Missing school

[disneynewbee]

How long is the longest your kids have missed from school for vacation. Our kids will be missing 2 wks and I'm wondering if the school is going to freak out.

 

[dizprincess27]

My daughter is going to be missing 2 weeks of school for the first time ever this May for our combination land/sea vacation but it's totally going to be worth it. I just hope she is good about making up the work or it will be the last time we do it. She's in 6th grade this year too.

 

[bugbugmom]

My DD9 missed 7 school days last year. This year 4th grade she will be missing 4.5 days. I say....have a great time!

 

[SStJean]

Originally posted by disneynewbee
How long is the longest your kids have missed from school for vacation. Our kids will be missing 2 wks and I'm wondering if the school is going to freak out.

It all depends on the school policies and your children's attendance record. My daughter's school allows for 15 absences per semester before there are any problems.

If your child has not missed many days and is doing well in their classes, then by all means take the time.


My 2 cents is that:

1. You only have once chance to make memories for your kids. They grow up very fast. Carpe Diem! - Sieze the Day!

2. Travelling IS an educational experience

3. When was the last time someone on their death bed said "I wish I had spent more time in Mrs. Jones' 4th grade math class"

This is one of those topics that comes up from time to time and always gets a lot of attention from both sides of the argument.

 

[brack]

I agree with SStJean totally! Your kids are not kids long and every moment together is precious.

Our DS is 31 years old and we took him out of school for vacations (not just to WDW) each year. It was great family fun. He still comes to WDW with us (when his DW of 10 years lets him!). As a matter of fact he and I are going to WDW for a few days this month ... just the two guys! More memories.

Go! Treasure the memories! Schooling will be fine without them.

 

[mom of five]

Mine will be missing 10 days (2school weeks)
BUT THEY DON'T KNOW IT YET (Shhhh, it's a secret)

Now, if I could only figure out how to tell the teachers in a way so that I can get their work, but at the same time not have the teachers unintentionally slip-up in some way. It's a VERY small school--K-6 only 250kids!

They had perfect attendance this past year, but the year before that we took them out for 10days for WDW.

 

[RLewis]

I remember a similar post a few months back. It started out just like this one . . . everyone said: "Sure, go ahead, you only live once".

Then the teachers came. We got an e-mail full of why school was so important and how parents are making a bad example. went back and forth for quite a while.

I say-they're your kids, you get to decide. Two weeks out of 13 years of school ain't gonna make no difference anyhows.

 

[Lory]

Taking our kids (5th and 1st grade) out for 10 days this December. Last time took our daughter out for 9 days. My husbands work limits the time we can travel so it has to be during school. Fortunately we have great teachers at our school and they dont mind. They give a little work to take with and the rest they make up or do a side project to be graded.
Nothing or no one is gonna stop us from making memories!!!

Lory

 

[DisneyDiver]

Originally posted by RLewis
Then the teachers came. We got an e-mail full of why school was so important and how parents are making a bad example.

To which I say -

Unless your child is in a year where they are sitting important examinations/tests, then there is no harm in missing some school. The teachers may:

1) Have a great big hissy fit about taking them out of school...

and/or

2) Ask your sprog to make a diary of some sort, or to take some work with them (I remember writing a French essay years back on an 8 hour flight back to Scotland from Orlando... stewardess dropped the ice bucket all over it mid-page ).

Essentially, unless your child is in a poor situation at school, then take them on an educational visit to study Mickeyius Mousius in his natural habitat... If you get my drift

Edit: I'd like to point out that I missed several weeks of my education over the years to go to WDW, and it didn't do me any harm (Well, apart from becoming a little Disney obsessed... But that's not a bad thing)

 

[a Really Bad Egg]

Two weeks out of 13 years of school ain't gonna make no difference anyhows.

Yikes...maybe those two weeks are important.

 

[bairdbeth]

As a teacher I say go for it, but beware. Check out your school systems absentee policy. With "No Child Left Behind" things have changed. While the teachers may not have an issue , school policy may. For my DD's school, I had to sign a statement that I understood that if DD had more than 5 unexcused absences, that I could be charged with truancy. Our Dec 1-5 trip will count as 3 unexcused absences, but we are going anyway.

 

[disneyjunkie]

There's no way I could take my son out of school for two weeks. If I did, he'd end up failing every class. Since a trip to Disney would be counted as unexcused, he wouldn't be able to make up the missed classwork and homework.

I'm glad we don't have to choose between school and family vacations. We take vacation when school's out. Sure it may cost more, and the parks are crowded, but we're still able to have an awesome time and make great memories.

I believe family time and school are both important

 

[imadisneyfanatic]

I will tell you that MOST teachers have understood taking my daughter out of school since she is a good student. Here's why:

We live in a "tourist town" where 99% of jobs in this area are tourist oriented in some way. Therefore, most parents are not allowed to take time off in the Summer, Spring Break, or Holidays, as this is peak season for tourists. This provides a dilemma for parents wanting to vacation with their children because we can only take a week off during school.

MOST teachers have understood this and have been great. I did have ONE teacher that gave my daughter 0's (Zeros) on all tests and homework during that week since she considered it an unexcused absence. (She was a problem all year in several areas though - not just this).

As long as you will not be in any legal trouble, I say go for it. You MUST have family bonding time and a way to relax and de-stress. That goes for kids too. My daughter is in Middle School now and she stresses more than I do over stuff. (Must be those new hormones she's learning to live with).

Perhaps having a meeting with the principal to get his/her position on this is wise if you are truly worried and it may ruin your vacation because you are nervous about it. Otherwise, deal with it when you get back. You may not have any problem at all, especially if your kids have good grades and attendance records the rest of the year.

Have a great time and write a trip report letting us know how your surprise went!

 

[ugadog99]

I'm a teacher, but a parent first. I say go. The work can be made up, but the memories can only be made together.

 

[Tigger&Belle]

How old is your child? Our middle school would have a fit! They don't want the kids taken out for any reason. It's not until high school that it really makes a difference and can affect graduation.

We've only taken our kids out for a couple of days for any particular trip. The older kids would have way too much work to make up. If we're not taking a trip during a school vacation we at least try to make it at a time that they have a day or two off for an in-service day.

I do plan to bring my 10yo to WDW this January. He has a 3 day weekend due to an in-service day and I will take him an additional day or two, making 4-5 days at WDW.

T&B

 

[Blueeyes101817]

my parents always took my brother and i out of school...even in high school for a week.....in our school,you could get vacation days "excused"..as long as they were 5 consecutive days..u cant take any more..you had to have proof of vacation and a parents signature...

 

[ColoradoDis]

I agree that it depends on how old your children are. My DD16 is in 3 AP (college level) classes and 3 honors classes. She'd never be able to miss 2 weeks of school. But when both of my DDs were in elementary school, we took week-long vacations with no problem. You're the best judge of where your children are in their schooling, so do what you think is best.

 

[a Really Bad Egg]

This is an interesting thread. I would have never dreamed of taking the kids out of school for anything except illness.

Can I ask why? Is the time off the school systems offer not adequate to plan vacations? Please note that I am curious, not judgemental.

Thanks.

 

[disneyjunkie]

Originally posted by a Really Bad Egg
This is an interesting thread. I would have never dreamed of taking the kids out of school for anything except illness.

Can I ask why? Is the time off the school systems offer not adequate to plan vacations? Please note that I am curious, not judgemental.

Thanks.

Some people can't take off of work during the times that schools are closed.

Some people don't want to pay the peak season prices.

Some people don't like the heat.

Some people don't like the crowds that come with peak time visits.

I can't justify taking a trip during school time. I can take vacation when I want.

I always travel during peak times and have never paid rack rate for our rooms. Our next trip is during Christmas break and I was able to get an onsite room for $49.00.

The heat and crowds do not bother us.

NYC public schools have so many days off, there's no way I could justify a trip to Disney during the school time.

 

[cobbler]

Originally posted by a Really Bad Egg

Can I ask why? Is the time off the school systems offer not adequate to plan vacations? Please note that I am curious, not judgemental.

Thanks.

For me personally, we can't take off for vacations in the summer when the kids are out. My husband is not allowed to have May - August off because of work. He paints (buildings, not portraits) and as you can see we live in the north so summer time is the busy season and you you can't really paint outdoors in the snow.

That being said, we have to take time off during the school time. We usually do it after Thanksgiving and this year our son (2nd grade) will be out for 8 days. My hubby has family in Bama and his grandma hasn't been in the best of conditions lately so it will be family + disney this trip.

Now when he gets older, like jr high and high school, I don't know if we will be able to take time off, much less this much time we are this year (which is rather long and a huge exception as we don't have him miss that much normally) because of academics.

I will just play it by ear at that time and see if he can handle it.