in January - DCL
2 days in February - DLR California
2 days in May - WDW again

Then, already for 2008, she will be missing the second week of school to go on a Disney Cruise, and another 3 days in November for WDW.

I am sorry, i KNOW this might get me flamed, but i honestly don't care. Life is too short, and for me personally, family time (including vacations) are the most precious thing we can share with each other. And, in the long run, my dd will remember more about these vacations and time she spends with her grandparents than what she will be doing in 1st and 2nd grade. And i wouldn't think anyone can argue that..

But, i also agree, that vacations can be just as much as a learning environment as a school day.. mostly mabye for lower grades... But, i know that spending a day at Epcot, my dd will probably learn and remember more than what she would in school in 1st or 2nd grade for the day..

 

[Home@WL]

As a 15-year-old Honors/AP student myself, I can say that missing even a couple days of high school, such as for an illness, is tough. Most of my teachers, however, have been very cooperative when I have been sick, and I suppose even more so in your case since you will be giving advance notice. As long as teachers can send along homework to be done on the car/plane ride, it should be fine. It will take some work to get caught up, but a trip to WDW is definitely worth it.

-Ian

 

[clareita]

I must be a minority. I have no problem pulling dd out of school for trips. I think any and all family time is the most important thing besides church, that we can give our kids.

Case in point, i am taking DD out of school for the following all this year:
3 days in November - WDW
3 days in January - DCL
2 days in February - DLR California
2 days in May - WDW again

Then, already for 2008, she will be missing the second week of school to go on a Disney Cruise, and another 3 days in November for WDW.

I am sorry, i KNOW this might get me flamed, but i honestly don't care. Life is too short, and for me personally, family time (including vacations) are the most precious thing we can share with each other. And, in the long run, my dd will remember more about these vacations and time she spends with her grandparents than what she will be doing in 1st and 2nd grade. And i wouldn't think anyone can argue that..

But, i also agree, that vacations can be just as much as a learning environment as a school day.. mostly mabye for lower grades... But, i know that spending a day at Epcot, my dd will probably learn and remember more than what she would in school in 1st or 2nd grade for the day..

I agree. Family time is important. That is why most school calendars include 3 weeks of vacation, numerous 3 day weekends and 10 weeks off in the summer. In all seriousness, taking your kids out of school for mulitple days every other month and a week in the first month of school sends a child the unmistakable message that school just isn't that important. Given the importance of education in our society, I cannot fathom why any parent would do this.

 

[Caitsmama]

I agree. Family time is important. That is why most school calendars include 3 weeks of vacation, numerous 3 day weekends and 10 weeks off in the summer. In all seriousness, taking your kids out of school for mulitple days every other month and a week in the first month of school sends a child the unmistakable message that school just isn't that important. Given the importance of education in our society, I cannot fathom why any parent would do this.

That's your opinion. We are going during vacations, but due to flights, we had to go on a school day coming or going.. which is where some of those 2 days comes out.. As for summer, Not that i have to explain it to you.. but I can't go.. It is my "in" season of work.. So, sorry, but if it means taking dd out here and there for a day or two, from first or second grade, or ME (as a income making parent) taking weeks off during MY peak work season -- um, that's not happening. "In all seriousness", it's FIRST grade. Life is too short.

ETA: Oh, and the week off at the beginning of school next year, is due to an incredible offer by my inlaws for a cruise.. So, guess what.. if you wouldn't take your child to another country on a cruise and consider it a learning expeirence, then,i don't know what is!!

 

[clareita]

ETA: Oh, and the week off at the beginning of school next year, is due to an incredible offer by my inlaws for a cruise.. So, guess what.. if you wouldn't take your child to another country on a cruise and consider it a learning expeirence, then,i don't know what is!!

For what it's worth, if my inlaws offered to take us on a cruise in September, I would politely decline. My kids would have a blast, but I don't think a cruise trip with a couple of port of call stops is much of a learning experience. It certainly wouldn't help my 1st grader learn to read.

 

[Epcotgal]

This is a very hard question for me because I have been on both sides. When our kids were younger we did pull them out of school to go to WDW. They were young, didn't pull them for many days, and they had good grades so I too felt it was ok to take them. Now I work in an elementary school office and have for 3 years. The school board has become very strict about what absences can and cannot be excused. They will not allow a vacation related absence to be excused. Nor will they accept the notes like my mom wrote back in the good old days saying she kept me home because I had an upset stomach, or cold etc. Now, if there isn't a dr's excuse turned in it's unexcused and mom's note means nothing. I have a problem with that since not every ailment needs a dr's visit but sometimes a child just isn't well enough to go to school. But, it's a rule we have to follow. The teachers really don't have a say in it. Yes, there are some who will bend over backwards to see that your child can make the work up in some way, but technically they don't have to. Truancy has become such a problem that it has come to this unfortunately. Bottom line though is to check with the school and know how many absences they allow and how many your child has. AND... in our school system our computers spit out truancy letters automatically at 5 - 10- 15 days absent since the yearly limit is 20 so I often take calls from parents panicked because they got a letter but it is just to make parents aware of the days missed. If your kids have been in school for 1 month and missed 5 days, yes, be cautious. If there is a valid reason or if you get one of those 5 day letters in December, don't worry. So don't necessarily panick if you get one of those letters. Keep it in mind, but YOU will know if there is a problem or not. I just hate those letters upsetting parents who don't need to be. Sorry so long winded!

 

[Caitsmama]

For what it's worth, if my inlaws offered to take us on a cruise in September, I would politely decline. My kids would have a blast, but I don't think a cruise trip with a couple of port of call stops is much of a learning experience. It certainly wouldn't help my 1st grader learn to read.

Really? Ports of call = different countries = huge learning expirence = oppertunities to read.(and, learn other cultures!)

 

[disneyjunkie]

Really? Ports of call = different countries = huge learning expirence = oppertunities to read.(and, learn other cultures!)

I guess we're lucky, we can learn about other cultures right here in NYC for free.

I believe that school and family time are equally important. It never occurred to me to place one above the other.

I agree that learning opportunities can and do take place outside of the classroom. Those opportunities don't disappear during official school breaks.

I'm sorry, but when my son and I are visiting WDW, we are not looking for learning opportunities. We only care about how many times we can ride the head liners and how many yummy snacks we can enjoy.

 

[badblackpug]

You will get a lot of opinions and this will become a heated srgument. I won't offer you any advice one way or another about "should you" or "shouldn't you." I will advise ou to check with your school district, though. Attendance policies vary from district to district, and some are more strict than others. Find out what the policy is, THEN decide whether or not to pull our kids out.

 

[kxmeeh]

we go to disney every other year, so this is the third time we are taking our dd10 out of class to go. our school district has a policy of one family vacation allowed per year. children must be able to show that they had learned things on their trips in order to have them excused. for grades up to 3rd, the kids can bring in pictures and do kind of like a show and tell. over grade 3 they have to write a report about what they learned. we actually booked the tour in disneyland a walk in walt's footsteps (highly recommended if you have an extra 4 hours) she came home with a 5 page typed report, adn that was in 3rd grade. the teacher actually showed it to the older classes at the middle school to show them an example of what learning on a trip should be. i am very proudly writing that dd is an a student. this year, she is earning her homework passes to at least not to have to make up all the homework (they earn 1 hw pass for each 5 100's on their tests) and just the schoolwork. they are both missing the 3 days before christmas break. so they have to make up schoolwork and do the report, but the kids have decided it's very worth it!!

 

[Deweysgirl]

Just back from a 7 day Dsiney cruise. Took my 7th grader and 4th grader out of school for the week. The prices during official school breaks are through the roof. We could never afford to do a 7 day cruise during summer, spring break, etc.

Did it cause problems for them, No.
Did they have a lot of work to make-up, Yes.
Would I do it again, probably not. We wanted to experience the cruise, we had a blast and I have no regrets.
I don't see a huge problem with doing it once to experience the Christmas season, just be prepared to help your children with homework and getting caught up when you get back.

I say, go for it!