So frustrated right now - school start date change

[Colleen27]

Until reading on the DIS for the past 15 years, I have never seen or heard of so many people taking kids out of school for a vacation. I am 45 years old, and I know that I was pulled for a long weekend (one day) maybe three times in all of my years of school. I understand it may not always be convenient to work around a school calendar, but it isn't always convenient to deal with a work schedule either.

I feel that attending school is a child's "job" even from the early years and that school attendance should be a priority. I understand that there may be times when less material is covered, but there are also times that are less busy at work, but you still have to go to work. I guess I think that you should go to school every day unless you are sick, there is a death in the family or some other unforeseen circumstance. School calendars seem to have plenty of three day weekends and other weeks off throughout the year, that one cannot claim that children do not get breaks.

How many jobs are so restrictive about vacation time that they dictate the specific dates during which you will be off? Not as a temporary issue of being low-man on a seniority-based totem or seasonal prohibitions on vacationing during peak seasons, but as a matter of policy for your entire tenure there? The vast majority of jobs offer some flexibility, particularly when given adequate notice (which is what we parents would like from our school districts). In fact, the only ones I know of that are as restrictive as schools are jobs in the school system - teachers and other support staff, whose vacation periods are dictated same as students' are.

 

[DisneyMim]

My husband is a teacher and now both our children are teachers. We have been DVC members since 1991 and go to WDW often. We have NEVER been able to plan our trips a long time in advance with the exception of our Christmas trips which we plan 11 months in advance. We live in New England and always have had to deal with the bad winters and time off of school. While my kids were growing up their school never came out with the next year's calendar until around April/May. I still follow our town's schools and I just read in the paper that they are finalizing next year's calendar next month. This is just how it is. You get used to it. We never had a problem going to Disney in August and we did this for YEARS. We would make the plans in May. Even now, with both my kids grown and teachers themselves, when we plan a trip to Disney in the summer we don't plan until around May. We have just begun to think about our summer plans. Our Christmas trip is all planned out because we already know the schedule (unexpected days off will not alter it), but we still don't know what our kids are doing this summer, who's coming with us, etc. We had a very bad winter here in New England. My husband's school still hasn't said what they are doing about adding days. We learned many moons ago to not plan any trips for the end of June. Yes you may not like it, but it is what it is. Many, many schools start classes before Labor Day. In fact my kids' school started this while they were still in school. We used to love going right before Labor Day, but we had to adjust our trips. For my family school has always been the priority. Trips can be changed.

 

[Colleen27]

Yes, really. We won't get our school calendar for 15-16 until mid-to late July of 2015. Others have posted receiving school year calendars later, as well.

So how do you manage that, without paying a fortune in last-minute pricing or losing non-refundable costs if the calendar comes out with surprises that mess up your plans? Do you just only travel during the "safe" mid-summer weeks, or late enough in the school year that you have the calendar in hand with plenty of lead time?

 

[anniemae]

Ours won't be out until April/May. I know many people who are waiting for the calendar to come out so they can plan late summer vacations. I envy those of you who get the calendars this early. It is so frustrating waiting!

 

[clambert1273]

I think now in my life, my priorities are just much different. In my head, I will vacation when I please and not when it is the "best" for some stupid school district. I was NOT always that way but after almost literally dying in July last year at 40 years old - my perspectives have changed and I would rather let my family have as much time with me (and me with them) as possible. I now max out my vacation time every year instead of saving it up... I also don't stress over how much money it costs me to vacation. I enjoy it and will continue to do so

I can't imagine not being here now and my 7yo girl growing up without her mother nor would I have wanted the last thing with me for her to remember was cleaning house Now that we took this last trip, she will ALWAYS remember that week and however many more I can give her

 

[morgan98]

How many jobs are so restrictive about vacation time that they dictate the specific dates during which you will be off? Not as a temporary issue of being low-man on a seniority-based totem or seasonal prohibitions on vacationing during peak seasons, but as a matter of policy for your entire tenure there? The vast majority of jobs offer some flexibility, particularly when given adequate notice (which is what we parents would like from our school districts). In fact, the only ones I know of that are as restrictive as schools are jobs in the school system - teachers and other support staff, whose vacation periods are dictated same as students' are.

I did not say this is my first post, but quite frankly I am surprised schools are just now announcing start dates for the fall. This seems like something that could be set much more than 5 months out.

Personally, I have more PTO than I can use in a year, but we definitely have dates and periods of the year where it is hard if not impossible to schedule time away. But I still say that the school year is different. Schools have long weekends, weeks off and summer break throughout the year. It seems to me that most people could coordinate work and school schedules so missing school does not happen. I know that it is more expensive to travel during school breaks, etc., but that is a completely different issue than saying schedules don't coordinate. Maybe schedules don't coordinate during the cheaper travel times.

We are just discussing opinions here and I would still say that I think school is an obligation much as work is. I still contend that I would lay out both the work schedule and the school schedule to find something that works for everyone, without resorting to missing a week of school. (I am also not going to say that there may never be a once in a lifetime trip or something that would change my mind, but for the most part I would not have kids miss school).

 

[ICF]

How many jobs are so restrictive about vacation time that they dictate the specific dates during which you will be off?

How many jobs only make you show up 180 days a year....thus allowing you 185 days off each year for vacations and the like??

 

[Gumbo4x4]

I read this a lot on here. I find it odd that I have never had a job where I had to put in my requests for the year by January.

A lot of places it's as much an unwritten rule as anything. When I've had such jobs, it worked like this:

Get your dates in by 01/31 & then Mgmt would inform the low seniority folks of their conflicts & available dates by 02/28. After that, any remaining dates were first come, first serve. When I was low man, I never bothered to pick until the senior folks had already done so. BUT, if they had left any "prime" dates, I could swipe them if nobody had claimed them. So naturally, the senior folks pre-booked the best dates year in & year out very early in the year.

 

[undertheradar]

So how do you manage that, without paying a fortune in last-minute pricing or losing non-refundable costs if the calendar comes out with surprises that mess up your plans? Do you just only travel during the "safe" mid-summer weeks, or late enough in the school year that you have the calendar in hand with plenty of lead time?

We safely plan travel dates between June 1 and August 10. Our schools get out before Memorial Day, so we could start earlier, we wait to verify that there are no school conflicts first. This year our hs jr is headed to NYC on a school sponsored trip, they leave the day after Memorial Day. Our added issue this year is an active corporate buyout that should close sometime in late-Fall, we have a family DCL scheduled for December and have no idea what changes lurk ahead.

 

[chartle]

I hardly believe that over 5 months advance notice of the school calendar change can honestly be termed "short notice."

For certain things its No Notice since some need to know this info a couple of months before then.

 

[chartle]

I read this a lot on here. I find it odd that I have never had a job where I had to put in my requests for the year by January.

You must have never worked at a "Shift Job".

My father had to put his vacation in by December the year before. Didn't really matter since he picked the same weeks every year, Last week of July first week of August and the first week of buck season. On the years we had a reliable car, which was most years, we camped for 2 straight weeks.

My first trip to WDW was during one of those vacations. We spent most of the time in Myrtle Beach and then drove down to WDW for a super long 3 days at FW in 77.

 

[LBIJim]

I read this a lot on here. I find it odd that I have never had a job where I had to put in my requests for the year by January.

We have to submit our vacation requests for the following year by about December 10 of the current year. The form asks you to choose specific dates, but it's really asking for specific months. Each month has a certain amount of available vacation time budgeted. Senority in the company, not necessarily within a department, gets first choice.

Once the vacation schedule is set, it's easy to change weeks within the same month. Or you can work out a month swap with another willing person. Yep, newer employees, those more likely to have elementary school kids, rarely can get Christmas week off. But everyone is guaranteed at least one week in the summer if they want it.

 

[Ceila]

How many jobs only make you show up 180 days a year....thus allowing you 185 days off each year for vacations and the like??

Them's fightin' words right there!

I teach, and I actually agree with you completely. Unfortunately, a lot of teachers I know feel slighted that they are unable to take week-long vacations during the off-season. Or they trot out the fact that we are technically 10-month employees, and therefore are paid for 10 months of work, not 10 months of work and 2 months of vacation. However, I find that not having to show up to work for just over 2 months every year is pretty great!

 

[sam_gordon]

How many jobs only make you show up 180 days a year....thus allowing you 185 days off each year for vacations and the like??

If you work 5 days a week for 52 weeks, that's 260 days. That leaves 105 "days off", NOT including vacation days (an additional 10-20 on average).

 

[Ceila]

If you work 5 days a week for 52 weeks, that's 260 days. That leaves 105 "days off", NOT including vacation days (an additional 10-20 on average).

But you don't have approximately 60 of them off in a row.

 

[sam_gordon]

But you don't have approximately 60 of them off in a row.

My boss and I have a saying for when employees say "but 'x' department gets to <fill in the blank>"...

If you want to do that work for whatever benefits, go for it!

 

[kandb]

Good for you OP. I am sure it will work out fine. My twins are going into 6th grade and my ds going in to first and as I previously responded, they will be missing the first 2 days of school. My daughter is a little hesitant about it but I know she will be fine and I truly believe its beneficial for children to adjust
to things that are not "perfect" or the "norm" because life is not always perfect. Some people on here are making it like it's life-altering, come on, it's missing
4 days of school. Hope you have a great vacation. The school districts should send out the schedules 2 years in advance. We book our airplane flights as
soon as they come out and that is almost a year before our trip. If the districts know the holidays, why wait til only 5 or 6 months before school starts.

 

[Laura66]

Good for you OP. I am sure it will work out fine. My twins are going into 6th grade and my ds going in to first and as I previously responded, they will be missing the first 2 days of school. My daughter is a little hesitant about it but I know she will be fine and I truly believe its beneficial for children to adjust
to things that are not "perfect" or the "norm" because life is not always perfect. Some people on here are making it like it's life-altering, come on, it's missing
4 days of school. Hope you have a great vacation. The school districts should send out the schedules 2 years in advance. We book our airplane flights as
soon as they come out and that is almost a year before our trip. If the districts know the holidays, why wait til only 5 or 6 months before school starts.

You expect the schools to have schedules 2 years out? Really?
And yes - kids do need to learn to adapt - but I find many DISers only feel this way when it pertains to pulling their kids from school to go to Disney.
Missing school - when children have expressed their unease - for a vacation? I don't get it.
And I don't but that that many people can only travel during school.
And I've never been able to book a flight a year ahead of time - especially to Florida. They never have had the flight schedule that far in advance!

 

[tasha99]

You expect the schools to have schedules 2 years out? Really?
-snip-

It can be done. I was a speech therapist in a school that put their calendars out 3 years at a time. This waiting till the last minute is ridiculous. Last year, the calendar for DS's school wasn't out until the end of June. That's unacceptable to me.

 

[Disney Khaleesi]

As a current highschooler, I wouldn't feel comfortable missing the few days of school in fourth or eighth grade. I use that time to adjust to my new schedule, get to know my classmates again, regroup with everyone, and take this time to learn about how the class will be run and what the teacher will be like. I couldn't do it.

I would seriously reconsider dates.