Question for any teachers or parents that have done this.

[Julie711]

We are taking DD out of school (1st grade) this October for 4 days for Disney. Wanting to go again in May, what are thoughts on her being able to get out again? Looking for the May trip to pull her out another 5 days, so total of 9 days within the school year. I know someone that missed 10 days in a row this year in her kindergarten class so was thinking with the days being split up might be ok.
Any thoughts would be nice!!

 

[Gumbo4x4]

Why not push the May trip back a couple weeks so school is out? You'd be able to stay longer that way, too.

 

[dbramer]

I am a high school teacher at a large suburban school system. We have state-mandated attendance policies. If a student misses more than 20% of a quarter for unexcused absences (which this would be, as vacation is not an excused absence), the student MAY fail for the quarter. In my case, this amounts to three unexcused absences since we are on an alternating A-B day 90-minute schedule.

The word may is capitalized because it is at the discretion of the teacher. I would definitely consult with the teacher before doing so and ask them to provide work so that you child doesn't fall behind. Usually, the teacher will have some degree of compassion and provide the work with the caveat that it is due upon return. I have seen teachers adhere to the policy and the grade was upheld by the school system.

My advice would be to speak to the teachers involved ahead of time.

 

[6loversofdisney]

I work for our local school district and our students are allowed 10 'unexcused' days per school year. After that 10, a doctor note is required for any absence. If a doctor note is not provided, the parent faces a fine which I have heard is around $150.00.

As time goes on, school's are getting stricter but I have found they prefer you to be up front and submit a request, that way the student can get and complete many or all of the missed assignments ahead of time.

As my oldest is set to graduate next year, I do not ever regret taking them out and plan to do it this coming November. It is a personal decision but I say GO FOR IT

 

[6loversofdisney]

PS - I also think how the students perform in school is also relevant. My four kids are straight A, Honor Roll kids so that should also be a factor!!

 

[MSSANDRA]

We took ours out of school most years from kindergarten though middle school. Our limit was 5 days. Most teachers are understanding and will work with you for one week but they might not be as understanding for two weeks. If you choose to book a May trip, you might want to look at trip insurance just in case the school year does not go as planned and she misses too many days to take her out. DS kindergarten year, we did not even hesitate to take him out for a week in October. The problem was, on return, he got sick with a serious URTI and missed quite a few days and the doctor then decided that his tonsils HAD to come out and because he was on steroids and could not get his flu shot he got a really serious case of the flu!! He missed a ton of school that year. It turned out just fine and that son is a senior in collage now, but it was a pretty rough and stressful year. If you have the ability to wait to book, or rebook if necessary, I MIGHT go for it. I have never done May and it does sound like a delightful time to go.

 

[Spunky946]

Our school district only allows 5 preapproved absences per year. There is no way I'd take her out for two trips in one school year.

I'd take the May trip after school gets out.

 

[Zooshoveller]

We've taken our kids out once. They were in second grade. We went in November over Veterans Day weekend. They only missed 1.5 days. We checked them out on Thursday after noon (which counted as a full day), Friday was a 1/2 day (teacher meeting or something), Monday was a full day holiday, and they were also out on Tuesday. Our school has a strict policy of only 3 unexcused absences. I'd ask the teacher and maybe even the principal if it's not clearly written out in the schools handbook. Maybe try to go around a holiday weekend?

 

[lizard1]

I just looked up our school's policy the other day. It says that as long as you give at least 2 weeks notice, vacations will be counted as excused absences.

I would make sure to check your school/school district policy and make sure that you understand the rules.

 

[MandiC]

I would ask your school about their policy, I've seen such different things on these boards regarding what is okay for one school and not another.
Personally, especially for 1st grade, I would have no problem pulling my kids out twice.

 

[puffkin]

Our schools policy is 5 days a school year for "approved" absences if you submit this one form in advance. We pulled him for a week in K. In 1st, he was out a week in October and then we went over his Spring Break in March. They ended up having 2 snow days to make up that week, so he missed those and they weren't excused but no one gave us an issue. This year in 2nd we did not pull him at all (we went right before school started and are going right after in June). But next year in 3rd grade, we are going in November the week of Thanksgiving. They have 1/2 days M-W that week. I am just taking him and not putting in for approval. We plan to pull him for a week next spring and will submit the form for that trip.

He is an excellent student and we have not had a problem so far. He is so far ahead in class he hasn't been doing much the last month of school because he basically did everything he needs to move up and they are reviewing things for the kids who haven't mastered it yet. I am not concerned about pulling him, and not to be rude, but I don't care about their policies. Honestly, they need to worry about more important things IMO

 

[DCbride]

I think 2 trips a year is fine until grade 6

 

[kohlby]

Ask your school before doing any planning. It varies from school to school - and state to state. Some states have mandatory attendance that the school must enforce. Other states have more wiggle room. If it's a private school, then you likely have lots of wiggle room. Kindergarten doesn't always have the same rules, as kindy isn't even mandatory in most states so I wouldn't base it on what one child was allowed to do in kindy. (Also, rules can change year to year). Normally, I'd say it's not a big deal if your child can handle it and the school approves of it, but I'm also not sure why you need to pull in May when it's so close to the end.

 

[Julie711]

Thanks for all the replies, ill just have to wait till the school year starts and ask the question.
We are looking to go in may for the flower & garden festival and also the summer months are crazy busy.. Guess we will see!

 

[lovemy4sweeties]

He is an excellent student and we have not had a problem so far. He is so far ahead in class he hasn't been doing much the last month of school because he basically did everything he needs to move up and they are reviewing things for the kids who haven't mastered it yet. I am not concerned about pulling him, and not to be rude, but I don't care about their policies. Honestly, they need to worry about more important things IMO

I agree! It's your child. If you want to take vacation, then take vacation.

 

[GoofyLo]

I'm a teacher with 16 years teaching experience: 6 years in 1st grade, 6 years in 2nd grade, and 4 years in 5th grade). I've seen many posts in the Disboards with a similar post to this one. I've also experienced students missing multiple days in my classroom to take a vacation. I get it. The crowds are less, the weather is nice, etc. I TOTALLY get it! I would love to take a vacation to WDW during an off peak time. A student missing one day to have a long weekend has less to make up than a student who misses an entire week of school. A student may be a bright, straight A student, but they are still missing content in the classroom. What your child's class is learning when he/she returns is building on the material that was taught the week your child was out. The teacher has to take time out with your child to catch him/her out. Someone could easily say that it is the teacher's job to do so. This is true, but how much time is the teacher having to take away from time she spends on a struggling student to catch your child up on the content he/she missed while on vacation?
It's been my experience in seeing these type of posts that parents are looking for others to say it's ok to take their child out of school. I'm sure you will find plenty of people to tell you this. You're the parent. If that's what you choose to do with your child, then do so. However, you may want to think about how your decision effects others.

 

[PennockFive]

I know my opinion isn't a popular one, but I don't agree with taking a student out for a week for a vacation. I'm a high school math teacher and no matter what parents say, the responsibility still ends up falling on the teacher to get the student caught up. When we are already inundated with students who are getting extra help because they don't understand material, it is hard to take time away from that student for another who's parents decided to take a vacation. I understand that family time is important, but taking them out for a full week is showing them that school isn't as important as disney. A special occasion, is one thing but an annual trip, or trips is asking too much of an already over-worked teacher. With the number of parents who are complaining about the common core, and how difficult it is, I don't see how having them miss precious class instruction can even seem like a good idea.

I'm sure this post is probably going to cause some commotion, but I see so many questions about taking students out of school, that I had to comment. The world is becoming so incredibly competitive with the bar always being set higher and higher, that every child needs every advantage to compete with other students.

I'm sorry if I have offended anyone, but we are all entitled to our opinion.

 

[lovemy4sweeties]

I know my opinion isn't a popular one, but I don't agree with taking a student out for a week for a vacation. I'm a high school math teacher and no matter what parents say, the responsibility still ends up falling on the teacher to get the student caught up. When we are already inundated with students who are getting extra help because they don't understand material, it is hard to take time away from that student for another who's parents decided to take a vacation. I understand that family time is important, but taking them out for a full week is showing them that school isn't as important as disney. A special occasion, is one thing but an annual trip, or trips is asking too much of an already over-worked teacher. With the number of parents who are complaining about the common core, and how difficult it is, I don't see how having them miss precious class instruction can even seem like a good idea.

I'm sure this post is probably going to cause some commotion, but I see so many questions about taking students out of school, that I had to comment. The world is becoming so incredibly competitive with the bar always being set higher and higher, that every child needs every advantage to compete with other students.

I'm sorry if I have offended anyone, but we are all entitled to our opinion.

Respectfully, high school math is world's away from kindergarten.

 

[tng1920]

I taught elementary school for many years. I currently work at an university. I'm taking my DD 7 out of school next week for 4 days. My best friend who is also in education took her DS 7 out of school for a week earlier this month. We both met with their teachers and arranged for work packets. First grade skills are not hard to

 

[jessifer09]

It depends on the student. If they struggle, even at kindergarten or first grade, they are going to have a really hard time getting caught up. Even students who do not struggle are not going to learn the material as well as those who were in class. As a teacher I take offense to brushing off any grade as unimportant. There are very important, foundational skills learned at the early grades that are necessary for success later. Simply making up the work does not replace being in the classroom, and there are many things I do in a day that cannot be 'made up'. One trip I feel is manageable, two is pushing it.