Taking Kids Out of School

[Toadlover]

I know that this is mostly a question for their schools, but we are now thinking of going to WDW in February. Lighter crowds and less money. But it would mean taking the kids out of school on an extended absence. It would also mean they'd need to (probably) bring homework. (I went when I was in 9th grade [and my sister in 7th] and I had a week's worth of math to do before we went which I did in a day.)

Who else has taken their kids out of school? By the way, I should mention that my kids will be in grades 8, 10 and 12.

 

[GotLabradors]

I know that this is mostly a question for their schools, but we are now thinking of going to WDW in February. Lighter crowds and less money. But it would mean taking the kids out of school on an extended absence. It would also mean they'd need to (probably) bring homework. (I went when I was in 9th grade [and my sister in 7th] and I had a week's worth of math to do before we went which I did in a day.)

Who else has taken their kids out of school? By the way, I should mention that my kids will be in grades 8, 10 and 12.

I'm a middle school teacher and don't think there is anything wrong with this. I work with students who are out of school on vacations to make sure they get all their work made up. I take my own kids out for vacation. I think in the end, it all depends on the kind of students your kids are.

 

[BuzzinDownToDisney]

My Wife is a middle school teacher who already has said we'll be taking our son out of school for future vacations. Her recommendation is to do it the week before they have a scheduled school break, so when you return from WDW, the kids have a week to do all their makeup work.

 

[Airship Ariadne]

We have taken DD out each time...once in 1st grade, once in 4th and are doing it again coming up in 8th...though I fear we will not do so in high school...but we will see, right now the plan is this is it till she graduates.

 

[StitchBuddy]

I think it depends on the kid and the caseload they are carrying. My DD will be a senior this year and in AP classes. There is no way she would miss a week of school. It would be too hard to catch back up. I think I would ask each kid in private for their opinion.

 

[Toadlover]

I'm a middle school teacher and don't think there is anything wrong with this. I work with students who are out of school on vacations to make sure they get all their work made up. I take my own kids out for vacation. I think in the end, it all depends on the kind of students your kids are.

The problem is even if they had one teacher as understanding as you, they have 6 more. I do know that they will have to have good attendance in general up until that point, or they won't grant the leave. That will be hard on my daughter who took off a lot of sick days last year.

 

[Toadlover]

My Wife is a middle school teacher who already has said we'll be taking our son out of school for future vacations. Her recommendation is to do it the week before they have a scheduled school break, so when you return from WDW, the kids have a week to do all their makeup work.

There's an idea! That might give us a way to do 10 days in WDW and still have 4 days to do the homework when they get back. Or maybe do it 4 days before we leave. I dunno which. I remember wanting to get it over with before we left when I was in 9th grade, but that's just me.

 

[Toadlover]

We have taken DD out each time...once in 1st grade, once in 4th and are doing it again coming up in 8th...though I fear we will not do so in high school...but we will see, right now the plan is this is it till she graduates.

They do grow up quickly! This will likely be our last big family trip.

 

[abolanwoski]

I take mine out every year. Both are very strong academically, otherwise we wouldn't. Now that DD9 is older, we try to coordinate with easier times of school. We are now doing the Labor Day week, since it's a short week and they really aren't missing anything (only 2nd week of school for us).

 

[SillySallySews]

For us family time always comes first. My parents took me to Disney during my junior year of HS and the world did not stop spinning. This has been discussed here before, lots of people have very strong opinions about it. Some people have also brought up the fact that the schools in their area don't allow extended absences for personal vacations. You know your kids and their schools better than anyone and should do what feels right for your family.

 

[Toadlover]

I think it depends on the kid and the caseload they are carrying. My DD will be a senior this year and in AP classes. There is no way she would miss a week of school. It would be too hard to catch back up. I think I would ask each kid in private for their opinion.

There's always the option of doing homework at the parks at your hotel room. Having a nap time for the grandparents be homework time for the grand kids. I just don't think that's ideal.

 

[Altoqueenkelly]

Just to warn you.... this is a VERY hot topic. Very controversial. Most people are strongly on one side or the other.

Some are okay with it, some are not.

Only you can decide what is best for your family and your children. Personally, I don't have a problem with it and will be pulling my second grader out for a week in September. We don't do a vacation every year, more like every other though. It has been three years since we had a vacation so it is a little different if you do this often. I do have concerns with older kids missing as it may be harder for them to makeup/teachers less flexible etc. As long as they are strong students and they are okay with missing and making up the work I would say go for it.

 

[Toadlover]

For us family time always comes first. My parents took me to Disney during my junior year of HS and the world did not stop spinning. This has been discussed here before, lots of people have very strong opinions about it. Some people have also brought up the fact that the schools in their area don't allow extended absences for personal vacations. You know your kids and their schools better than anyone and should do what feels right for your family.

I know my younger son's school does allow for vacations. I just looked at the form. But I don't know about the older 2's school. That's not online and school is closed. We have to figure this out relatively soon if we're to make reservations for February. I have no idea what my parents did when I was in 9th grade. Times have changed.

 

[MaryKatesMom]

We have taken DD out each time...once in 1st grade, once in 4th and are doing it again coming up in 8th...though I fear we will not do so in high school...but we will see, right now the plan is this is it till she graduates.

There's always the option of doing homework at the parks at your hotel room. Having a nap time for the grandparents be homework time for the grand kids. I just don't think that's ideal.

We did it every year until the oldest DD started High School. She is in all of the high classes or AP classes and she would fall too far behind and the resulting anxiety or grade drop is not worth it.

However, I never, ever, regretted taking them out. Both my kids are good kids and good academically and in all those years only one teacher was uncooperative but she was just like that. Some of the more prepared teachers would give us the homework in advance but school policy was to get it upon return.

Don't forget airport time too for homework.

Going during peak times is just not as magical.

 

[Crl1817]

Yes, definitely check with their schools. In California public schools kids are considered truant if they miss more than three days in an academic year and parents cannot excuse their children for vacations.

 

[Toadlover]

I'm thinking that we should see how they're doing at the time and pull the reservations if they're not doing well in school or if they've squandered their absence quota. If they're told to be on their best behavior for a Disney trip, they may just do that. My daughter got a leave of absence this past June for a church trip, but it was the end of the year, so a bit different. That's a lot of time to get through without missing school- August through February! When my daughter had to go to each teacher and ask for the time off for June, she was given good results from teachers, so that gives me some hope at least.

 

[Aliceacc]

Speak to your children!

Missing a week in my high school class means making up a LOT of work. Some kids who are out for extended periods have real difficulty recovering academically.

Your kids may not be thrilled with the idea of having all that work to make up.

Also, while I personally don't, lots of teachers assign projects over breaks. You may find that your kids end up swamped if they're planning to do those projects along with the work from a missed week of classes.

 

[rainwatter]

There are way to many variables (kids, teachers, age, workload, standardized testing days, etc.) Personally, I have made a point to work WDW around DD's and my own school schedule and don't think I could pull her (or cancel my own classes) BUT my FIL is singing at the Vatican in October and we are going to Rome if I have to swim there. MIL was really nervous about pulling DD from school, but I didn't even blink. Each parent has to make the call for what is best for their own family and how to rank competing priorities.

 

[Toadlover]

Yes, definitely check with their schools. In California public schools kids are considered truant if they miss more than three days in an academic year and parents cannot excuse their children for vacations.

I think its more than that here. You have to ask for the time off and if its approved its approved. You still have to make up the work, however.

 

[1stvisit0909]

I know that this is mostly a question for their schools, but we are now thinking of going to WDW in February. Lighter crowds and less money. But it would mean taking the kids out of school on an extended absence. It would also mean they'd need to (probably) bring homework. (I went when I was in 9th grade [and my sister in 7th] and I had a week's worth of math to do before we went which I did in a day.)

Who else has taken their kids out of school? By the way, I should mention that my kids will be in grades 8, 10 and 12.

I did when my oldest DD was in 3rd. The school district worked with us, but my understanding is its very district specific. No problems.

Im taking her out this year too - but not for WDW for Honduras in August. Shes in 8th grade this year and its in the first month. It was supposed to be a summer trip but after we signed up and paid for the plane tickets the school district changed the start date because of a brand new state law. SO....she's going to miss a week. The school district is working with us on that too.