Kids missing school for a cruise!!

[lolainkent]

How much is the fine? That is crazy to me, but I would pay it to go off season depending on the price. Isn't it enough that your paying taxes for schooling?

I didn't post the original comment but I'm also in the UK. My boys school hasn't fined anyone this year (that I know of!) but might start next year - £60 per child per parent is the norm. So we'd pay £240 to take our kids out of school.

Of course what's happened is travel companies have lost a ton of business and make up for it by shooting prices up during our holidays so either families can't travel at all or it's cheaper to just pay the fine.

 

[Bexy83]

Yes it's £60 per child per person in derbyshire too. Last year you were allowed 10 days leave if your child had excellent attendance, we took our 4 year old (100%) attendance out to go to florida. The teachers were very difficult they saved him his 30 spellings and tested him, 3 weeks worth of homework and were very off with us in general.

Our problem is my hubby works strange shifts and every 7wks he gets 18 days off instead of annual leave, sounds great but try booking a holiday around school!
Anyway to everyone else, our son has remembered everything. It was a amazing holiday and we talk about it daily, remember this is why we had kids... Amazing memories together it'd choose the vacation by far! (Picking the american lingo up!) ha ha.

 

[AliceIn]

Our school district doesn't let the teachers provide work ahead of time. Missing school here can be a non-event in early grades, but can be very tricky in middle school or high school. The kids get 5 days to make up ALL the work, but they don't get it until they return. I took my kids out the week of labor day last September, and my 7th grader asked that we never do that again. It was hell for him catching up. He had to learn the material he missed that week, plus do all the homework and all of his current work. He was very stressed out and overworked.

 

[quickcat]

How many days of school have your kids missed for a cruise and how old/what grade??

My son is in 8th grade and missed 6 days of school for our Disney trip.

 

[harrisb1964]

I am a teacher and have taken my son out of a school for a week since kindergarten in Jan. or Feb. to do either DW or DCL. We have the most wonderful memories and he has gotten to visit a number of foreign ports . He has met kids from all over the world, CM 's and wait staff from all over the world and counselor's at the kid's clubs from all the world. He has broadened his horizons and come to realize we are all the same inside.His acceptance of all kinds of people has happened partly because of his Disney experiences. He is 8 now and will be going to DW in Feb. 2015. He had always finished his make up work and done fine in school. The experiences, memories, and all that has he has learned in these Disney experiences have been tremendously invaluable. It has been worth every penny and missed days of school to provide him with these incredible memories and experiences .
One hilarious thing I have to mention is that taking taking my son for the first time when he was five was the most magical experience for both of us. When he got back to school all he wanted to talk about during classtime was DW. His teacher called me concerned that all he wanted to talk about was DW! Well first of all he is five and secondly we obviously got out money's worth. LOL!

 

[SerenityNowGirl]

I'm so glad I found this thread, as I just booked us on the 11/13/15 cruise, as DCL is returning to Galveston. We wanted to do the week of Thanksgiving JUST so they wouldn't miss as much school, but the prices were out of reach for us. Our next best option was 11/13.

I've been making myself sick over what I will say to the principal and teachers and this is over a year away. At that time, I will have one first grader and one fourth grader. They will miss 6 days of school. I don't know why, but I'm shaking in my boots.

I have a friend who teaches in our district and she said not to worry too much, just to let the principal & teachers know. We live in Texas and my friend said we might get a call from the truancy police. Eeek.

We're only doing this as we think this may be our only cruise opportunity for some time. I've only ever taken my oldest son out of school 2 days and that was because his big sister was in town on vacation for a visit and I wanted them to be able to spend time together.

I just love worrying about things that haven't happened yet. I'm wondering if I should bring this up when THIS school year starts with their principal, so I can get more information on just how big of a deal it is. I don't want this worry hanging over my head until fall of 2015.

 

[meggiebeth]

I'm seventeen and missed two weeks of school this year to go to WDW. I think it's fine to miss school at my age as long as you are academically succeeding and willing to put in extra work before you go away.

My school was fairly relaxed about my absence- as I'm in the UK and in sixth form, there's not much they can do, as full time education is not compulsory at this stage. The principal did insist that I would really struggle to keep up with my studies, but I worked continuously two weeks prior to leaving and found I missed very little.

On the other hand, my fifteen year old brother's school made a tremendous fuss about him missing two weeks and threatened to fine us, although they quoted £120 per parent. We knew they legally could only fine us £60 so it was a bit ridiculous.

I'd say up to year nine here (8th grade) and even up to year 11 for brighter children (10th grade) missing school for a holiday isn't detrimental. The new fines they are imposing are ridiculous though- I don't think it's right that a school should restrict when my parents can take me on holiday.

One thing that I find really awful is that many schools (including my own old school) deny absence requests of a day for a parent's wedding, and even funerals. I just find that really disrespectful.

Meg~ Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

 

[SerenityNowGirl]

Meg, thank you for sharing your experience. Our older boy has done beautifully in elementary so far. We'll see how our youngest does (he starts kinder this fall), but he doesn't worry me. We'll just have to see how to make this as painless as possible and have them do any work before, during, and after the cruise.

I am so sorry the UK doesn't allow for children missing school for a wedding or funeral. That is such a shame. I need to look into our own district's rules on that, as it might be the same here.

 

[CBadger]

I'm so glad I found this thread, as I just booked us on the 11/13/15 cruise, as DCL is returning to Galveston. We wanted to do the week of Thanksgiving JUST so they wouldn't miss as much school, but the prices were out of reach for us. Our next best option was 11/13. I've been making myself sick over what I will say to the principal and teachers and this is over a year away. At that time, I will have one first grader and one fourth grader. They will miss 6 days of school. I don't know why, but I'm shaking in my boots. I have a friend who teaches in our district and she said not to worry too much, just to let the principal & teachers know. We live in Texas and my friend said we might get a call from the truancy police. Eeek. We're only doing this as we think this may be our only cruise opportunity for some time. I've only ever taken my oldest son out of school 2 days and that was because his big sister was in town on vacation for a visit and I wanted them to be able to spend time together. I just love worrying about things that haven't happened yet. I'm wondering if I should bring this up when THIS school year starts with their principal, so I can get more information on just how big of a deal it is. I don't want this worry hanging over my head until fall of 2015.

I feel the same way! We live in Texas as well and have heard different stories of it being ok to the fact that we may be turned into the truancy officer. I guess we will see once we sail in January and take my son out for a week. I will try to update on what our experience is to give you a heads up!

 

[SerenityNowGirl]

I feel the same way! We live in Texas as well and have heard different stories of it being ok to the fact that we may be turned into the truancy officer. I guess we will see once we sail in January and take my son out for a week. I will try to update on what our experience is to give you a heads up!

Thank you, CBadger! Surely, we can't be the only Texans who have taken our kids out of school for a family trip? I know it's not ideal, and it's not like I don't care. I care very much. We are just trying to make the most of these precious years with our family vacations, which we love in the form of a Disney Cruise. It's affordable for us, as long as we can board in Galveston, and they were so full of wonder on their first one, it was magical.

I'm off to read my district's parent handbook and see if I can ascertain any more info. Keep me posted on your experience and good luck!

 

[belac]

I'm so glad I found this thread, as I just booked us on the 11/13/15 cruise, as DCL is returning to Galveston. We wanted to do the week of Thanksgiving JUST so they wouldn't miss as much school, but the prices were out of reach for us. Our next best option was 11/13.

I've been making myself sick over what I will say to the principal and teachers and this is over a year away. At that time, I will have one first grader and one fourth grader. They will miss 6 days of school. I don't know why, but I'm shaking in my boots.

I have a friend who teaches in our district and she said not to worry too much, just to let the principal & teachers know. We live in Texas and my friend said we might get a call from the truancy police. Eeek.

We're only doing this as we think this may be our only cruise opportunity for some time. I've only ever taken my oldest son out of school 2 days and that was because his big sister was in town on vacation for a visit and I wanted them to be able to spend time together.

I just love worrying about things that haven't happened yet. I'm wondering if I should bring this up when THIS school year starts with their principal, so I can get more information on just how big of a deal it is. I don't want this worry hanging over my head until fall of 2015.

Hmmm 6 days of missed school work for a child that is in 1st grade and one that is in 4th grade, I say go for the vacation. IMHO (don't flame here it is just my opinion) these days most educational administrators and the state (the ones that make the rules not the ones forced to follow them like the teachers and parents) don't seem to understand that we (parents) only have OUR children for a short period of time at this elementary age. In Example: DH and I work full time (we have to as most people have to) so our DS gets from 7pm to 9pm with us as a family daily. Weekends are split due to extra curricular activities, but maybe from 3pm to 9pm, unless he has a school project to work on or school activity. So I calculate the time we really spend together as 22 hours on a week during school. Since we both work it is the same in the summer, as he is in camp.
The School has them for 32.5 hours for just school, then put in 1.5 hours a week for extras and we are at 34 hours a week. They have them longer than we do, even in their home time they are still doing homework endlessly.
Even with a stay at home parent, the children today still only have limited family time. Put simply our kids have started the "RAT" race (no pun intended) in elementary school.

I have found that most teachers understand; heck they hate paying for overpriced vacations too, and either allow the child to make up work after and give them (mostly in K-2) a special assignment to do while on vacation like a journal, then they can just make up math/science/grammar work after.

I would definitely wait till the start of the following school year 2015 to inform them. Simply because you don't really know if you will have the same Principal or teacher. Their views on missing school may be completely different from teacher/principal this school year.

When the time comes inform them, let them know that this is what is scheduled so they have a chance to prepare. I believe it is up to the School, Principal, and teachers as to what an excused absence is in Texas. It is a lot of work for teachers to give you assignments that your children will miss ahead of time because really, they don't know how far the class will go in the 6 days missed. Also if they have planned a project etc... they may be able to let you know that ahead of time so that you can work on that with the child before the cruise. I am a firm believer that if you are willing to work with them they don't have many objections. I found this on the WEB regarding Texas Education Law: http://ritter.tea.state.tx.us/taa/legal081808.html might be a useful read.

For us, we don't worry about doing school work during a vacation; however a Journal is acceptable to us. School work during vacation takes everything away from what a vacation is... Family time to bond and re-energize.

Whatever cruise you decide to take, I hope you have a wonderful cruise and enjoy it as a family .

 

[Zeppelin]

How many days of school have your kids missed for a cruise and how old/what grade??

my daughter missed a few days of Montessori then a week of Kindergarten.....it was our decision not to pull her out of school once she entered the first grade...she starts middle school next year- we may consider pulling her out to go on a cruise moving forward since she's done well in school and is the type that picks up things very quickly...

 

[missyp]

All I can say is I regret not pulling my kids out more while they were young. So do it! Mine are now in middle and high school and it definitely gets to be more of a challenge as they get older.

 

[SerenityNowGirl]

Hmmm 6 days of missed school work for a child that is in 1st grade and one that is in 4th grade, I say go for the vacation. IMHO (don't flame here it is just my opinion) these days most educational administrators and the state (the ones that make the rules not the ones forced to follow them like the teachers and parents) don't seem to understand that we (parents) only have OUR children for a short period of time at this elementary age. In Example: DH and I work full time (we have to as most people have to) so our DS gets from 7pm to 9pm with us as a family daily. Weekends are split due to extra curricular activities, but maybe from 3pm to 9pm, unless he has a school project to work on or school activity. So I calculate the time we really spend together as 22 hours on a week during school. Since we both work it is the same in the summer, as he is in camp.
The School has them for 32.5 hours for just school, then put in 1.5 hours a week for extras and we are at 34 hours a week. They have them longer than we do, even in their home time they are still doing homework endlessly.
Even with a stay at home parent, the children today still only have limited family time. Put simply our kids have started the "RAT" race (no pun intended) in elementary school.

I have found that most teachers understand; heck they hate paying for overpriced vacations too, and either allow the child to make up work after and give them (mostly in K-2) a special assignment to do while on vacation like a journal, then they can just make up math/science/grammar work after.

I would definitely wait till the start of the following school year 2015 to inform them. Simply because you don't really know if you will have the same Principal or teacher. Their views on missing school may be completely different from teacher/principal this school year.

When the time comes inform them, let them know that this is what is scheduled so they have a chance to prepare. I believe it is up to the School, Principal, and teachers as to what an excused absence is in Texas. It is a lot of work for teachers to give you assignments that your children will miss ahead of time because really, they don't know how far the class will go in the 6 days missed. Also if they have planned a project etc... they may be able to let you know that ahead of time so that you can work on that with the child before the cruise. I am a firm believer that if you are willing to work with them they don't have many objections. I found this on the WEB regarding Texas Education Law: http://ritter.tea.state.tx.us/taa/legal081808.html might be a useful read.

For us, we don't worry about doing school work during a vacation; however a Journal is acceptable to us. School work during vacation takes everything away from what a vacation is... Family time to bond and re-energize.

Whatever cruise you decide to take, I hope you have a wonderful cruise and enjoy it as a family .

Thank you for your feedback and also for the link! I have been reading up on our district's policies, which of course are dictated by state laws.

I agree with the family time aspect. As it is, I am an at-home mom with lots of wonderful time with them during the summer, and we make the most of it, mostly at home. Their father works an hour and a half away and only has a couple of hours with them during the week after work, and then of course weekends.

During the school year, when we can actually afford this vacation, it's even more hectic. I'm going to give it a try and let the chips fall where they may. I will wait and address it NEXT August when they start school. I hope we have the same principal, as she is wonderful. And I hope their then-teachers will work with us too. We've been blessed with wonderful teachers every year at our school since our oldest boy started. His attendance has always been great overall (1 sick day, and 2 unexcused days when his big sister visited).

Thanks to all who are contributing to this thread. I am hesitant to pull them out of school ever, but we never know if we'll have the opportunity to cruise out of Galveston during the summer, and the holiday cruises are out of our price range. For some reason, our NYE cruise was not that pricey, but then maybe they were having a hard time selling it at the time.

 

[RemysMom]

We take out 5-7 days each year for either our cruise (6th coming up) or DW. I do however, ahead of the trip make up a packet for each kid to work on. They usually take it to dinner with them and it gives them something to do at the table. It includes a journal page and then a worksheet that matches what they would be doing in school. For example, one night would be a math worksheet and the other night a reading, which I will tie back to our trip. For example, a reading on Cozumel with questions to answer on the reading. We then turn this in to the teacher when they return to school.

 

[Sunseeker17]

My son has just finished grade 6 and he has missed a week of school for vacation every year since he started kindergarten. We alert his classroom teacher a few weeks before. His teachers have all been great, stating that most kids learn lots on vacations about other cultures and countries, so that they have felt it was valuable time away. We also take work with us for any important assignments.

Sounds like US students have to jump through more hoops to be out of school than Canadians in the public school system???

 

[belac]

unfortunately the rules and regulations are put in place for the actual truant students (skipping class without parental knowledge, etc..). It is something that needs to be, but for those of us who have children and a budget, we are sometimes put out because of these rules.

Again communication at the appropriate time (well in advance) with the principal and the teacher are always a must.

 

[Fanboy]

We took a HUGE trip this past school year. The kids -- DS8 in Grade 3 and DD10 in Grade 5 -- missed an entire month of school.

I'm sure some DISers jaws just hit the floor reading that.

We drove down to FL from Toronto, did a cruise, two weeks at Disney, hit Universal, saw the Everglades and a launch at NASA, held crocodiles, drove a monster truck and did almost anything we could think of over that month.

We asked the teachers what they'd be covering to make sure the kids wouldn't be (too far) behind when we got back. We also made the kids write a diary entry every night, and after some EMH that was a tough row to hoe.

The teacher's reactions? "Have a great time. You'll probably learn more on this trip than we'll be covering in class!"

And the final verdict? My son pulled 75% A's and the rest B's and my daughter made the honour roll for the first time ever.

No regrets whatsoever. In fact, we're planning the next trip for November 2015, though that will only be 2 weeks.

 

[SerenityNowGirl]

We take out 5-7 days each year for either our cruise (6th coming up) or DW. I do however, ahead of the trip make up a packet for each kid to work on. They usually take it to dinner with them and it gives them something to do at the table. It includes a journal page and then a worksheet that matches what they would be doing in school. For example, one night would be a math worksheet and the other night a reading, which I will tie back to our trip. For example, a reading on Cozumel with questions to answer on the reading. We then turn this in to the teacher when they return to school.

This is a great idea! Thanks!

 

[MelInAZ]

We've never pulled our kids out of school for a vacation. As an educator, my wife will never do that, plus she teaches in the same district as the kids attend and absolutely loathes when she has to have a sub, not to mention they have 2/3 weeks off in October, December, and March because it's a year round district.

We're in the same district and planned our cruise for Spring Break 2015. Then my daughter (going into 5th grade) was accepted into a performing arts charter school and the spring breaks don't match up so she will be missing 2 days. I've also never pulled my kids out of school for spring break (family of educators), so this will be the first time. We told the head of the school when we met with her and she said that last week of school before spring break isn't full-time, so she can schedule her activities for earlier in the week. Whew!