Question for those with teenagers in high school

[MouseCrazy96]

My husband and I are starting to plan a WDW trip for 2008. There will be roughly 11 people going on this trip. We were wanting to go in the spring or fall and were leaning more towards going in the fall. But just this weekend my parents said that we could only go when school is out, because my younger brother (16yrs during trip) can't miss school. I wasn't expecting this to be a problem since my dad has taken us out of school for trips before and didn't really care what the schools thought. (of course he always made sure we did our school work and such) Anyway, my parents seem dead set that the trip has to be in the summer when school is out. DH and I were really wanting to avoid the summer months because of the heat and the crowds. What do you do if you have a child or teenager in school and you don't want to take them out of school for a trip? Do you just suck it up and go in the summer or is there another solution to my dilema? Please help! Any advice or ideas would be greatly appreciated. (oh and incase you are wondering there will not be any other kids/teens on the trip who are in school, so its just my brother's school schedule we have to deal with)

 

[Fintastic]

I don't have a child in school yet, but when she's older I'd have no problem taking her out of class for a family trip. I'd discuss this with the teachers and get the homework ahead of time if possible, but I wouldn't avoid trips during the school year. My parents never took us anywhere, but DH says some of his fondest childhood memories consist of him sitting in school, anticipating that call from the office that his parents were there to pick him up and then they'd take off on vacation!

 

[DVCLiz]

It would have been almost impossible for DD to make up a week of missed classes when she was in high school. Elementary and middle school, yes, but in high school she had a heavy courseload of Honors and Ap classes, and a week would have been brutal. I wouldn't have put her through it for a vacation. A week of illness, maybe, but not a trip to WDW. I'd plan for spring break if it's not Easter like some are, or early summer as soon as school is out.

 

[MouseCrazy96]

Thanks for your input! I feel the same way. I don't think my parents have changed their feelings about taking him out of school but they said that the schools are cracking down on kids taking off for vacations and that the schools in our area "don't allow it" anymore! I would still take him out. I too always looked forward to leaving school knowing that I was headed for a great vacation. I think kids need a break from school during the school year other than just summer.

 

[Traveliz]

I would not take a high schooler out - here there are extra tests for kids who miss three days of school in a semester or actually no finals for those who miss less than three days of school...its an incentive to get them to school and pretty much no high school kids want to take the tests...they may choose to take the tests but the scores will only help them and can't hurt them.

I know that is a whole other argument but at any rate here kids just won't leave school unless deathly ill.

We would do our Disney trips at Spring Break (great great weather), right before Christmas (kids get out mid December here) or even the week between Christmas and New Years (although crowds are wild then. Of course we did summer also.

Good luck.

Liz

 

[Nicolepa]

I don't know when you go back to school, but when my dd started school we started going the 3rd or 4th week in August (we don't ever start until Sept). Most people are back in school by then so the lines are tolerable. The heat is awful, but not much different from when we'd go in Sept.

Otherwise spring break, or mid winter break if you have one.

 

[tripplanner]

I would take a kid out of Elementary in a heartbeat for a family vacation, but once they start middle school and especially High school it's just too hard on the kid to miss the days. We have kids in Middle school and now plan vacations to Disney only on their breaks. We are going for a week in November because it's their Fall Break. A lot of school systems now have several long breaks throughout the year. I would get a school calendar and plan the trip on one of those breaks. Our school system does a week Fall Break, a week Christmas break, and a week spring break.

 

[kldmom2000]

I can share my own personal experience with you.... my parents pulled me out for a week every year and we'd go to Florida for a total of 2 weeks (one week would be April vacation and we'd still be there for the following week). When I got to HS, they figured it would be no problem as usual. WRONG. I had teachers that forbid a week of school being missed for a family vacation and they refused to allow me to make up any of the work/tests that were given while I was away. I had been an A/B student up until then and once I missed that week of school and teachers would not offer any assistance on make-ups, I fell way behind.... I ended the year with mostly C's my Freshman year and had to retake Algebra the following year to avoid summer school After that, my parents left me with my grandparents while they went except for one year when they went in July.... This was approx. 17 yrs ago too! (Ack-am I really getting that old now?!??! LOL!)

We just took my oldest DD out of 1st grade to go in Sept. and our city (different from where I grew up) also frowns upon family vacations during school time. The city does not permit more than 10 absences in total per year or it's an automatic repeat of the grade level the next year. We took our chances and I took her out for 4 days..... and I can tell you that the stress and PITA problems I endured for taking her out of FIRST grade will prevent me from doing it again! I would LOVE to go again in Sept/Oct as we LOVED the F& W festival and MNSSHP, but next year unfortunately we'll have to go either in July or August.... we'll just have to make do with the heat and humidity I guess......

Good luck to you in your decision!!! It's a difficult one to make and everyone's circumstances are different....

 

[marciemi]

Sorry, double post!

 

[marciemi]

Count me in in the "it's too hard to miss" crowd. We also pulled our kids many times up to and even including middle school (although we wouldn't have done that, DH was sent to Disney on business and just couldn't pass it up, but the kids only missed 3 days). Now with oldest DS in high school, between school, sports, and marching band, there's no way I would feel comfortable having him try to make it all up. High school is "real world". I've read a ton of threads on this subject (do some searches) and there are always parents saying "the school/teacher/principal can't tell me what to do with MY kid". Then something like "so what if they give him a zero, who cares?". Well, if you're talking 2nd grade, that may be true. But if you're talking high school, the student cares, the colleges care, and the teachers may care. Even teachers who allow makeup work can still be biased against the student for the rest of the year (even a subconscious "oh, his family doesn't view school as important" can affect a subjective grade). Colleges are hard enough to get into these day (let alone scholarships!) so I just couldn't feel comfortable taking that chance. Maybe up to a couple days, 3 at the max, in a district that allowed it (a lot don't). But this is why we're going next July (sigh!) during the hottest, most crowded time of year!

 

[Schmeck]

We go in August, right before the hours are shortened - I think it's around the 15th when they do that at WDW? Anyways, the late nights are really fun, and we take long afternoon breaks in the pool or in the air conditioned room.

My kids are 12 and 15, and I don't want them to miss the school time. I feel like it's not only hard for them to make up all of the work, it's not fair to the class or the teacher if the teacher has to spend time getting my kids back up to speed.

 

[juligrl]

You didn't say if your brother was involved in any school activities (band, sports, etc.). I know I could not have gone in the fall during high school due to band commitments, in the winter due to indoor colorguard commitments, or in the spring due to musical commitments. The only option for us was a very beginning of summer vacation when there was some lienency on band rehearsal commitments (two excused vacations - summers only).
We did our DW vacation starting on the last day of school - out of school and to the airport for a well deserved week of WDW. Crowds weren't horrendous. It was a little hot, but not unbearable.

Another thought: Maybe he's not as motivated of a student as you were, or he's taking challenging classes and your parents are making a decision they feel is in the best interest for him. I think deciding to pull a child out of school for vacation is a decision that has to be based on each child individually. What was okay for you may not be okay for him.

Hope everything works out for you.

 

[powellrj]

because of No Child Left Behind, most schools now have very strict attendence policies.

What was true a couple of years ago is no longer true now. With block schedules, a couple days can mean almost a week of classes missed.

We never had a problem taking the kids out in lower grades, but once they reach middle and high school and you have extras like band, choir, sports and drama, a couple days can really make a difference.

 

[we3disneygo]

we just took dd12 out for a week in Sept. she didn't have alot of school work, they gave it to her before she left, she did miss out on some note in science class but other than that......were planning on taking her out when she's in high school...for her 16th birthday bash.......

 

[nowellsl]

What about during Christmas break. Our last day before the holiday is 12/15 this year and we're heading down on 12/17. My DD is in college now and no way can she miss school! The closer you get to Christmas the more crowded it is, but we went last year on 12/17 and it wasn't too bad.

 

[Hannathy]

There is no way my DD could miss a week of High School! We took her out for 3 days in 3rd grade no problem but not now, these grades count. She is in all advanced and AP classes and she would not physically be able to make up all the work, she would run out of hours. She also has her heart set on a couple of very competitive colleges and yes a B can make a difference in getting in or not.
Do remember that while he is trying to make up the work he will be getting more work based on what he missed the week he was gone. This could be a killer in Chemistry or an advanced Math class where all the work builds on itself.

We have gone over Easter- which really wasn't that bad, the long hours made up for the crowds. This year we went the last week of August and that worked out great. I applaud your parents for putting his interest first.

 

[DavidHobart]

***************** has a great crowd calendar. It can help you sort through the various recommendations you are receiving in terms of how busy the parks are.

To minimize the crowds you will face, you would want to go either right after they get out of school, or right before they re-enter school, depending on your calendar. This means if your kids get out in mid to late June and return after Labor Day, go in late August or even over Labor Day--unlike most holidays, Labor Day is not a majhor crowd problem. If your kids get out in early June, go then.

If you can go in December before Christmas, that's a perfect time. The crowds are low until the week that includes Christmas, and Disney does the holidays very well.

 

[CarolinaBlue]

My oldest is in 11th grade and has never missed a day of school, so because of that, I would not take her out for a vacation. Yes, it limits us to when we can go. We have been in June, August, and during Christmas break. The week before Christmas was the best for us. Thankfully, we only have two years of this left and then we can go anytime we want (I homeschool my youngest).

 

[Hedy]

In high school, you can be pretty much done for if you miss a day. I agree with your parents.

 

[4lilpoohs]

I had a hard time finding a time to go. I don't want to take my kids out of school. In the summer my kids have sports that they can't miss. So I finally decided on December. Last year I saw that my kids weren't doing any work the week before break. Their last day is the 15th. So we are leaving the 12th after school. I feel comfortable taking them out the last couple of days. The crowds will be lower the beginning of our trip and the weather will be nice. We can't wait to go