New attendance policies at our school this year ..grrr

[ripleysmom]

I would question whether the fine is coming from the school or the local governmental authority. I would think that any of the ramifications listed are coming from the either the state or local government.

Heck there are some communities that will have CPS called if a child misses more than a few days of school.

No Child Left Behind has raised the bar of accountability for school districts as far as educating their students goes. Unfortunately there was no provision in the bill for parents who choose to ignore the academic ramifications of their child's absences. State and local government appear to have taken the initiative to help the schools with that.

Instead of getting upset about it I would talk to the school first.

 

[iwaseeyore]

I've read this garbage and really can't believe it.

Have we ever wondered why society is dumber? Why test scores are down? Why the younger generations can barely string a sentence together? It's because we as a society think going to WDW is more important then learning how to read or write or add or learn.

I guess IMO not letting a child learn is child abuse and should be dealt with. I'm sick of my tax dollars going to those who feel they are entitled to do what they want no matter what the rules allow.

 

[Antonia]

LisaSt's husband is a good example of what missing a lot of school can do to one's grammar. Note the many run on sentences and other grammatical errors. Apparently, he did miss out on developing social skills and manners due to all the days he missed. This is very evident by his suggestion to tell the teacher to "stuff it". If you ask me, he is a prime example of why not to miss school.

 

[Blueeyes101817]

i know some people say that school is more important than vacations--and of course it is..but with our family, it c ame down to family time being the most important thing...even in my junior year of high school, i missed a week of school for a family vacation..i always made up my work, and it counted as excused, since my family filled out the form...

i mentioned this on another board, but i had a harder time getting excused absences when i had to be out of school for a couple of weeks due to surgery ...the easy one was getting out for a disney trip

 

[HollyJoy]

Sorry, but I think that 15 unexcused absences is pretty leinent. I don't think kids should be missing that much school! That's almost 3 weeks worth of class!

 

[dzneprincess]

Again, it is not the 15 days I have a problem with. It is the 5 days or more part that is bothering me.

 

[LisaSt]

Actually here in Canada well Ontario anyhow our federal and provincial government fund our school wether the kids are there or not. We thankfully do not have the rules in place that the OP talks about and truency officers are a thing of the past.

 

[EsmeraldaX]

That is insane. I understand that there are some parents who don't care if their kids even go to school, but it's not fair that they do this to hurt parents who just want to take their kids out for a week or two for family vacations.

That is terrible. I'd try to get a group of parents together and go to your next school board meeting.

 

[Pongo69]

Originally posted by HollyJoy
Sorry, but I think that 15 unexcused absences is pretty leinent. I don't think kids should be missing that much school! That's almost 3 weeks worth of class!

Holly I agree with you 100%!!!

No offense but people keep talking about family time well what about having family time during the summer, on weekends or other mini school holidays.

My dd15 starts Ben Davis High this year and due to the school scheduling 10th grade orientation on the 5th of August I cancelled our August trip and moved it to Christmas.

The 250.00 bucks we have to pay for cancelling and rescheduling our flight was well worth it since she was able to meet her new teachers and tour the school.

Maybe I'm out of the loop here, but I would never take either of mine out of school for vacation especially if there were extensive penalties.

 

[year2late]

Lisa, my problem was with your willingness to tell the school board to stuff it because you disagreed with their rules. Luckily you are not in the predicament that would force your hand - but your willingness to disobey school policy is disturbing.

Dzneprincess, if you are ok with 5 excused absences, but not 15, what is your number? 5 seems more than adequate. Also, what were the circumstances that lead to the policy? It is highly oubtful they made the rule because the old ones were being followed.

 

[CJMickeyMouse]

Originally posted by iwaseeyore

Have we ever wondered why society is dumber? Why test scores are down? Why the younger generations can barely string a sentence together? It's because we as a society think going to WDW is more important then learning how to read or write or add or learn.

I guess IMO not letting a child learn is child abuse and should be dealt with. I'm sick of my tax dollars going to those who feel they are entitled to do what they want no matter what the rules allow.

Actually I disagree.... I think the answers to the string of questions in your quote is that we are expecting less and less of children these days.

In your opinion, not letting a child learn is abuse. Then some school systems are guilty of abuse - as children are not learning. I am tired of paying tax dollars so that the children in our community can play games 20% of the time they are at school (Friday Fun ) .

 

[Pongo69]

Originally posted by dzneprincess
Again, it is not the 15 days I have a problem with. It is the 5 days or more part that is bothering me.

5 days missed excused or unexcused you will receive a letter telling you you will have to go before the truancy judge.

Every absence or doctors excuse has to be documented, or they'll give you hell here in Wayne Township School Dist.

 

[browneyes]

This is a local story in the Chattanooga area about a stupid attendance policy:

Forced to Choose: Dad or School

Sgt. Barry Kincade is a member of the National Guard's 278th, out of Athens. He's been gone since late June, training in Mississippi and is scheduled for deployment to Iraq, in November. His wife, Kay, had planned on taking their two children out of school, next week, to visit him at Camp Shelby. She was told by the Principal at Polk County High School that she would need a court order.
Mrs. Kincade appeared before Judge Bill Baliles to ask for the days. He ruled the absences unexcused and warned her, she may face jail time if she kept the students away, more than three days. Is that something she's willing to do?

"Yes," says Kay, "If it comes down to my kids seeing their Dad, I'll spend a week, in jail because he's going to miss his daughter's graduation, anyway."

Kay's daughter is a rising senior and her son, a freshman. She says, "It really hurts your feelings to know that you have to be put through all of this and you're having enough problems, as it is, just trying to cope. And then, people want to treat you like this. It's very aggravating."

The Kincades plan to leave, on Sunday, and return Wednesday night. Working in their favor: Monday is orientation day at Polk County High school. Monday is the first official day of classes.

Once he's deployed, Sgt. Barry Kincade is scheduled to be away, at least, two years.

 

[year2late]

Originally posted by CJMickeyMouse
In your opinion, not letting a child learn is abuse. Then some school systems are guilty of abuse - as children are not learning. I am tired of paying tax dollars so that the children in our community can play games 20% of the time they are at school (Friday Fun ) .

So if a school district is so bad, would taking your child to WDW or on a cruise be your first choice?

I would say, save your vacation dollars and move to a better district.

Or perhaps, save your vacation dollars and invest in a private school that suits your child's educational needs.

Have one parent quit work, scrimp and save, and homeschool. And go on vacations as you please.

I just don't buy the "vacations are more educational than school "excuse.

If a person can afford multiple vacations, they can afford a better school district or private school.

 

[Crankyshank]

Around here kids have close to 4 months off of school when you count thanksgiving, christmas, february, april, and summer vacations.

Why someone would additionally need 3 wks off of school to schedule a cruise bewilders me. Is 4 months not enough?

 

[LisaSt]

Well year2late when a school board and union decide to strike for better money and more free time etc and try to tell you it is for the betterment of the kids then I have a problem with them telling me I can't take my kids on vacation when I want to. I have a very good friend that didn't want to strike and was never given a vote from the union on wether or not they should strike. SO when she found out they were going out she sent letters home with all her students asking the parents permission to teach them from her home. This didn't sit well with the union or the board and she is now an outcast among her faculty because she made them look bad by doing this. I commend her and as I said before if it was for the good of the students they would have been in the classroom teaching not standing on the steet corners trying to garner public support. Thanksfully we do not have to deal with this and I will happily take my kids to WDW every Dec for the first 2 weeks and have a great time doing so.

 

[KristaTX]

dzneprincess - I'm sure it will be no big deal to figure something out with the school. The days are available anyway, so it sounds like you have nothing to worry about. But you might not want to call the teacher/principal on the first day of school. The first few days of school are always very hectic for teachers and the office staff. I'm sure they'd appreciate a few days or a week to settle in before you bring it up .

 

[Pongo69]

Originally posted by EsmeraldaX
That is insane. I understand that there are some parents who don't care if their kids even go to school, but it's not fair that they do this to hurt parents who just want to take their kids out for a week or two for family vacations.

That is terrible. I'd try to get a group of parents together and go to your next school board meeting.

Esmeralda no offense, but your not looking at the big picture. That's why we have "SUMMER VACATION" in order to spend "FAMILY TIME" together. Let's not forget about Christmas, Thanksgiving and Easter.

Think about the teachers who have to spend extra time in order to bring the child up to date.

I believe this is why alot of teachers get pissed with parents who do this so often.
WDW will always be there

 

[year2late]

Originally posted by LisaSt
Well year2late when a school board and union decide to strike for better money and more free time etc and try to tell you it is for the betterment of the kids then I have a problem with them telling me I can't take my kids on vacation when I want to.

What you are saying (please correct me if I am wrong) is that your school district sucks, You do not respect the teachers. If my school district was so bad and I did not respect the teacher's authority....I certainly would not trust them with my child. I would forgo our vacations and put the money towards tuition to a private school I respected. Or change jobs and move to a public school district that I could trust. But "neener neener neener, you can do this to me so I can do this to you" would not be an option.

 

[Mr.MouseFan]

What a touchy subject. Who Knew!? LOL