Take 8th Grader out os school for 2 weeks in November?

[mbdaze]

What are suggestions for this situation? Son is 13 & in 8th grade and they have SOL tests this year they must pass to move on. He is in all advanced calsses (taking algebra & Spanish for HS credit) so I am worried about him getting behind so much.

Haven't mentioned it to the teachers yet.......just got progress reports and all A's so far......but don't know what to do.

A summer trip is out of the question.

HELP! Tips, advice???

 

[goofyfordisney]

I would just make sure that they will not be missing any major testing dates--this year we went to DL in April and I checked with both schools about testing dates--they told me there were no tests scheduled so, I went ahead and made plans. Well, the test dates were changed at the last minute--my 13 year old missed his "writing assessment" test and was not able to make it up. It wasn't a huge deal, because he had already "passed" the first test that they had given him earlier in the year (he was in 7th grade).

We are also taking our 8 & 13 year olds out of school (only 5 days). We are also going in November--this time we are going the week leading into Thanksgiving. There are no major tests that week. I think that 8th grade is alittle more crucial for the reasons that you stated--I would have him start talking to his teachers soon. I think if they know it is coming up--they might be able to help him come up with a plan so that he doesn't get behind while he's gone.

Any teachers out there? Maybe you wouldn't mind giving us a few tips! Thanks!

 

[GEM]

This is just my personal opinion, so feel free to ignore me ) but I really think that two weeks is too long - especially at that age. I wouldn't have any problem with a few days, or even one week (if he is a good student and will work hard to catch up), but I would never take a child out for two weeks. At that age, I would think he would have SO much make-up work to do it would take forever to get caught up - even if he is a good student. If you can't go when he is out of school, I would definately cut the trip down to one week. When I was that age I definatley would not have wanted to be out of school for that long - even for Disney World! Whatever you decide to do, though, I hope you have a great trip!

 

[CarolMN]

I think you should check with the school before you make the decision so that you know what their policy might be. For example, Texas has a law that if children have more than xx (don't remember the exact number) unexcused absences, the parents could be prosecuted! Texas considers family vacations as unexcused absences. Some schools lower the grades of students with unexcused absences.

Two weeks is a long time. What does your son think about being gone so long? When my daughter was in junior high, she actually turned down a trip to WDW if it meant missing school. We decided to postpone the trip until she had a school break.

Good luck with your decision.

 

[goofyfordisney]

I think that our HS district has some kind rule about too many unexcused absenses too--I think it is 7 days in one quarter.

When my son was in 6th grade he was hospitalized for 5 days and also missed another week of school after he came out of the hospital (I think he missed about 12 days of school)--our school district sent us a letter informing us that he might be considered a "truant of the state"! I couldn't believe it! He was in the hospital for Gods sake! I was pretty upset--the school said that they are required to inform parents of children who miss too much school in one quarter that they will be at risk. The school knew he was sick and had been hospitalized--therefore it was "excused"--he was able to make up all of his work.

I really cut back our original plan of taking the 7 day cruise AND doing 7 nights at WDW so that the kids wouldn't miss so much school. We are just doing the 7 nights WDW part this time--the cruise we will do next year. I hope things go well for my kids--I don't want them to stress too much! I think once they are in High School it will be almost impossible to take them out of school!

 

[mbdaze]

It is actually only 7 days of missed school (Thanksgiving break is included). What worries me most is he has 90 minute classes.......so I am sure he will miss a lot. He is a very good student, but it is no fun to have a TON of work to do when you come back.

He won't miss any major testing (just individual classes) during that time.

We planned on WDW, Universal, and some other areas in FL, and we are driving, so we need te time.

 

[goofyfordisney]

Well, that's not as bad as it sounded--7 days should be do-able! I would have him start talking to his teachers ASAP--if it looks like he is being responsible etc...they should give him some things to do ahead of time. He can probably do alot before he goes and on the way there if you will be traveling in the car. My son is going to talk to his teachers on Monday--hopefully it will go well!

Good luck!

 

[vicb]

That's a tough one, I am a big believer in the value of family vacations and take my 2 elementary aged children out each year for a vacation..... but never for more than 5 days. It really is a personal decision and depends on the restrictions of your school district. I will say we have got a more positive reaction out of teachers for the non-WDW vacations but haven't let that stop us from going to WDE when it works best for us. Good Luck!

 

[cboudre1]

I would definetely find out about testing in your state. In NY the 5th grade SS test is being given in November, and the 4th grade LA in January. The 8th graders here take state tests in LA, Math, Science and SS. They also take a foreign Language exam. My DS is in 8th grade and even though he gets A s and B s I don't think he could take off 7 days. If he fails the LA, Math or foreign language he will have to take a remedial class in 9th grade.

 

[disneefamily]

Disnee Dad Says........................................................... IMHO, I can not see the benefit of takeing an advanced student out of advanced classes for two weeks, unless you want to put the student back with the regular kids when you return. You don't knock off a day of school with an hour of homework. Maybe, if ALL his teachers have good lesson plans, And will give you a copy of what is comeing up,And you plan at least two days to truely follow the lesson plans,And he tries to get ahead before you go, he may not miss anything. Sorry to be negative, but this is not about Disney, it is about education.

 

[minnieandmickey]

We were going to do this in 2003 when my son will be a 9th grader but decided instead of the week of thanksgiving to the week after, to do the week before christmas that way he will only miss 5 days and will be able to make up the homework given the 2 weeks of christmas vacation Just thought this would be easier on him that way he is not only trying to do homework while on a family vacation but may also be doing that week plus the week of homework he goes back to school, this way he would have to do the work when he got home has plenty of time to do it and will be all caught up when he gets back.

 

[dmslush]

I would go ahead and start talking to the teachers, find out what he is going to miss and what he will need to do to keep up. I am taking my daughter out of 4th grade for a week in november. I haven't talked to her teachers yet, simply because this trip is a surprise birthday present for her and I don't want anyone spill the beans on accident. She won't find out about it until oct 21, I am going to talk to the teachers then. The only regular homework she has each night is reading and math, so we can take that with us. Also, we are driving down and back from WDW, (about 11 hours) so that will give her plenty of time to do work.

 

[Barbruka]

We just took our two kids out for 5 days. The third grader had no problem doing his homework. But our sixth grader had a harder time. It took a solid week of 4 hours of home work after school each night to catch up. (They wouldn't give us work ahead even though we asked.) Our next trip will definitely not include a week of missed school. Gets much harder once they are in middle school and high school. Elementary is no problem.

 

[bobcat]

I teach middle school so here's my opinion. In eighth grade your child will miss a lot of work during a seven day vacation. As an advanced student it will be even more. If you do decide to take your child out for this length of time you need to let the teachers know as far in advance as possible. They will need time to get all of the work together which means at least a couple of days. Some of the work missed may be in class activities that the teacher has to come up with a new assignment for just for your son. The more notice you give them the more likely they will be to try and accomidate your needs. However some teachers may require your son to find out the missed assignments after you return and not give much help at all.

I agree that family vacations are important but realize that your son may really fall behind if he misses so much at school. Good luck whatever you decide.

 

[mbdaze]

I sure had a ton of typos in my posts! (Cold fingers)

I appreciate all of the opinions and advice. We did the 2 weeks when DS was in 5th grade and it was not a problem then (teachers gave him work ahead of time).....he worked on it during the car trip & 1 afternoon at resort.

I know it would be much harder this time........he has 90 minute classes and they cover A LOT every day. He has a couple of hundred algebra problems to do every night!!

I certainly don't want his education to suffer because of a vacation.

And, I know this won't be popular to say, but frankly, I was a bit afraid to go this time anyway. The current situation has me worried. Somehow, I feel "safer" close to home and with my family around. Please don't flame me for this.......it's just the way I feel. I don't intend to "bunker down" but I'm not sure I want to be 12 hours away from home & family either.

Maybe it would be best to postpone..........for more reasons than one.

 

[sha_lyn]

My suggestion would be just do one week. You could go back later (if your schedual allows) when the school has a long weekend for another week. Maybe do WDW one week then go back and Do US/IOA and others another week. The best thing as already suffested is to check what the laws in your state are. In some areas more than 5 unexcused absences is an automatic faliure.

 

[cats mom]

We just got back from our Disney trip. Missed 6 days of school. I was surprized at how quickly the girls got caught up with their homework (5th grade and 8th grade) They are both A students and both are in advanced classes. The math was the toughest to catch up - lots of problems! But we just got their most recent grade update and they both still have all A's. We really felt we needed the time together as a family right now. I would talk to teachers first though - my friend who teaches 8th grade was appalled that we were missing school and said if it were one of her students their grades would most certainly suffer (glad DD is NOT in her class)
Good Luck deciding

 

[Chipmunk]

I am a middle school teacher. In my experience my A students have been able to take a week off because they always made up the work quickly. I think two weeks off is a lot more challenging even for an A student. Other students have failed me for the quarter because they took a week of school off and weren't even keeping up with the work before they left. You really need to be aware of your child's work habits and ability level.

It is frustrating for a teacher to spend an hour getting work together before or after a child goes on vacation and not having the student turn any of the work in. So before you leave please consider the teacher's time required to help your child to catch up and double check that your he/she is makiing up all assignments. A thank you note to your teacher for collecting and explaining your child's assignments is a nice reward.