Taking Kids Out of School

[harbin]

So glad to have come across this thread.... We are headed to WDW 8/20-8/30. It happens to coincide with a move we are making to Colorado on 8/8. My DS 8 is entering third grade. Colorado is school of choice, and they have quite a few charter schools. DS is on a wait list for one we really like that starts 9/2... So he wouldn't miss any school.... However if he doesn't get in to this school he will have to go to the neighborhood school which starts 8/14! Therefore he would miss the first two weeks. My DH and I stressed about going on trip in case he has to go to neighborhood school. Ultimately we decided that he will need a celebration trip after our big move across the country. We want to make this a positive thing for him. So we decided to book knowing there is always a chance he will be missing school. In the end, he's a good student, and we believe family time is very important. We will catch him up if need be. I agree that school districts sometimes cross boundaries by telling families what they have to do with their children. There needs to be some sort of balance.

 

[Crl1817]

So glad to have come across this thread.... We are headed to WDW 8/20-8/30. It happens to coincide with a move we are making to Colorado on 8/8. My DS 8 is entering third grade. Colorado is school of choice, and they have quite a few charter schools. DS is on a wait list for one we really like that starts 9/2... So he wouldn't miss any school.... However if he doesn't get in to this school he will have to go to the neighborhood school which starts 8/14! Therefore he would miss the first two weeks. My DH and I stressed about going on trip in case he has to go to neighborhood school. Ultimately we decided that he will need a celebration trip after our big move across the country. We want to make this a positive thing for him. So we decided to book knowing there is always a chance he will be missing school. In the end, he's a good student, and we believe family time is very important. We will catch him up if need be. I agree that school districts sometimes cross boundaries by telling families what they have to do with their children. There needs to be some sort of balance.

Obviously totally your call. But as a kid who moved a lot, I would have hated, absolutely hated, missing the first two weeks of school at a new school. It sucks to stand out as the new kid anyway. Then to be the new kid who doesn't know any of the teacher's rules or any of the schedule and to stand out even more starting late like that. It would have been absolute torture for me. Different kids are different though so maybe yours won't care at all.

As a parent I would hate to risk starting off as that parent. I try hard to start off by building up some good will with my kid's teacher and principal just in case I really need some thing.

 

[harbin]

Obviously totally your call. But as a kid who moved a lot, I would have hated, absolutely hated, missing the first two weeks of school at a new school. It sucks to stand out as the new kid anyway. Then to be the new kid who doesn't know any of the teacher's rules or any of the schedule and to stand out even more starting late like that. It would have been absolute torture for me. Different kids are different though so maybe yours won't care at all.

As a parent I would hate to risk starting off as that parent. I try hard to start off by building up some good will with my kid's teacher and principal just in case I really need some thing.

The unfortunate thing is we weren't scheduled to move until after 9/1 originally. It would have happened then anyway that he would have started late... It was a really difficult decision and ultimately we asked him what he wanted. Now, granted we were asking a kid if he wanted to go to WDW vs start school... So you know what his choice was. However, I know him. I know he will do fine. He makes friends and adapts easily. I won't be "that parent" as we won't be enrolling him until we get back... But truthfully, I care very little about what my school district thinks of me. In the end, I know what kind of parent I am. I have pretty strong suspicion he will get in to school that starts after we get back anyway, but if he doesn't we will get him through the adjustment.

 

[kenly777]

Gotcha I wanted to stick up for my state/district because compared to many mentioned here, mine Rules lol!! It's nice to be able to say "Glad I live in NY" because we sure don't say that when talking real estate, taxes, or cost of living in general I don't know much about homeschooling either but I can see your point there, too.

I had to look to see where in NY you are from as your experience is so similar to mine. Yup, I'm in the Hudson Valley too. Glad we are in great school districts. I teach in mine. We don't have a # of days policy, just ask that folks use common sense and be respectful of the school as well as the children, not setting the kids up for a bad situation.

 

[kenly777]

Obviously totally your call. But as a kid who moved a lot, I would have hated, absolutely hated, missing the first two weeks of school at a new school. It sucks to stand out as the new kid anyway. Then to be the new kid who doesn't know any of the teacher's rules or any of the schedule and to stand out even more starting late like that. It would have been absolute torture for me. Different kids are different though so maybe yours won't care at all. As a parent I would hate to risk starting off as that parent. I try hard to start off by building up some good will with my kid's teacher and principal just in case I really need some thing.

As a teacher, I would agree that this may make a very difficult situation for the child.

 

[ariane37]

I had to look to see where in NY you are from as your experience is so similar to mine. Yup, I'm in the Hudson Valley too. Glad we are in great school districts. I teach in mine. We don't have a # of days policy, just ask that folks use common sense and be respectful of the school as well as the children, not setting the kids up for a bad situation.

Hello! I'm in Dutchess County, Wappingers/Poughkeepsie area Yes our districts sound similar and really make more sense than a lot of the other things I've read here! Respect is key whether you agree with a school/teacher policy or not and I do feel the teachers appreciate it. And when the 2 6th grade teachers very politely responded that they do not give work ahead of time for vacations this year, I was still very respectful of that not only because that's the official policy, but because I understood taking my kids on vacation was my decision. At the same time I was again grateful for all the previous years teachers and my DS8's current teacher who gave and was giving us the work!
If my children struggled in school or at any time we had felt missing time would have hurt them academically, we wouldn't have gone. In fact, we're going next month for our first summer visit b/c with DS12 going into Jr. High, I don't *think* I'm comfortable taking him out for a week anymore, unfortunately.
Enjoy the rest of your summer break,kenly777!!

 

[cattywampus]

US self serving biatchy parents need to stick together. Let's get our entitled brats together and do lunch....heck- let's take the afternoon off too- after all we don't give a crap about school and the rules don't apply to us, right

Let's take the kids out for the whole week. Why not? ...I know that I certainly feel entitled since I am "that" parent.

Guys, this has been a fun distraction from a day of jury duty, but I think I'm retiring. While I always enjoy being told how awful I am from total strangers who have never met me, I've got three Disney trips to plan, two of which are during the school year.

Cheers!

 

[mummabear]

And this is where I have a fundamental disagreement. Attendance policies aren't schools making "parenting decisions.". Attendance policies aren't really about whether it's OK to take Suzie Q on a vacation for a few days. Attendance policies are in place because there really and truly are parents out there who do not care if their child goes to school at all. Schools are required, by law, to provide a free and appropriate education to all children. Attendance policies are in place to protect the education of those children who might not get to school at all if those laws weren't in place. Schools can't apply a policy to one student and not another, so the policy to protect the education of those who need it takes priority.

Does it suck that supportive, on-top-of-their-kids-education parents have to deal with policies that are designed because of those who don't care? Absolutely. But those children have a *right* to be educated, and if the parent doesn't care whether they get educated or not, who is left to protect that child's right to education other than the school?

There is a vast and obvious difference between a parent taking their child out for a week or two for a holiday and someone who drops their child off late, never volunteers for class trips, regularly misses days. In the first point this is hardly denying their child education.
If a school can say its okay for my child to miss a weeks worth of classes to join a hiking trip or sports tournament they why can a parent not make the same choice?

 

[Angel Ariel]

There is a vast and obvious difference between a parent taking their child out for a week or two for a holiday and someone who drops their child off late, never volunteers for class trips, regularly misses days. In the first point this is hardly denying their child education.
If a school can say its okay for my child to miss a weeks worth of classes to join a hiking trip or sports tournament they why can a parent not make the same choice?

I'm pretty sure I made it very clear that vacations and parents just not sending their kids to school were very different things. That's why I said that "attendance policies are not really about whether or not it's OK to take SUzie Q on vacation for a few days.". Not sure where you're getting that I said taking a kid out for vacation is denying their child education, as I said nothing of the sort.

What I said was that attendance policies ARE made for those who don't give two hoots if their child is educated, and it is those children who are being denied an education, and those children whose education the school is protecting.

Unfortunately, as I again said earlier, parents who *are* on top of their kids education get caught up in the "crossfire" (so to speak) because districts make their policies to account for the most at risk population, and they can't selectively/subjectively enforce those policies.

But again, I have not once in this thread said that taking a child out for vacation is denying a child education. I want to make that very plainly clear.

 

[mousefan73]

Love this Topic!! ! And it's always the same:
Cliff notes for next time.



1. no one else makes decisions for my family
2. sob sob...... Family time is soooo important, more important than a week of school and it has to be a week of disney.

3. this one week only in the year for " family " time can only be special outside of the 120 + plus days kids get off anyways

4. my kids is above average and can afford it

5. my kid has isues cannot afford it

6. it's all about funding, well screw them. I am homeschooling.

7. i' m a teacher i'll work with you as long as you are not one of those parents. have great trip, might see ya'll there too!!

8. i' m a teacher and my life is challenging enough between other kids taking a week off, sick kids, standardized tests, trying to keep the whole class on track.. AND now you want me invest more time I dont have to make a nice lesson plan packet for your kid. ???


9. florida is too hot and expensive in summer. It has to be in October.

10. hey we have a week off for break!, yeah. Let's make it two.


11. grades k-8. ok, they won't remenber the pain. 8-12. forget it as your kid will get a B on a make up test it this will directly affect them not being accepted to Harvard.

12. if they allow a week of band/ sport camp during the year, heck my kid wins a Trip to Disney.

 

[honeylove]

Who else has taken their kids out of school?

Honestly, for every Disney trip we have taken, it's been us taking the kids out. It's mostly because that's when the runDisney races occur. Luckily, the ones lately, have holidays surrounding them so that's less days being miss. All in all, I always communicate to the teachers that I will be taking my children out, and I work with them to collect my children's work. We do it before/after, on the plane and on the plane ride back. My son's teacher was always so awesome, she texted me updates with the work so we were always a head of the children in school when he got back.

 

[Aliceacc]

Um ....wow! I'm the devil to some folks here, who then think nothing of slinging personal attacks on my character. Nice!

Pot... meet kettle.

For what it's worth, I disagree with you, strongly, on this one issue.

But that's as far as it goes. If my posts have indicated otherwise, I apologize.

 

[MickeyMinnieMom]

Hi OP!

Our kids are 7 and 9, and we have taken them out of school every year and plan to continue to, unless it becomes a challenge for them academically. We try to coordinate to at least catch a couple of "pedagogical days" where the kids will be off, but where not the entire WORLD is off! On our next trip we're overlapping 2 of these "ped" days and Columbus day, so 3 fewer school days missed -- and we overlap 2 weekends.

Purely my two cents -- and I know others disagree and I respect their opinions as well... We have to jump through hoops with the school due to state rules for attendance that even the Principal thinks are ridiculous in that they don't effectively address the real problem of persistent truancy. Those who are most likely to really have a truancy problem that is detrimental to the child in any serious way are the same families that couldn't care less what the rules are or what the stated consequences are. Where we are, everyone knows that there are simply not enough resources to "go after" the parents who don't follow the rules or make specific arrangements with the school. In the end, the well-meaning policy just creates hoops for attentive parents to jump through, and no teeth to enforce on those parents who aren't attentive on this matter. Strikes me as utterly ineffective, though I'm not sure what the alternative is to encourage people to have their kids attend school.

 

[Zippa D Doodah]

My kids have pretty much been raised on WDW; we have been going since our DD was 2 and DS was a butterbean. They are 17 and 14 now, and we are gearing up for yet another WDW vacation in just over a week.

This is what has been true for us... We took them out of school often for trips when they were in elementary school. It was never a problem with any teacher on any level. In middle school the academic pace picked up a bit so we would plan trips around the school calendar by limiting missed days to 1-2 days on either side of a break in the school calendar. This also worked well.
Now that they are in HS (DD a senior; DS a frosh) we are resigned to taking trips in summer and not missing any school days. With DD so focused on AP classes, working toward competitive scholarships, etc it just does not seem fair to ask her to sacrifice some school days for a vacation this year. SO we are taking a summer trip.

 

[DemoBri1]

We've had eight trips with the kids since 2003 and they were all during their grammar school years. DD starts high school this year and our thought process is that we're going to wait and see how her HS career starts out before we decide whether it will be possible to pull her out. We had no issues with our school or having the kids make-up the homework when they came back. The school would not provide assignments ahead of time.

Going back to the OP...you know your kids better than anyone. If they are dedicated students they'll probably be fine, although having a Senior in HS I'm not sure if I'd want to interrupt their final year in this way.

 

[HM]

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.

Have you mentioned this to your kids?

There is no way my 12th and 10th graders would have said they'd want to go to WDW in February, unless it was a three day weekend. Missing classes at those ages was too hard to make up and put them really behind (sickness was the only reason they were out for more than a day). The longer you are gone the worse it gets. If they are taking any classes with labs, they'll be out several lab reports that can't be made up. Etc....

 

[Seeker615]

I took my kids out in early September for a Disney/Universal Vacation. (This was years ago...)

Early September seemed to work well for them as things were just gearing up and they were not doing a ton of work yet. The oldest was in 11th grade and the others were early middle school and grade school.

A few years later we took them out for another trip and it was a nightmare for them. (The oldest had already graduated).

They were very unhappy upon returning as there was so much to make up! They felt like they would never get back on track.

I think you really need to weigh the pros and cons before pulling kids out of school. While it may be a great time while you are there is could really become a nightmare upon returning.

Also - there are so many other great family experiences all over the USA that can be done while school is out. Disney is not the only place to make great family memories. If it is going to be too much for the kids you could do something awesome in the summer. We went to Gettysburg/Hershey one summer for a week and had the best time. We have also rented cottages on lakes for a week and went to Virginia Beach for a week over summer.

 

[LilyWDW]

Have you mentioned this to your kids?

There is no way my 12th and 10th graders would have said they'd want to go to WDW in February, unless it was a three day weekend. Missing classes at those ages was too hard to make up and put them really behind (sickness was the only reason they were out for more than a day). The longer you are gone the worse it gets. If they are taking any classes with labs, they'll be out several lab reports that can't be made up. Etc....

I would not have been a happy camper if my parents had taken me out of high school for a vacation. Maybe I was just a really serious student, but I hated to miss a single day. It would just be too much work to make up, too much classroom instruction to miss, and just a lot of stress to worry about. Not worth it at all in my opinion! Then again, I also went to a good school with teachers who taught all day and every day so being IN class was very important.

 

[MichiganDVC]

Thinking back, we went to WDW every other summer for a week. We went on election years because my dad couldn't be away from campaigning during the summer for a longer vacation. We took our bigger, non-Disney trips during non-election years.

Anyway, my mom was a teacher and my dad was an elected official. They both had time off in the summer and at the usual school breaks, so I NEVER missed school time for vacation. Ever.

And I don't know if it is global warming or what, but we went to WDW every other year in July and I don't remember overwhelming heat. I remember playing in the pool in the afternoon, the thunderstorms, and lines. But no overwhelming heat. Either it wasn't as bad then, or as a kid I didn't mind.

 

[GovieMom]

There is no way my 12th and 10th graders would have said they'd want to go to WDW in February, unless it was a three day weekend. Missing classes at those ages was too hard to make up and put them really behind (sickness was the only reason they were out for more than a day). The longer you are gone the worse it gets. If they are taking any classes with labs, they'll be out several lab reports that can't be made up. Etc....

Mine were the same way once they reached high school, where every point counts toward your GPA, and the goal of obtaining merit scholarships. The first and only time I approached them about taking a couple days off for one of our beloved Disney trips they both objected, which actually made me proud that they took their academics so seriously. They did get nice month-long winter breaks in college, which was when we took those trips.