Taking kids out of school? Please read!

[CarolMN]

Originally posted by nuts4sn00py
...(snip)..... took my kids out of school during a testing week, so they wouldn't miss much in the classroom. ......

Now that the "No Child Left Behind" law is in effect, taking children out during testing time is not a good idea. Schools are "graded" on the number of children taking the test as well as the results of the tests. If too many are absent on testing days, the school could be rated substandard. Because of this, many more school districts are taking a very dim view of taking children out for vacations. It's more important than ever to be sure you know what the policy of your school is before you plan such a trip.

 

[mcnuss]

Now that the "No Child Left Behind" law is in effect, taking children out during testing time is not a good idea. Schools are "graded" on the number of children taking the test as well as the results of the tests.

Some schools are not yet testing every grade. It may have been testing week at the OP's school, but not for her kids' grades. Further, there are some people very opposed to NCLB and who may choose not to have their children tested.

 

[CarolMN]

Originally posted by mcnuss
Some schools are not yet testing every grade. It may have been testing week at the OP's school, but not for her kids' grades. Further, there are some people very opposed to NCLB and who may choose not to have their children tested.

My post was not meant as a criticism of nuts4sn00py 's decision - just as a point of info for those who may want to take their children out in the future. If she took any offense, I apologize.

I just think everyone should be especially careful to find out school policy before taking children out. There may unintended consequences - on them and their children's school.

 

[webprinter]

We have taken our daughter out of school a number of times and she has always finished the work she was given and maintained her straight A average. Last year she was in 7th grade and missed 8 days of school and finished most of her work before we left! Her teacher was behind us 100%. I tell her that as soon as her school work suffers, we will not be taking her out of school ever again.

 

[plutosmyfav]

I took DS (8th grade) out of school for 4 days last Dec for our trip. She did all of the assignments that she could (she didn't understand a couple of things). When she got back she had to take some makeup tests. She struggled for the rest of the school year. I will never know how much of the struggling was due to getting behind early in the year, but it sure caused me a lot of guilt. This year she isn't going to WDW with me and DS(3) because she is tired of it

But I have scheduled a trip to NYC with her that will result in her missing two days. I am stressing over it already. I hope I haven't made another mistake.

Some kids can miss school and have no problem. Others get overwhelmed and then feel like giving up. Its certainly not an easy 'one size fits all' decision!

 

[sters]

Thanks for giving us your insight into the many preparations the teacher makes both before and after a big trip. I, for one, will be even more appreciative when I take my child out this November. I haven't discussed this with his teacher yet. How far ahead of time do recommend approaching the teacher? Maybe now...

 

[MickeyMonstersMom]

Good question! I prefer to know as early as possible, and then ask for a reminder about a week before the student will leave. That way I can keep the absence in mind when I do more long-range planning, but also remember to make up that packet in time for the student to look it over and ask questions before (s)he leaves.

There seem to be many thoughtful and proactive parents here. It's very nice to see!

 

[Aubrey]

I'm struggling with this as well now that DS is a middle schooler and will miss 4 days in Nov. It's not an option to not go then, I have to attend a professional conference and there is an extended family reunion there that won't be rescheduled. In elementary (DD being in 5th grade), it's not much of a problem to get all the assignments but in 7th it gets much more difficult with 6 classes to co-ordinate. Yes, we get ALL of the assigned work done but I still thought it would be better to let the kids get settled into their classes and let teachers have a sense of what kind of students they are before approaching them with requests for extra effort in pre-planned assignments. Wouldn't it be best to ask about a month in advance with a week ahead reminder?

 

[MickeyMonstersMom]

Oh, definitely. A month is quite reasonable.

 

[turnlisa]

I have been watching all the threads concerning taking your kids out of school for vacation with interest. My DS is in 2nd grade this year and we have been planning our vacation since last December. My DS decided that he would like to be at WDW for his birthday and we all thought it was a wonderful idea. I was really concerned about what the school would say since he is going to miss 6 days.

I spoke with my friend who is a teacher and she says that most of the teachers she has spoken with feel that parents who take their kids out of school don't value education. This bothered me. My DH and I are both college graduates, my DS is an above average student and we try to make family vacations both educational and fun. Why do teachers feel this way?

My DH said that he would handle the whole thing with the school and the teacher. This morning I spoke briefly to the teacher who said she had received my DH's note. She said that she would send along pages so that my DS could make a journal of what we did each day and some math practice pages. She then asked how long we were going to be gone. When I said that my DS would be missing 6 days of school, her response was, "Don't even worry about it!" This was a huge stress reliever. Now we just have to tell the school -- I think trying to o.k. this with our school district is probably a pipe dream. I have never seen a school district that pays less attention to the needs of the parents. We don't even have a yearly calendar yet to tell us when holidays, half days, etc. appear. So far we only have until the end of September.

I hope the rest of the parents that are concerned about this have as much luck with the teachers of their kids as we have. I am just so relieved to know that we don't need to fight a battle! Good luck!

 

[MickeyMonstersMom]

Originally posted by turnlisa
I spoke with my friend who is a teacher and she says that most of the teachers she has spoken with feel that parents who take their kids out of school don't value education. This bothered me. My DH and I are both college graduates, my DS is an above average student and we try to make family vacations both educational and fun. Why do teachers feel this way?

I can see how my original post would reflect this view. I think many of those teachers have had experiences similar to mine, where work is requested but never completed, and then parents later blame the teacher for their child's poor grades. When this becomes the norm for family vacations, it can really make teachers wonder how much these parents do value not only education, but teaching acceptance of responsibility for one's own actions. However, this does not mean that we make that assumption about all families who take their children out of school to enjoy a vacation together. I won't stop making up the packets of work for the students - I'll never give up the chance to teach or reinforce responsibility and reward those who show it.

I continue to be heartened by parents' responses to my rant. Thanks to all of you who have shown me that there are indeed a lot of people out there who do value their children's academic and personal growth - as well as some truly "quality" family time at great places like WDW!

 

[crazymomof4]

I just wrote this note to my DS's teacher and I mean EVERY WORD of it:
"Our family will be taking a trip to Florida later this month. Due to the type of employment my husband has, we find it necessary to take this vacation during the school year. I must admit, I am not entirely comfortable with giving you this news. We have never before taken the kids out of school for a vacation. I hope that you do not view this as a disregard for education on the part of my husband and me. I would hate to start off the school year “on the wrong foot”, so to speak. I can assure you that *** will make up every page of missed work that he is given. I will see to this personally; but even without my supervision, *** has always been very consciencious about turning in make-up work.
We leave at 1:30pm on 9/26 and will return on 10/11. Since the school is closed on Friday, 10/10, he will miss a total of 9 school days. I’m sending this note in early, hoping that he can make up some of the missed work prior to the trip. I understand that for him to do this, I may need to assist him with some concepts that you have yet to teach the class. Our plan is to have him do some of the work while on the trip and also work all day on 10/13 (Columbus Day).
Thank you, in advance, for your time spent gathering the work *** will miss. Please feel free to contact me if you have any specific questions or concerns."

Last year my DS had mono and missed a total of 24 days. With my assistance, he made up every page of make-up work. His teacher complimented him and told me how diligent he was with turning in his missed work. He was on the honor roll for the entire year.
Just wanted you to know that there are parents out here who take their kids out for vacation but at the same time DO value their children's education. I feel badly that you don't see more of this, bad for you and for the kids who aren't being raised well.

 

[Talking Hands]

On the other hand, I have gone to teachers to get work when my daughters were to be absent to represent the school and district at state music festivals such as ALL STATE and been told that they do not give work before hand and that they would have less than a week to make up the work in all classes. It was too inconvenient for the teacher. These girls were in magnet programs for music and the regular classroom teachers were unwilling to cooperate. I did finally get the work after calling district and threatening to pull them from the performances. My question is why did I have to go through all that? It wasn't even for Disney , although since it was usually in Tampa we did hit Disney before coming home on the weekend.

 

[NHLFAN]

We plan on taking our DD with us in early October and need to write a note to her teachers.

This is her first year of HS and I need to make the note that would help explain the learning experiences of traveling to Florida during school time.

Anyone want to help me with a "To Whom it May Concern" note ?

 

[MickeyMonstersMom]

If you're interested in educational experiences at WDW beyond simple make-up work, here are a few suggestions. I'm a Social Studies teacher - here in NY 9th grade Social Studies focuses on World History, for which Epcot is ideal. I'd be impressed if a student returned with accounts of interviews with the cast members at each pavilion; in fact, I'd be psyched to help them make up a list of questions to ask about their countries, so that might be a good thing to suggest to her teacher. If that doesn't fit WA curriculum, perhaps a "research" project on the history of Disney - the man, the parks, the corporation - whatever may fit your state standards. My 7th graders write a critical review of "Pocahontas" that analyzes how accurately the film depicts her life and culture, including the relations between the Powhatans and the settlers at Jamestown - this requires research about the settlement and the tribe before watching the movie, as well as a written review. There are other Disney movies that might work, too - and could satisfy an English requirement. Since you are coming from the opposite coast, a report on Florida (history, geography, native flora and fauna, local Native American groups, etc) could be very interesting to folks back home. Oh, and a biography of Ernest Hemingway (or other FL author) or book report on one of his works might appeal to DD's English teacher.

As far as the note to her teachers, I'd explain that while you fully understand the value of your child's education, circumstances force you to take your vacation during school time. Schools love the concept of personal responsibility, so stress that this will be a chance for your daughter to practice that skill. Tell them that you'd greatly appreciate obtaining materials ahead of time and/or opportunities for her to use her time at WDW for enrichment activities like the ones suggested above. If your daughter has a history of responsibility and good grades, say so. If possible, follow up with a phone call to confirm information or discuss details - I know parents are truly supportive if they do make the extra effort to contact me personally.

I hope some of these suggestions are useful to you! Maybe other teachers will have better ones too. Good luck with DD's school - I hope you all have a wonderful time!

 

[crazymomof4]

Originally posted by MickeyMonstersMom
As far as the note to her teachers, I'd explain that while you fully understand the value of your child's education, circumstances force you to take your vacation during school time. Schools love the concept of personal responsibility, so stress that this will be a chance for your daughter to practice that skill. Tell them that you'd greatly appreciate obtaining materials ahead of time and/or opportunities for her to use her time at WDW for enrichment activities like the ones suggested above. If your daughter has a history of responsibility and good grades, say so. If possible, follow up with a phone call to confirm information or discuss details - I know parents are truly supportive if they do make the extra effort to contact me personally.

I sure wish I would have had your suggestions to use as a framework for my letter. It took me a while to come up with mine.

Just yesterday my son's teacher told me she is "not allowed" to give the student going on vacation any work in advance, this includes work for him to take on the trip with him. He has to make it all up when we get home! I was floored by this! She said it is school board policy. I can't come up with any possible rationale for this rule. Anyone have any insight on this? (I was so shocked that I didn't think to ask the teacher why this is the rule.)
We will be in the car for a total of 32 hours (16 one way) and my son can do work w/o getting carsick, we'd planned on making use of that time. Also, the day after we arrive home is Columbus Day and I planned on holding an all day "school" session to get most to the remaining work done for him to turn in on his first day back! I guess he'll sit around and twiddle his thumbs that day instead! The other srudents will be doing this work while we are gone and my son won't be able to do it until we get back. Won't this set him behind rather than allow him to keep up? I can't help but feel that this is the boards way of making it difficult for parents/students to take vacations during the school year.
I thought we were being responsible by not leaving the make up work to be done until after we get home. It will be harder for him to do it then bc. he will have his regular homework to complete each day. Why would the school board encourage procrastination??????
I'm just a little upset, can you tell? I may have to meet with the principal on this one. It just doesn't make sense to me. Maybe some teachers reading this can explain some things to me that I am not seeing.

 

[MickeyMonstersMom]

I bet there are a number of schools out there with that kind of policy, but it sounds ridiculous to me, too - it's like punishing those with initiative! At some point you should write a member of the BOE and ask them to explain their reasoning behind the policy (not describe the policy itself but explain why it was created/what its purpose or goal is). In the meantime, I can think of 2 options:

1. Guess what is likely to be covered while you're gone and move ahead that far (or a little farther) in the textbooks. That way your DS will be more familiar with the material and will be better prepared to make up his assignments quickly;

2. Have your DS pick out a few "study buddies" in his classes and get their phone numbers, then call them partway through the vacation or as soon as you get home. Hehe, maybe some of his friends can grab extra copies of any handouts given, too! If the teacher can't pass along the info, maybe some well-placed "spies" can!

BTW, I thought your letter was perfectly worded. Your son sounds like the kind of student who will do fine regardless of the extent of school help.

 

[crazymomof4]

On Monday morning I will call the principal to see if there is any way around this policy. I will also, as tactfully as possible, ask her why this policy was initiated.
Thanks for responding. Both of your options are good ones. If we cannot get aound the policy I will make use of these suggestions. DS has 2 close friends in his class who will make great "spies" in fact, they would probably get a kick out of their "mission". I could arrange (with their moms) to pick up the work when we return home on Sun and then we would still have Columbus Day to work, work, work.
Your encouragement is much appreciated!