Letters to school

[Luv Donald Duck]

Hi, I was just wondering if anyone out there can give me some ideas on what to say in a letter to the school about my child missing 10 days for Disney. Please help!! We leave in 40 days

 

[Mom to Jordan]

A couple things might make a difference in the letter. Will it go to his teacher or to administration? What grade is he in and how strict is the policy in your school disrict?

This is what I did for my son k-6grades.

I made the first contact in person several months ahead of time letting the teacher know that DS would be out Dec3- whatever time as we were going to WDW. I assure the teacher that he would make up any work that he missed. About two weeks before the trip I sent the teacher another note reminding her of the trip and asking that any assignments that she knew would be comming up that week, be given to DS so we could get a head start. I sent a very short reminder the last day DS was in school before the trip. I NEVER have made any contact with the administration at all.

I also be sure I never ask permission but state the facts and the dates. I asure the teacher of his making up any work. I follow the trip with a thank-you note and a small gift from WDW. I have never had a problem.

We have never taken DS out for more than one week however so if your child is older, you might need to make some specail plans to make up 10 days of work.

Don't worry, it will be worth the effort to have a wonderful trip.


Jordans' mom

 

[gonzette]

I am the same situation. I sent letters to school today (two weeks before we leave - We will be there from 10/16 - 10/25). One teacher told my oldest son that she didn't think it was a good idea and that she didn't know what they would be doing that week. Our district considers this an illegal absence, but for many reasons this is the best time for my family to go. I would also like some ideas for a letter to administration that might help.

 

[WindyLea]

I just printed a letter that I thought was great. It explains the educational value of a Disney trip. It is on www.themouseforless.com
It's a great site!

 

[Brian Noble]

As a college professor (and parent of school-aged children), I find the "but it's really an *educational* trip" line of reasoning to be disingenuous.

If you wanted to take an educational trip, I can think of about a dozen more "educational" destinations off the top of my head. It's a vacation, not an educational tour. Pulling kids out of school for a vacation is a parent's perogative (within the bounds of truancy law), but you should be prepared for some (presumably minor) consequences, including a teacher's disapproval.

 

[Eeyoreloverforever]

I believe it is my right as a parent to decide when is the best time for my family to take a trip. If the work she missed is important and detrimental to her grading let me know and I will make sure she learns it when we get back.

Last year, I told the teacher in plenty of time and she gave my dd work while we were away. She was in grade primary and not only did we complete the months homework before we left, but then she made my dd draw a picture and write a sentence about her favorite thing every day while we were gone, this was a real pain in the butt. We were on vacation! and then when we got back she had to catch up on what she missed. So really she did more work than the kids who didn't go.

This year I am not telling the teacher. I will send a note the day before we leave and call the school to inform them the morning we leave. We will catch up on any missed work when we get back.

Education is very important in our family and we stress that with our child, however life isn't only about school from September through June.

 

[HitchhikingGhost]

I agree with Brian Noble: The line is not one I have ever used in the past, as it is very transparent and stretches believability.

Call a spade a spade, (it's a vacation), as this has worked well for me in the past. Work it out directly with the teacher, and avoid going through the main office if possible. Our children's excused absences always needed final approval by the principal, but it was never denied.

We always had the work to be made up in hand before we left, and was turned in on the day our children returned. This was always the paver for the next time.

HTH!

 

[tjmw2727]

Originally posted by Brian Noble
As a college professor (and parent of school-aged children), I find the "but it's really an *educational* trip" line of reasoning to be disingenuous.

If you wanted to take an educational trip, I can think of about a dozen more "educational" destinations off the top of my head. It's a vacation, not an educational tour. Pulling kids out of school for a vacation is a parent's perogative (within the bounds of truancy law), but you should be prepared for some (presumably minor) consequences, including a teacher's disapproval.

ITA and that letter made me chuckle. I planned our vacation over Columbus Day as we have an additional 1 1/2 days off for teacher training. My girls will miss 2 days for disney and we end up will almost 7 days for our trip.

I simply wrote a letter to the teachers, 2nd and 4th grade explaning the days they will miss and why. While I did promise to include as much "learning" as I can, telling them that WDW is educational wouldn't feel right to me. They will pass the information on to the principal and absent safety line.

As promised in the letter I will have the girls help manage the budget, check the change, interact with CMs from various countries. They both study music so we will try and find some intersting and unusual instruments and music at WS. They will keep a journal and do daily reading as well. I know there are many other surprises for us and I will take full advantage of any learning opportunity.

The teachers are more comfortable putting the missed work aside during class rather than making a package ahead of time. That is fine with me as I don't want to cause them extra work. We have agreed that the work will be made up by the Monday following our return.

TJ

 

[bethbuchall]

This is the note that I used last year when ds missed 8 days of school. I didn't feel right calling this an "educational" trip even though I know that there is so much more to education than the classroom.

Dear {teacher},

{ds} will be absent from school {dates}. We have scheduled a vacation with extended family during this time.

We realize that it is not an ideal situation for a seventh grader to miss 8 days of school, and we did not make this decision lightly. We feel that the time spent with family members that he is not able to see often is a great benefit, especially since it is more and more difficult to get away as he gets older. Because we are juggling various schedules, this trip could not be taken during a school break. We also took into account {ds}’s perfect attendance, his excellent academic record, and his outstanding work ethic.

Obviously, we’d prefer that {ds}’s grades not drop significantly due to his absence, but we do realize that make-up work puts an additional burden on the teachers and that some material is difficult to make up outside of the classroom setting. We would truly be grateful for any work that you could assign {ds} before or after his absence. He will work hard to complete it in a timely manner.

If you need to discuss this matter with me, I can be reached by phone at {phone number} or by e-mail: {e-mail address}. I will be happy to make an appointment for a conference if you feel one is warranted.

Thank you for your understanding and help. We don’t say it enough, but we do appreciate all that you do to bring the best education to your students.

Sincerely,
{Signature}

I sent a copy to each of ds's teachers, including art, music, band, orchestra, tech, phys. ed and cc'd the main office. A couple of his teachers prepared work ahead of time, the band and orchestra teachers gave him some additional work (since he was missing band and orchestra time that couldn't really be made up), and the rest of the teachers held assignments for his return. I wanted his teachers to know that we value his education and didn't want this to make a tremendous impact on his grades, but at the same time, we weren't expecting them to go out of their way for us.

Ds knows how much we value education and has been raised to respect his teachers and do his best. He worked hard before, during, and after the trip so that he wouldn't get behind or have his grades slip. He knows that you can't just skip school to go have fun or shirk responsibilities. He also knows that family time is important and sometimes with a little extra hard work you can miss the classroom time.

We won't be taking him out of school again for any length. There are too many state tests in 8th grade, and it is too difficult to miss time in high school. Fortunately, we have had terrific teachers all along who really do want the best for the students.

 

[mamamia]

This is the note I just used in September for my DS (6th grade) and my DS (4th grade).




"Dear ______________

I am writing to let you know that my son, ________, will be absent from school for 5 days (from Monday, September 20th – Friday, September 24th). We will be going on a family vacation to Disney World.

I know that this will count as an “unexcused absence”, but I was hoping he could get the work that he will be missing as he will have some time on the plane to complete it. He has assured me that he will communicate with you when he gets back to make sure nothing else was assigned while he was gone.

If you have any questions you can reach me at home at __________________. Thank you!"





My DD (in 9th grade) just told all of her teachers about a week before our trip. All of their teachers were wonderful about giving them the work before the trip. And afterwards the teachers gave my kids time to study for any test that was given while they were gone.

 

[WindyLea]

Geesh, didn't know that letter was going to get such a response. I was simply replying to a question asked. MAybe if you read the letter, it wouldn't sound so absurd. My dd is only in Kindergarten, so it really isn't a huge deal that she miss a few day, and I honestly believe that the trip will be educational. She is going to experience alot of things while we are there that she will not learn in the classrooom. Granted, we are not going to Disney for strictly educational purposes, I do feel that she will learn while she is there. Anyway, the letter is available for anybody who WANTS it.

 

[Brian Noble]

I had read the letter, but about a year ago, and not in response to your post. Any respectable teacher will see through that letter and recognize the vacation for what it is: an opportunity to ride Splash about 60 times.

At least, that's what *I* do when *I* go there.

 

[my3girlstoo]

Well, I wrote a quick letter last night since my 4th grader came home from school and said she told the teacher we were going on vacation. I stated when, how many days off, plus I stated we would be driving so she would have plenty of time to do homework. I said she was doing a budget, writing in a journal every day, and would hopefully interview a Cm from her favorite country, Japan. Our school is pretty relaxed about vacations but I was worried because she will miss 3 days of the state testing. But I stated we had to make plans before those dates were announced and I had tried 3 times to get them to decide on those dates. I suggested I would bring her into school early, have her stay late, or I would come to school and help give her the tests. Her teacher wrote back saying sounds like a great family vacation- that I had great ideas- and he would let me know what to do about testing. I pick her up from school once a week so I will follow up with him and ask if I should let the office know.

 

[tjmw2727]

As an update I got a call from my oldest dds (4th) teacher today and she is psyched for my dd (her words). She thinks the "mom and me" trip is a wonderful opportunity for us. Keep in mind that one of dd's classmates lost her dad unexpetedly to heart attack two weeks ago and another lost his dad to cancer late last year. The entire school has bonded and grown despite these losses and done much to embrace these families. It has made us all realize how fragile our lives are.
OK - that said:

FWIW dd's teacher would never have "fallen for" the educational letter ~ no matter how you spin it WDW is a fun vacation.

The teacher is going to note the pages for dd to read and put aside the work and homework to be done as she gives it out - thus no extra work for her. Then the teacher will determine an appropriate time frame for the completion. This is wonderful news to me as I didn't want the teacher to take on extra work. Its also great for my dd who is her own worst task master. The teacher even instructed me to tell my dd that "Mrs. _______ say's don't worry, you are doing great, enjoy the vacation and catch up at home". My dd puts lots of pressure on herself to acheive and I have no doubt that the work will be done one time - nor does the teacher.

I still plan to take advantage of every "teaching moment" and make sure my girls do as much learning as they can. But we do this every day at the mall, zoo, grocery store etc. Learning dosen't happen just at school and I hope to continue teaching my kids every moment I can, at home and on vacation.

I must admit the teachers reaction is a relief, as I do take school seriously. My dd's see how hard dh and I work and how we handle responsibility. I don't think missing 3 days of school for WDW will affect the future and how they handle the responsibilities of their lives.

TJ

 

[MamaLema]

My ds will miss 10 school days also. Don't let anyone make you feel guily about it.

 

[Tinkerbellmom33]

I wrote a letter the first week of school and told them that we are going on a family vacation that's been planned since May. It's the only time my husband could find to get off of work. I apologized for any inconvenience, told them to contact me and asked if they could send any work. I haven't heard anything yet, so I'm hoping no one had a problem with it?! I'm going to send another one to remind them. I read "the" letter, but it was a little too much. Any teacher will, see through it. It's even a little too much info. We don't do it every year. School is very important, but my kids will only be with us for so long. I want them too have happy memories to look back on.