How many school days does your child miss?

[JrsyDebs]

I agree with others who say it is harder to take older children (middle school/highschool age) out of school for more than a couple of days.

I originally was going to say the heck with it, family time important, haven't had a vacation in 9 years, you only live once, these times are precious, etc., and so forth, BUT...Last year DD had a really bad school year for different reasons, and she fell behind in her learning, so taking her out of school for a week is definitely not an option for our trip next year. I wanted to go sometime that is not the summer or Christmas holiday, and found that teacher conferences in November gives the kids a four-day weekend, so I will take DD out of school for just one day (Wednesdays are early-dismissal anyway) and go to WDW for four days (Wed-Sat) during Jersey Week. I know, it's not enough time, but it's better than nothing, and if (IF??!!) everyone has a good time, we will go back again soon!!

Wondering about whether taking kids out of school for a whole week will give them a bad attitude about the importance of attendance...(here come the flames; it's okay, I am flame-resistant!!)

 

[jennz]

JrsyDebs - No flames for you! Every one and every child is different. If it would cause DD problems in either grades or attitude I wouldn't even consider it! You've gotta do what's right for your family. It sounds like you found a good solution - you'll have a blast!!

 

[quartz7]

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[quartz7]

Originally posted by JrsyDebs

Wondering about whether taking kids out of school for a whole week will give them a bad attitude about the importance of attendance...(here come the flames; it's okay, I am flame-resistant!!)

I don't think so, only if you approach it honestly. My DD has missed school in the past for being ill. She knows that school is important, but so is family. We don't go around saying you can leave school whenever. She knows that she has to make up the work and keep up on the school work. If we said don't worry about making up the school work, then yes, that is showing her that it doesn't matter. So we are honest to her and to the school and that seems to work.

I'm really glad you worked it out for your family!! Any time at WDW is great!!!

Janelle

 

[WeLoveThePoly]

My DD (2nd Grader) will miss just under 3 full days of school for our October 22-29 trip.

She'll miss Fri (22), Mon (25), Tue (26) (early dismissal @ 1pm).
Our school district has Fall Break Wed (27) through Fri (29).

Her teacher is going to give her the work she'll miss in advance and she will complete it before she returns to school.

Debbie

 

[pplasky]

Sorry to be the downer. Schools give ample time for family vacations. Unless there is some dire reason, we will not take our children out of school. We think family time is important too, but vacations can be scheduled when school is not in session. I realize this is a hot topic, but excuses are excuses, no matter what pretty phrases are used.

 

[a_sly_fox]

So far in 3 family trips, we have not had to miss any school b/c the trips fell into scheduled teachers conferences. Perhaps a person could contact the school and see how far in advance such conferences are set and plan accordingly.

This question is a serious one for us b/c we place school above all extracurricular activities - Scouts, Sports, etc. Therefore, being honest, we cannot WDW is more important than school is to us. This does not mean that any other family must make the same decision, a trip to WDW can have some educational value, more to some than to others.

In the future, we will have to either miss school or go to WDW during school winter or spring breaks. The downside to going at those times is the crowds and additional expense occurr to be incurred due to the "disney" seasonal prices.

It is interesting to read how other families are dealing with this situation. We will not visit WDW in the summer, I cannot take the heat that is to be expected.

 

[CoolBreeze]

My son is 10 and in 5th grade. He's an A student and we've been taking trips during school time since he was in Kindergarten. He's never missed a beat. We bring homework for the plane ride and he does some reading each night before bed.

Bottom line is this, if you and your child are responsible enough missing a few days of school won't mean anything. I look at it this way, he's only a little boy once. When he looks back at his childhood he'll remember these trips to the most special place on Earth with great fondness and clarity and won't remember a thing about missing a few days of indoctrination.

Have fun.

We leave in 5 days and can't wait.

 

[Molly Meow]

I spoke to my father on this matter (he is a middle-school principal), and without taking sides on the issue, here are some tips:

1) Try to talk to the school before you book. Tell them the dates you want to take, and let them negotiate with you. There may be something important going on during the week you want to go, but the next week may be fine.

2) If you do book first, tell the school about it the second you make your reservations. Schools are much more accomodating when you inform them months ahead of time. Remember, they lose money for every day your child is not in school.

3) Year-round schools are usually more lenient, especially if your children are on different tracks. If this is the case, try to pull the younger one out of school.

4) Give them proof that the trip is educational. Bring Epcot brochures, and keep in mind that not everyone has been there. Show them the different things they will be learning. Also, if you don't live in Florida, a bonus is that they will get to travel, and everyone knows that travelling is educational.

5) Finally, be willing to listen to the school. Try to work together with them, don't demand. If they are unwilling to send work, tell them that you will have your child reading every night, doing crossword puzzles, things of that nature. Make sure you show them that you understand that school is important, and not an annoyance.

Sorry this is so long, but I thought it would help! Feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

 

[a_sly_fox]

good post and good tips.

 

[CARRIE0604]

to the above poster who didn't want to be the "downer", just because schools give us ample vacation time absolutely does not mean it is a convenient time for all of us. its almost impossible to get a week off in the summer months for myself, no easier at xmas or easter. because, we are going with grandparents and my sister this year, the week of thanksgiving was "the WEEK". my kids will miss 3 days, the maximum that i'm corfortable with them being out.

 

[MamaKate]

Originally posted by pplasky
Sorry to be the downer. Schools give ample time for family vacations. Unless there is some dire reason, we will not take our children out of school. We think family time is important too, but vacations can be scheduled when school is not in session. I realize this is a hot topic, but excuses are excuses, no matter what pretty phrases are used.

I'm offended by this statement.

I don't make excuses for taking my kids out school for vacation.

I'm a single parent with 2 children and I don't get any money for child support. It just isn't affordable to go during the peak seasons for us. Also, my son has severe asthma and the humidity during the summer really gets to him and he has trouble breathing.

I'm always honest with the school and our district allows "independant studies" for children missing 5 or more days of school, so the school gets credit as long as the children turn in the packet.

Yes, I know there is an alternative to just not go on vacations at all, but I work very hard (and so do my children) and deserve time to unwind and act like children at WDW !

Just wanted to let you know there are several reasons people pull there kids out of school, so you should keep an open mind.

,
Katie

 

[jennz]

Katie - I'm with you! An open mind changes everything doesn't it? I don't see the problem with it as long as the children are getting good grades. As far as excuses go, excuses have been made to me from the school system as to why my child isn't challenged in school. (Not going to get into that though! That's a whole other or 2 or 3 threads and it'll make me run in circles!). I'm I'm choosing to look at them as explanations of reasons, though, which gives everyone a lot more tolerance!

Have a BLAST at WDW (saw your counter!)!

 

[beautybelle]

My son is in the second grade and we will be pulling him out for 6 days in May. I looked on our school calendar and its posted that one of those days is a teacher workday. I hope it is because that will make him missing only 5. Either way we'll be going and having a good time. We've already told his teacher that he'll be going and she is very supportive.

 

[Rpsemont]

I'm trying to be more conscientious about this. When DD was in first grade, she missed 10 days of school encompassing three different trips (2 WDW and one was a family graduation). Last year and this year, I tried to hold "unexcused" absences to no more than 7, so that if she get's sick she still deosn't miss more than 10 days. At this point, for this year (grade 4), she will miss 4 days this November and 2 days next Feb. And I have told her, if her first quarter marks aren't good, she and I will fly back early, so that she only misses two days. Lucky for me, she seems to be doing quite well LOL!
What weighs in my decision to take her out of school is the following:
-Knock on wood, she's a very healthy child- usually only one or two sick days a year
- We must go at budget times. In Feb, we're going Pres week, but flying down Monday and back the following Tuesday (hence the two days missed) For us to fly doww and back on the weekend would be cost prohibitive
-She's in a catholic school, and while they don't recommend it , they allow for it and all work has to made up when you get back.
Last year at a parent teacher conference about 3 weeks before our trip we told the teahcer to make sure our DD received ALL the papers she missed and we'd make sure she got them done. I think the teacher thought we were being too hard. She Did everythig she missed in about a 2 hour session when we got home.
- We're fortunate that so far this has not affected her school work or grades.

Personally, I work very hard at two jobs and only get 3 paid weeks of vacation a year. It's good for our "family" mental health to go at off times when we can really enjoy it.

 

[frazzled one]

This thread brings back so many wonderful memories for me! My 3 girls are older now, and wouldn't take off time from high school and college even if the opportunity to go to WDW presented itself - too much work to make up afterwards, and their activities are too important to them to miss. Absolutely no regrets that we took them out of school a few times for 3 - 5 days when they were in the early elementary grades. The WDW experiences we had together as a family have given us our happiest memories.

Our school system tolerates family vacations, even if it doesn't really encourage them. Make-up work is permitted, and grades aren't penalized. It's a very successful school system without being hard-nosed about vacations - great standardized test scores, 90 percent of kids going on to college after high school, etc.

Once we were able to take a 10 day WDW vacation while the kids missed only 3 school days! Staff development days, Veterans' Day, and an unexpected early snow day saved us a few "unexcused" absences.

 

[ImMarcik]

My DD is in 5th grade and is an A student at a private Catholic School. I have never taken her out of school for a vacation, and still didn't plan to when I was planning our trip. But I found a good deal on the week of Thanksgiving next year. I wouldn't hear of taking her out a whole week, but the week of Thanksgiving, she gets out at noon on Tuesday and is off all the rest of the week. So I only have to take her out Monday, half of Tuesday and the next Monday. I will contact the school in plenty of time for her to find out if she has to bring work or make it up when she gets back.