Just read the December list...? about those missing school...

[FINFAN]

Looks like a HUGE portion are going during the first 2 weeks of Dec., for those of you w/kids in public school...tell me how to do the same!!(no flames/debates please) We are going the 18-25...but would've loved to have been down earlier in the month. PLEASE pm me with any tips/suggestions for pulling this off in the future!
This coming school year our kids will be in the 5th and freshman grades.

TIA and my utmost admiration to those of you who can do this!

Pam

 

[Poohlovr]

I've done it for the past several years whlie they were both in elementary school. Very early I always let the teacher know and asked to take any assignments with us (oddly, they never gave us any, except to "have fun")

Now, with the older starting middle school, I don't feel that I can take him out of school, because I'm afraid there would be just too much work to try to catch up.

So, no more December trips for us for a long time.....

 

[zurgswife]

We are doing this probably for the last time. We have pulled our kids out in Oct a few times....My kids don't go to public school so it is a lot easier....but once my oldest dd hits high school (9th grade) we will stop. Especially since our school is on a block schedule.....this means a few days of work could add up to missing weeks .......

Any how there are a number of threads regarding this....most of the parents have kids stricktly in elem or middle school....few families with high schoolers seem to do this....though there are a few who manage to pull it off...

If our high school wasn't block schedule I think I might.

 

[msmouse]

We took my son out right thru highschool. Grades did not come easy for him. He studied very very hard to make good grades. However, looking back, I do not regret it at all. Those memories mean everything to our family. You just have to do what is best for your family.

 

[Karista]

We take our children out for one week every year, whether it's Disney, a cruise, etc. My oldest will be in 10th grade this year, so he'll have work to make up, but I feel there's more to life (and learning) than just being in a school building. One week isn't going to make/break his high school career. We spent one Easter week at Disney, and that did me in forever - never again. I will take a few extra nights of homework after a vacation any day.

 

[Micca]

We took our twin DDs to WDW several times during their public school education from grade school through to high school. It was never a big deal with the schools, and DDs are now in college.

 

[crow11ad]

Originally posted by FINFAN
Looks like a HUGE portion are going during the first 2 weeks of Dec., for those of you w/kids in public school...tell me how to do the same!!(no flames/debates please) We are going the 18-25...but would've loved to have been down earlier in the month. PLEASE pm me with any tips/suggestions for pulling this off in the future!
This coming school year our kids will be in the 5th and freshman grades.

TIA and my utmost admiration to those of you who can do this!

Pam

Where is this thread? I would love to read it.

 

[F1Julie]

You can find a thread about taking a first grader out of school in the Disney for Families section. I'm taking my DD4 in early December, but she will only miss 2 days of school for the trip. As she gets older, I doubt I'll continue to do that. I won't take her out for more than 2 school days at a time.

 

[zurgswife]

Originally posted by crow11ad
Where is this thread? I would love to read it.

I think the thread that was refered to is the list for December...

here is the link

http://disboards.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=542261

 

[laceemouse]

I think it really must depend on your schools, as well as which teacher you get. We did it a couple of times when kids were in elementary school, no big deal if your kids are ahead of the game academically anyway. By Jr. High we quit taking them out for vacation. You have different teachers for each subject, some helpful some not so helpful. We have found it difficult even to get the makeup work from teachers after sick days. The Jr. High teachers have litterally hundreds of students to keep track of, and the district does not look favorably on missing for vacation. I am a heavy proponent of year round school, then we would all have more flexability of when to travel, Disney or otherwise. I have heard the Plainfield is talking about switching to year round. My youngest of 4 will be in first grade this year so I will now be all day kids free, my 2 oldest will both be in Jr. High this year. I plan on contacting the district (we are in 203 finfan) and getting talks going on this. I think a lot of parents would complain until they are explained the benefits. Our district is just so tough, missing school after elementary is not really an option,IMHO!!!!!

 

[Kteacher]

There were special circumstances that made me decide to take my DS14, who will miss one day of school for this trip, out of school (he will miss one day). He had a serious sports injury at the end of this school year, making him miss out on all the end of the year activities, most of the baseball season, and restrictions on physical activities for half the summer. There were 2 long weekends in the first half of the school year- Columbus Day Weekend, and the first weekend in December for a curriculum day. I'll let his teachers know early on in the school year, and he'll have to hand in any work that's due before we leave. Working in a school system, I've seen lots of parents pull their kids out of school for trips, but this is the first time I've done it. Good luck to you!

 

[fanofmickey]

Be very careful about taking out a high schooler - in our school system, if you miss more than six days in a semester you have to go before a board who will decide if your absences warrant you passing your class. If you take your child out for five days, that leaves only one possible sick day between the beginning of school and Christmas holidays. I have never had a problem taking my elementary age kids out, and even took my DS when he was in 7th grade, but that was as high as I felt comfortable taking him out of school (and that trip was only two days missed).

Be sure that you are very clear on the school absence policy.

 

[disney4us2002]

Our Bd of Educ is a real stickler when it comes to absences. They will not excuse an absence for vacation and I will not lie and say the kids were ill. Directly from the handbook: "Lawful absences include death in the immediate family, illness of the child, court summons, suspensions, state emergencies and extenuating circumstances or emergencies declared by the superintendent as sufficient cause for an absence."

I know a family last year that tried to get a waiver for absences to go on a cruise over Thanksgiving week and they were turned down. They ended up moving it to Christmas/NY week because 4 illegal absences in any one marking period results in failure for all classes that marking period.

Another policy which is related is that they will not give upcoming work assignments. I found that out the hard way when my oldest had mono two years ago. The doctor said he would not be able to return to school for at least two weeks and then only if he weren't still exhausted. I contacted the school about his work as he is in the Honors program and didn't want him to fall behind and they directed me to the Bd of Educ where I was told the policy of future work. Any work missed due to absence must be completed within the same number of days missed, so 2 days out get 2 days to turn it in, 2 wks out gets 2 wks to turn in missed work. When I asked why they couldn't get the assignments earlier I was told that if the child was so ill or the situation was severe enough (death in family I guess) to warrant an absence then the child had no business doing school work during that time.

Needless to say, our Christmas trip is during school vacation.

 

[FINFAN]

Thanks all, for the various insight...I was hoping to take 2 school days...12/16 and 17....our flights are booked for the 18th this time, but will keep these tips in mind for the future. I just have a REAL hard time with this as I have seen kids be given "special consideration" in turning in assignments who have various school activities, events etc., depending on the teacher(nothing in the golden rule book mind you) if it is o.k. for those things, it should be o.k. for family things. I know people take advantage, so it is a constant issue/debate..oh well, in 8 years DS will be done w/H.S. (knock on wood ) and we will have more calendar freedom, thing is, they will be too old to care about vacationing w/us.

Pam

 

[Tigger&Belle]

I've taken my kids out of school for very short periods of time through high school. Last spring we extended our spring break by one day in order to go to Kennedy Space Center--my kids were in 5th, 8th, and 11th grade. It gets tough in high school because the teachers don't have to let the students make up the work for unexcused absences and there is the whole loss of credit issue that has been mentioned. Our middle school really frowns of taking kids out of school, but missing school doesn't carry over into their high school records.

Bottom line is that I don't pull them out every year and do it for just a day or two when I do it. I plan to bring my son, who will be in 6th grade, to WDW this January. I'll do it the end of January when he has an in-service day and only pull him out of a day or two of school. He's a very good student and deserves the trip.

T&B

 

[Disney1fan2002]

You know, I could never home school my kids, one, because I have no patience with them what-so-ever when it comes to trying to teach them, and they don't get it right away...so a huge round of applause for all the teachers out there **clap** **clap** **clap**. I don't know how you do it! Another reason, and I have always felt this way since they were babies, is the social aspect of going to school. My SIL and I had a huge debate when our two oldest children, 2 months apart, were infants. She swore she would home school, and I couldn't understand why she didn't feel going to school with peers was good for her child. But.....

Since we are such Disney fanatics, and love to go all the time, as the kids get older it is getting harder and harder to take them out of school, and I also swore I would never go to Disney during school vacations or summer vacation. I have fluttering thoughts of home-schooling them, for the selfish reason of being able to go to Disney WHENEVER we so please. LOL. I would never do it, my kids love school too much, but I have *thought* about it!

I am not in anyway saying homeschooling is bad. It is just not for me and my family. That said, anyone here considered home schooling to free up time for Disney vacations? Or am I the only whacko? LOL

 

[Blueeyes101817]

My parents took my brother and I out of school throughout all the school years, including high school..I always took some homework and did it on the plane there and back and would get a big chunk of it done..then i would just ifnish the rest when i got back..no big deal at all

 

[cobbler]

Wow, I feel bad for some of you with the butthead school districts and the BOE. They wouldn't like me much cause I would tell them to bite my tushy!

As for me, we do take our son out, he will be in 2nd grade this year and we will ask the teacher up front for assignments. I do plan on taking him out of school during the years later on if we have a vacation at that time. Strictly because of my hubbys work, he is not allowed any vacation from May- August, he is a painter and well if you live in the north, you just can't paint in the snow. So this pretty much almost forces us to take vacation during school time.

Growing up, I was too taken out of school for vacation because we always went to Disney around the same time every year. I had no problems with it.

Good luck to you

 

[pandamom]

laceemouse: We're in the Plainfield school district (202) and I'm hoping we do end up going to year round school. Our youngest will miss 3 days of preschool and our oldest 3 days of 1st grade for our trip this year. Not at all concerned about them missing school at this age but will probably stop taking them out when they get closer to high school.

 

[Blythep]

We are planning to take our kids (6th grade and 9th grade) out of school next year for our Disney Christmas Vacation. In out district (Texas) we are able to ask for our work in advance and hopefully get it done before we go. This will be the first time that we have ever taken them out of school before, but because I want to enjoy Disney at Christmas without being there on the actual day, we are going early in December. I can't wait, I have always wanted to see Disney at Christmas. I think that we will take one day and just go to the resorts and see the decorations. We are also ending our trip with a 3-day cruise.

Like others said, it is a matter of what works best for your family and the rules of the school district.