Need advice on taking kids out of school for a WDW trip

[GorshGoofy]

As a divorced dad with a DD-12 I'm having problems scheduling a WDW trip with her. Summer is difficult in terms of calendar and too hot/crowded for us. I would like to arrange a trip during the school year. I tried to do that last September but couldn't work it out due to standardized tests. I need a plan and I need to be able to answer her mother's questions and concerns. Does anyone have advice/experience in that area? Would you encourage that plan, or not? Or, is there another thread that is already discussing this issue?

Given my ex-W's refusal to allow DD to go with me this year I'm going solo! Soon!

Thanks!

 

[Disneymom9598]

Hi there GorshGoofy,

I really feel for you. As a mother, I think your ex should be grateful that you want to take your DD somewhere like Disney....far too many dads are uninvolved. I am taking both of my kids out of school (Jan. 7th to the 15th) My DD is 9 and my DS is 6. I know your DD is 12, but basically there are still educational things to do in Disney while having fun. I don't like going in the summer either. It is too hot and too crowded. I figure, if I am going to spend all that money, it needs to be cool and low crowds. Here is a note you might want to work with with your Ex and the school :


Please be advised that .... will be out of school from ....to...... We kindly ask that her absences be excused.
The reason for ...... absence is that our family will be out of the state during this week. While we are gone, we will be visiting Walt Disney World. We believe that ..... will be learning many things during this trip and that her education will continue in her absence from school.

Some things .... will learn about:

* Different cultures of the world, including architecture, language, diet, and dress, by visiting the different countries in the Epcot World Showcase (Japan, China, Germany, Mexico, Norway, Canada, France, etc.) She will have the chance to explore the exhibits for each country and speak with natives from each country who work as cast members.
* American history by viewing the Hall of Presidents presentation in the Magic Kingdom and the American Adventure show in Epcot.
* Nature and conservation at Animal Kingdom.
* Science by exploring the Mission:Space ride in Epcot where she will have a chance to see and feel what it would be like to travel by rocket to Mars and by experiencing the Universe of Energy exhibit which teaches about fossil fuels, energy, and conservation.
* Economics by managing her own spending money and making budget decisions on how to spend her money.
..... will also be learning about map reading by navigating in and to the different theme parks, as well as the resorts and water parks via the Disney bus system, sociological aspects of crowds including patterns and behavior, physics of the different rides, breakthroughs in technology at the Innoventions computer lab in Epcot, art and animation and the history of film, and mathematics.
We believe this will be a wonderful and educational experience for ..... and hope you agree not to charge her with unexcused absences as a result. If it is possible for ..... to take any assignments with her to be turned in when we return or to turn in before we leave any work that will be due while she is gone, please let us know as soon as possible. We value her education very much and have no issue with taking time out daily to do school work. We thought it would be a good idea for .... to write reports on the different countries she visits within Epcot’s World Showcase. I am sure it would be something she would thoroughly enjoy sharing upon her return.

Thank you for your attention to this. If you have any questions or need any further information, please feel free to contact us.

GOOD LUCK

 

[GorshGoofy]

Just read the thread "Missing School Vent". I think I have opened a can of worms (pardon the cliche). Sounds like the first question I need to ask is ... how many days can she miss annually without serious consequences? And ... is she doing well enough in school that she could overcome/makeup for those consequences. Oh well, I asked the question, so I'm still interested in your advice.

 

[sunkissed212]

I'm not a parent but as a child, my parents took me out of school every year for 2 weeks for our annual family vacation to Florida and WDW. We would go at various times of the year but the most common time was usually Feb/March. What my parenst would do is contact the teachers...usually they would mention it during parent / teacher conferences in the fall so prepare the teachers for the vacation when it did arrive. I was always a good student so the teachers were never worried that I would fall behind while on vacation.

My parents would request that the teachers inform us of what work would be completed during the time I would be gone. We would then take all of my textbooks to my mom's office and photocopy all pages that were included in any work that would have to ge done. (this made it much easier and lighter to transport lots of schoolwork). I was well aware that I would have "homework time" each day of the vacation. I would usually start the work at the airport, continue on the plane and then each night when the day's festivities were done, I'd have to do homework...no questions asked...

I always kept up and never had a problem getting back on schedule once I got back to school. I think that if your daughter is doing well in school and the teachers aren't worried about her falling behind, then I don't see any reason as to why you shouldn't take her out of school.

AND, while I like the predone letters that I've seen on the boards to use as a guide when contacting your child's teachers about your vacation. I think that they are a little over the top. I admit that children do learn a lot while they are on vacation , but the letters sound like the parents are tryiing to "convince" the teachers of that. I know I have learned quite a bit while on vacation...but...rememeber....it IS a vacation , and I was more worried about having fun learning about history at the Hall of Presidents (when I was 10).

 

[GorshGoofy]

Disneymom9598 and Sunkissed212: Thanks for your thoughts! That gives me a good start!

 

[bethyg]

Speaking as a mom, as long as your ex-W doesn't have a problem with the child being taken out of school, that's as far as it should go. She is your daughter, not the school systems, and frankly I feel it is not necessary to tell the school where you are going, just the dates she will be gone. It is none of their business. Period. No parent should have to submit a request or explaination regarding school absences. From my experience, any absence is excused (whether it be for doctor's visits, funerals, family excursions, etc....) as long as their is a note from a parent. A simple note "my child will be gone from ___ to ___. Please excuse her absence, Sincerely ____ should suffice.
The school should be notified enough in advance to get her missed assignments.

 

[Mom to Jordan]

I am a parent that always informs, not ask the permission of the school, but since you have a ex-spouce to deal with, I think that I would do my homework with the school first. Find out what the rules are, can they be bent, and how the teachers feel about students missing school. In order to convince your wife, if that is necessary according to your agreement, I think that setting things stright with the school is a good first step. Look at the calander for times that are better than others. Good luck, girls so need time with their dads.
Jordans' mom

 

[disneyjunkie]

Speaking as a mom, as long as your ex-W doesn't have a problem with the child being taken out of school, that's as far as it should go. She is your daughter, not the school systems, and frankly I feel it is not necessary to tell the school where you are going, just the dates she will be gone. It is none of their business. Period. No parent should have to submit a request or explaination regarding school absences. From my experience, any absence is excused (whether it be for doctor's visits, funerals, family excursions, etc....) as long as their is a note from a parent. A simple note "my child will be gone from ___ to ___. Please excuse her absence, Sincerely ____ should suffice.
The school should be notified enough in advance to get her missed assignments.

I'll never understand why people with this attitude make the choice to enroll their children in school. Why not just homeschool? That way you will be free to do what you want when you want. As long as you have a child enrolled in a public or private school, you'll be expected to follow certain rules and guidelines or deal with the consequences.


I'm a single mom. I would not let my son's dad pull him out of school for a trip to WDW. I'd give him a list of dates when school is closed, and asks him to pick one of those.

 

[F1Julie]

How long do you plan on going for? I would try to tie your vacation in with a school one if possible. If that doesn't work, I'd try to go on a week where your DD won't have at least one day of school like Columbus Day, MLK, or various teacher work days that kids get off for. I'm a single mom and if my ex where to take DD to WDW that is what I would ask him to do. I see you are in AL. I don't know what your school schedule is like, but here in GA, school gets out May 20. If your schedule is similar, you could leave the day school gets out. Crowds shouldn't be bad then since most schools across the country get out after Memorial Day.

 

[sunkissed212]

I'll never understand why people with this attitude make the choice to enroll their children in school. Why not just homeschool? That way you will be free to do what you want when you want. As long as you have a child enrolled in a public or private school, you'll be expected to follow certain rules and guidelines or deal with the consequences.

I dont think this is a fair statement...I agree with the person that said you shouldn't have to "explain" and absence. I don't feel you should have to "justify" the absence. Here it is, plain and simple...I know that there are rules and guidelines for children in school However, I feel that as long as a child is doing well enough in school where an absence won't complicate their sucess in school (which I don't think it does if they're keeping up with the work while they're gone) then what's the big deal with letting the child go on vacation during the school year?

I don't think that parents are necessarily "breaking rules" by taking their children out of school during the year. I don't feel that my parents compromised my education one bit while I was in school by taking me out for 2 weeks at a time for family vacations. Not to mention, I was a figure skater and missed several more days due to out of state/country competitions during the school year as well! For what it's worth, I graduated 9th in my class with honors ...and I went to WDW every year...during the school year!!

 

[disneyjunkie]

I dont think this is a fair statement...I agree with the person that said you shouldn't have to "explain" and absence. I don't feel you should have to "justify" the absence. Here it is, plain and simple...I know that there are rules and guidelines for children in school However, I feel that as long as a child is doing well enough in school where an absence won't complicate their sucess in school (which I don't think it does if they're keeping up with the work while they're gone) then what's the big deal with letting the child go on vacation during the school year?

I don't think that parents are necessarily "breaking rules" by taking their children out of school during the year. I don't feel that my parents compromised my education one bit while I was in school by taking me out for 2 weeks at a time for family vacations. Not to mention, I was a figure skater and missed several more days due to out of state/country competitions during the school year as well! For what it's worth, I graduated 9th in my class with honors ...and I went to WDW every year...during the school year!!

The problem is some schools have policies that will impact the child's grades. I won't take my son on vacation during school because I don't want him to receive zeros in all of the classes that he'll miss. I also don't want to spend the vacation calling his friends to get the homework assignments that MUST be turned in the day he returns to school. ( Getting the assignments in advance isn’t an option) I will take my son out a day early for a vacation. I do this with the understanding that he may get zeros for some missed assignments. We can deal with zeros for one day but a weeks worth would kill his overall grades. Not worth it in my opinion.

I've never felt that the school was telling me I couldn’t take my son out during the school year. I'm free to do what I want, but there will be consequences.

 

[MagicKingdom05]

Zero's for the whole week, how things have changed. 20 years ago when I was that age, my parents would take me out of school twice a year for a week long family vacation. They would just send a note a month or so ahead of time saying that we were going on a family vacation and all the work would get done prior to the trip (that seemed easiest for the teachers). I probably had to write a one page report depending on the class about what I saw and learned, but usually the teachers would say have a nice time and we will see you when you get back and never complained.

There never seemed to be that big of an issue. Obvioulsy things change and it seems that the schools are looking at kids being gone more tough than they did back then. I would say just send a letter with your DD saying that she will be gone and have fun, as long as you ex ok's it. Remember they are only this young for a very short time.

 

[HappyLawyer]

Avoid trouble and close this thread now please-lol

 

[disneyfreakjackie]

We take our DD's out of school for WDW vacations, almost every year! They have NEVER received zero's for any assignments!! They do, however, make up the work during vacation (if it is given to them) or upon their return. We do notify the teachers about a month before with a reminder the week before our trip.

I don't believe that teachers would give children ZEROS and not allow the work to be made up !! That's absurd!!

 

[kirbsam]

I am president of the school board in our town. I took my daughters out last year for a week. I will be taking them out next year for a week. Any policy that states the child will get zeroes and can not have the homework ahead of time should be reported. This is just wrong. If a parent believes they should not take their child out, that is their right. If a parent believes they should take their child out, that is their right. I would question any school district that would not allow that. If I received a call from a parent regarding a situation where the teacher would not agree to get homework arranged ahead of time(as long as enough time was given to the teacher), and threatened zeroes, you can bet that situation would be looked at.

 

[disneyjunkie]

I am president of the school board in our town. I took my daughters out last year for a week. I will be taking them out next year for a week. Any policy that states the child will get zeroes and can not have the homework ahead of time should be reported. This is just wrong. If a parent believes they should not take their child out, that is their right. If a parent believes they should take their child out, that is their right. I would question any school district that would not allow that. If I received a call from a parent regarding a situation where the teacher would not agree to get homework arranged ahead of time(as long as enough time was given to the teacher), and threatened zeroes, you can bet that situation would be looked at.

I'm sure if a few parents were to get angry enough and made a stink, the policy would/could be changed. I doubt that would ever happen. My son attends a public school (grades 6-12). All of the students are there by choice. They are tested and interviewed before they are admitted. If you have a problem with any of the policies, you are free to leave and attend another school.

I'm sure an exception would be made if a family had to take vacation during the school year. (Police officers, etc.)

 

[blanq]

Gorshgoofy, what a wonderful Dad you are to know the importance of creating special vacation memories with your DD!

My suggestion, before you even approach the school or your DD's teacher, is to sit down with your ex-wife (without your DD present) to talk this out. I can't figure out from your post if your ex is totally opposed to taking your DD out of school period, or if she just wouldn't allow it this year because it conflicted with standardized testing. Anyway, you obviously need your ex's support to make this work. So, get your ducks in a row as to why this is important for your daughter's and your relationship so you can present a well thought plan to your ex. A WDW vacation can be so educational and there are learning treasures at every park, and going to WDW during a slower period will help your DD get the most out of those experiences. Also, I would suggest that you offer to your ex that you will be soley responsible to ensure that your DD gets all makeup work done on time...you can be the one to connect with the school/teacher, get the list of homework, make sure homework is done on the trip if needed, and connect with the school after the trip to make sure everything is on track with your DD's school work.

Does your ex ever take your DD on vacation? If so, that is support for you to do the same. If not, I would suggest being a little sensitive to that fact when raising this issue with your ex. Resistance could relate to jealously that you want to provide an experience for your DD that your ex hasn't or can't.

I have a DS in 6th grade, now 11, and we have taken him out of school every year since kindergarten, for family trips. Those trips have been priceless, and even though he is an average student, I do not believe the missed school has hurt his education in any way, shape or form.

I so hope this works out for you and your DD! Please keep us posted. In the meantime, enjoy your solo trip!

 

[GorshGoofy]

Whew! Several Questions I need to answer. I do know that my DD is growing up very quickly. I'd like to take her to WDW before she gets much older. She's already mastering the teenaged "sigh and eye roll". Without getting into all the issues re: my ex- the problem focuses on scheduling and getting together from a distance of 800 miles. I live in the south, she lives in the mid-west. My vacation time is flexible but varies.
As I have throught about this further I've realized that one possibility that could avoid taking her out of school in the midst of a semester is to try for the week after New Year's.
I need to check on some things before I can make any plans. Thanks for all of your advice.

 

[crusoe2]

GorshGoofy, we have a 12yo DS and have debated letting him miss school so that we could go to WDW during a really slow time - he is an honor student and could easily make up the work and it would be so much easier to deal with our very impatient 2yo without the long waits. But we've decided against it because the schools here seem to really be cracking down on unexcused absences since the passing of No Child Left Behind. From what I understand, every school in the system must meet the criteria in every category for the school system to get a passing grade. Attendence is one of those categories. If I understand correctly (and please someone correct me if I'm wrong), if the school system fails they stand to lose funding. (Doesn't that make a lot of sense? ) Our system's policy on absences is that each year the student may have up to 20 absences without a doctor's excuse. If they go over 20 they will be retained and either have to repeat the grade or make up the work at summer school (which may not be offered every year and isn't free when it is offered). As far as being allowed to make up work, they are able to do so if the absence was for any type of illness (with or without a dr's excuse), death in the family, severe weather, etc - basically things beyond our control. I think they may have a statement in there about pre-approved trips but they leave themselves plenty of leeway to say no in which case our son could get zeros on all work missed during his absence, just as a previous poster mentioned. Personally, I don't agree with all of these policies but the guidance counselor at my son's school said they are made on a state level and that her hands are tied - she must report the absences and dole out the consequences. It would probably be a good idea to find out if your daughter's school has similar policies and be sure of what consequences she will face if the absence is considered unexcused. Good luck - I think it's great that you want to take your daughter on this trip. I hope everything works out for you.

 

[MayoMom]

I just finished student teaching middle school math and had a few students miss a week or more of school because of family trips around Thanksgiving. ONE of these students had parents who made her bring her books with her and study/work on homework while they were gone (maybe on the plane, or en route, or occasionally at night). She is very conscientious and a gifted student, and did just fine. The others, however, fell awfully far behind, and were still not caught up by the time I left a few weeks later. For them, all in all, I don't think it was worth it. At her age, I would only pull your daughter out if she does well in school and has the motivation to keep up.

Additionally, you should check out the school system policy on absence. In the district where I taught, missing 10 blocks of any class during an academic year means failure for the year in that class. No kidding. Which can mean being held back a grade. If that happened, you would have to appeal to the school board to get it changed. Again, not worth it.

We are pulling our 3 kids out of school this year for our Disney vacation (they are 9, 7, and 5), but in another couple of years, once my oldest reaches middle school, I would not do it.