OT - Any Private School Moms Out There?

[Mom2Rae]

Considering private school for dd. She'll begin her 1st grade year in September.

Just wondering how private schools handle Disney vacations in the year?

Thanks!

 

[Worfiedoodles]

I guess it depends on what you mean by "private".

DS has been in parochial school since he was 4. We took him out of K-1 (preschool) to go to Disney without any problems. We have seen other kids go during the school year without an issue over the years. He's in 3rd grade now, and some of his classmates are missing the last week of school to go. But I think we are at the cutoff -- 4th and up, they seem to enforce the policy in the handbook, which states that students are expected to have their vacations during school-approved vacation periods.

Every private school is different. You should read the handbook before you make any firm decisions -- but then speak to the teachers to be sure. The policy is there in ds's school, but not enforced until a certain level.

Good luck with your vacation planning!

 

[Darcy03231]

In our area the private (parochial) schools are very strict about attendence. If its an unexcused absence zeros are given for any work missed. You can get a vacation excused if you can show that it will be a learning experience. My neighbor has her children in private school and they took a trip to Mexico during the school year and had it excused as a learning experience. They went to the Mayan ruins, did a Mexican cooking class, did some cultural tours (museums, folklore shows, etc) along with lots of other fun stuff. Each child had to keep a daily journal and do an oral report when they got back.

 

[Worfiedoodles]

Oh! I didn't mean to imply you can just take your kids out and there aren't any consequences. We even had a packet of work to do for preschool -- and you do have an unexcused absence -- but you can make up the work. That's why I think they allow it for the younger kids, they aren't doing labs or group projects so much, so they can theoretically make up the work.

That said, as you can tell from my siggy we don't take ds out anymore during school. We have an entire summer, and weeks in December, February and April that we could take him on vacation. Plus, I'd rather take him when I can't send him to camp. If at least one of us has to be off work, it makes sense to me to do the big family vacation then. We go in the last week of August-September, and it's always worked great.

 

[Tigger&Aidan]

Do they have a website you can check that might list their policies? I believe my nephew's catholic school has their info on the web. You could always call and ask what their policy is - that way, you'd know for sure before making any decisions.

When I read the PP's response about make-up work in Preschool - yikes! Maybe it depends on the school or area but I've never heard of that. Guess I have a lot to learn in the next few years as my DS hits school age!

 

[MommaSnowwhite]

Our DDs go to Christian School and we have taken them out for Disney two years in a row for a week. It was considered unexcused, but they didn't give us any problems.

 

[Worfiedoodles]

Do they have a website you can check that might list their policies? I believe my nephew's catholic school has their info on the web. You could always call and ask what their policy is - that way, you'd know for sure before making any decisions.

When I read the PP's response about make-up work in Preschool - yikes! Maybe it depends on the school or area but I've never heard of that. Guess I have a lot to learn in the next few years as my DS hits school age!

Well, it wasn't hard work...I think they were working on H, I, and J...

I was actually glad to have it, so we could make sure he was getting all the concepts. His teacher was awesome, and we were able to point out things that were relevant to his missed work while we were away. Like the Haunted Mansion, shapes, etc. It was also nice to have the coloring work for the plane ride...

 

[Gillian]

My DS goes to private school. He's in 1st grade. We did not take him out at all this year, but we had 2 weeks at Christmas and 2 weeks in March. They ask that you not take kids out during the school year, and especially not right before a scheduled vacation.

They have a lot of special events throughout the year, but as we are new to the school I'm still figuring it all out. I know several families who missed a few days, and even a week in one case. It seems that there are times that are good or ok to go, once you know the schedule.

Next year we might miss a few days around Christmas, but I haven't seen the calendar yet.

 

[mousiemom]

My dd is in 1st grade this yr. and we had to take her out for Thanksgiving week for the mountains and then in Jan. for our disney trip. The school says the kids are allowed 7 parent excused days. Well, we had to take her out 9 but her teacher worked with us and told us not to worry about it and just make up all her work. For the rest of the disney trips for this yr., I scheduled them like this: May-leaving her last day of school
Sept - taking 3 days
Nov. - veteran's day weekend-taking 1 day
Dec. - christmas break
Jan. - taking 4 days
*Always let them know ahead of time and they will work with you. We have a lot of disney fans in her class. I know it will be harder later on so enjoy it while u can!!
Mousiemom

 

[blessedby3]

My youngest 2 attend a private Christian school and my oldest is in public high school. I must say that our Christian school is great and we have never had a problem with taking the kids out for Disney vacations. We have done this in 2003, 2005 and 2006. They missed 8 days in 2003, the whole week after Thanksgiving in 2005 and just a few days in 2006. They are so good about giving the kids their work well ahead of time so that the kids can do it before we leave. They realize how important family time is and never complain about the vacation absence- teachers or administrators.
My oldest, on the other hand, had a horrible time getting her teachers to give her work ahead of time. She missed time in her sophomore and junior years. She had no problem with grades slipping or anything afterwards, just a problem with getting her work from teachers. She only had one teacher that gave her a hard time (sophomore yr) and we had to fill out paperwork for her to get her out.
Next year they will all 3 be in public school and I am dreading working with 3 sets of teachers. We decided to take the kids out for 3 days in Jan. since they have 3 more off. That gives us 10 days (including weekends) and they will only miss 3 from school.

 

[Mkrop]

We are taking DS9 out for 4 days. The Catholic school he attends is ok with it. I mean the prinicpal always encourgages in her newsletter to take vacations when the childern are off and she tries to schedule inservice days and such and the end of a long weekend or if there is holy day say on a Thursday she will scheudle Friday off for inservice.

Unfortunately though this still did not work with DH's work schedule and he is starting a new job soon so we will have to do it now or wait a long while until he is settled.

The secretary at the school (when I went to ask her about informing them) is so excited about us going because she is going in June and wants me to report back to her!

DS9's teacher was also very cool about it and since he is straight A student she said she is not worried at all about him making it up. Not sure what she would say if he was struggling. And she said she may or may not send some stuff with him to do, she says it depends on where she is.

We also scheduled this after progrss reports come out beause I have found that right before the teachers go nuts trying to get in as many assignments and tests as possible.

 

[emma'smom]

My dd goes to a private school and we have taken her out several times and intend to do this every year. We live in a small college town and many of the families at the school are "college" families, yet the school follows the regular public school schedule. We always pull dd out for the college's spring break, as do many other families. So far, dd's teacher hasn't said anything, but if she ever does....i do think that I would respectfully point out the fact that half of the school's clientele would find following the college's schedule more convenient.

 

[mjh8955]

Our kids have been in Christian schools since pre-school, they are now in 7th and 10th grades. We have taken them out several times. No problem whatsoever. I always go to the principal first and ask if she can give me some input as to the school calendar for the coming year (it usually isn't published yet). She helped me find the best time, like right after the quarter grading period, and avoiding the junior high and high school retreats, homecoming week, etc. They place a high value on family time together. Hope it all works out for you!!

 

[Mom2Rae]

Update...dd was accepted into the private school we had our hopes on.

I'm awaiting the info. packet in the mail which should outline the unexcused days a child can miss per year. I've already booked our December trip which means she'll miss 4 days the second week of December...she's got a good grip on first grade work already, so I'm not concerned about work missed. Her teachers in the past have always given us work for her to do through the week - hopefully the new school will do the same.

Thank you for all of your responses...looking forward to a wonderful year!

 

[bzzymom]

DS is in the 4th grade at a catholic school. We took him out of school in K, 1, 2, and 3. Our last trip was in Aug before starting 4th grade. They don't encourage families to take children out of school for vacations, but it is allowed. There are several families of doctors who take their kids out when they go to meetings/conferences. The work must be made up, and teachers are not expected to give it to the student before the trip. DS is a very good student and gets his makeup work done quickly. However, now that he is getting older, the work will take longer to make up. I don't know if I will take him out when I go in Oct with DD (3) and my in-laws.

 

[CharmedLife]

My DD is in 1st grade in a parochial school and the official school policy is that they "discourage it, but if you must take your child out, you need to give the teachers at least 1 weeks notice". We took her out for a week in kindergarten and again in 1st grade. No problem at all, we were given homework ahead of time both times, though, and it is due the day back. The school policy states that any work not turned in your first day back will be graded with a 0.

It seems that just as with the public schools, every school has its own policy, and even then, they all enforce their policies to different levels. Best to just ask at the school and find out what they want you to do.

Have fun in December, we were there the 2nd week this past December and LOVED it!

 

[solferino]

My DD is at an independent school and although it's not screamed from the rooftops, family vacations are embraced by the director. Our families know this and don't abuse the privelege of course, but it's nice to know people in the office aren't going to freak out when you announce you're going away.

I'm on staff at the school as well and have no qualms about taking the time off. My boss knows I'm reliable and I have a trustworthy person who can cover my hours.

The only reason we're doing it this time is because DH is doing the half-marathon and the race-day doesn't fall with the winter holiday break. No biggie, we'll do homework on the plane, keep a journal and whatever else is expected. Chances are her teacher will tell DD to just have fun and that's ok too.

 

[Mousermom]

DS is in 6th grade in a catholic school in Philadelphia.

I told his teacher at the beginning of the school year that we'd be taking him out of school for a week in March.

His teacher had no problem with it as long as he completed a journal for every day he was away.

She also asked that I send in a note a week prior to the trip reminding her that we were leaving.

That was all that was required for my son to be out of school for this trip.

He did not have to make up any school work while he was gone.

He was even out of school for a week due to eye surgery.

Have fun on your trip!