Teachers -- When do you go to WDW?

[DizGeek]

Taking personal days off for a Disney trip? Dont teachers get enough days off?

I shouldve been a teacher.

 

[zookeeper]

Another Canadian teacher here! We can't travel except when school's out so that leaves Christmas,March Break or summer. We're trying the last week of August this year hoping the crowds will be lower. We went in Sept. while I was on maternity leave and loved the low crowds (prefer low crowds even though it's SO hot) Plus...you can't beat Free Dining!

 

[adisneylife4me]

Taking personal days off for a Disney trip? Dont teachers get enough days off?

I shouldve been a teacher.

YIKES! You're brave to post that on a thread for teachers!!

I'm a CT teacher, and we don't get additional personal days. We go in August (which is when we always went when I was a kid, since my mom was a teacher as well). We know it will be hot. . . but it's Florida!

 

[DizGeek]

YIKES! You're brave to post that on a thread for teachers!!

I'm a CT teacher, and we don't get additional personal days. We go in August (which is when we always went when I was a kid, since my mom was a teacher as well). We know it will be hot. . . but it's Florida!

I know....after I hit send I was like...oops. Reminds me of the commercial when the Dolphin fan cheers after a TD against the Jets in a Jets bar.

 

[klineyqueen]

We have gone in June, August, and Christmas break. It was much too crowded over Christmas break! We are planning to go again in June and over Thanksgiving break. If you have personal days that can be used. Try to go during the park off season...like Jan or Feb.

 

[daisyduck123]

Taking personal days off for a Disney trip? Dont teachers get enough days off?

I shouldve been a teacher.

Hence the name "personal". They are mine to use as I want.

 

[Daxx]

Teacher here ... July or August. This year, we're going in August and are taking advantage of the free dining.

My school might be doing the "split winter break" -- a week off at Christmas and a week off in Feb. We're hoping to go for a few days in Feb., but we'll have to see what happens!

ETA -- sometimes we get an extended weekend for a holiday (ie: Fri. and Mon. off for Memorial Day) and I've used that time, too.

 

[ksloane]

Good lucky rabyoga. My first year was great! I teach 9th Grade English in Texas.

I'm a new 2nd grade teacher here. We've gone the last 3 years in mid May- taking my daughter out of school a few days early. Now, that I'll be teaching. We're looking at going WDW early June next year... (Provided I "survive" my first year of teaching.. )

This is our first trip to disney. We're going in 9 days!!! I plan on saving and going next November. We always get the entire week off for Thanksgiving so I'm thinking if we left the Friday before, we could stay until the Saturday after.

We get personal days, but I would not ever take them off together, and I wouldn't pull my daughter out of school so we don't take any vacations that aren't during school holidays.

I am not throwing accusations to those that do use personal days or do take their kids out of school. I know lots of people do. So please no remarks back. It's just a personal decision for me. I was always taught to go to "work" unless you are sick and I am attempting to do that for my daughter. I think school is a child's job and as DizGeek pointed out, we get more holidays than most any other profession. Even when I have to miss, I find ways to get my daughter to and from school - which is not easy in our situation, but it paid off last year. She was the only one in her class to get perfect attendance (ane one of only 4 in the entire Kg - 3 of which were teacher's kids, lol). We didn't in HeadStart or PreK so we were excited!!

 

[Jackie H.]

I'm not a teacher, but reading this thread lead me to a question:

For those of you that replied "we can't take a personal day right before or right after a holiday". What is the board's reasoning for this policy? In the younger grades, those days are usually spent not doing much work.....maybe having a party, or such. And the first day back is spent just trying to get them to settle down!

I realize in the older grades there may be final exams. I guess it could be that too many folks could ask off at once and not enough subs would be available. But then whatever rule governs preference should kick in: either the person with the most seniority gets it or the one that requests it first.

You may not even know, of course. You have to abide by the rules your local Board of Education creates. But I can't understand the reasoning behind that rule.

If you've got personal days, you should be able to decide how and when you use them. That is what personal days means, isn't it?

Hope my question doesn't start any trouble, I'm just curious by nature and have this sometime unhealthly desire to "understand" things! Gets me in trouble sometimes!!!

I personally do not have trouble with teachers (or students) taking time off - even for vacations. My husband is a self employed farmer. Summers are absolutely without question out for a family vacation and when our kids were younger we would take them out for a vacation. Our school principals and every teacher except one understood and were wonderful about it. It is harder now that they are in high school, of course....hard enough, we haven't done it. Anyway....I'm rambling........

 

[disney junky]

I'm not a teacher, but reading this thread lead me to a question:

For those of you that replied "we can't take a personal day right before or right after a holiday". What is the board's reasoning for this policy? In the younger grades, those days are usually spent not doing much work.....maybe having a party, or such. And the first day back is spent just trying to get them to settle down!

I realize in the older grades there may be final exams. I guess it could be that too many folks could ask off at once and not enough subs would be available. But then whatever rule governs preference should kick in: either the person with the most seniority gets it or the one that requests it first.

You may not even know, of course. You have to abide by the rules your local Board of Education creates. But I can't understand the reasoning behind that rule.

If you've got personal days, you should be able to decide how and when you use them. That is what personal days means, isn't it?

Hope my question doesn't start any trouble, I'm just curious by nature and have this sometime unhealthly desire to "understand" things! Gets me in trouble sometimes!!!

I just luv these threads....
The rationale behind personal days at the beginning and end of the year has a lot to do with the availability of substitutes. We actually have a cap of ten percent personal days approved per building. So the days before and after long weekends become popular days to request. The end of the year gets crazy because most of the teachers I teach with haven't taken their days, so they scurry to take them. As I stated earlier, we can carry over two, but can never have more than five. We can also cash them in for whatever the substitute wage is for that moment. Right now it's $100 a day.

There is a prevailing attitude that since we get so much time off, we don't need vacation days. I get the same three days this year that I did 20 years ago. There is no increase with seniority. You are at the mercy of your local board. Our school year here is 181 student days and 190 contract days. That's the way it's designed and that's what we work.

 

[krissyh]

I'm in a "no personal days before or after a vacation/long weekend" district. They will grant approval for special circumstances (like a child graduating college) but will also fine (yes, really) people for taking unapproved personal/sick days to extend a trip - if they find out. I'm a rule follower. It does make for more expensive travel to be off when the kids are out of school and you don't have date flexibility.

We have gone to WDW/Florida the last three Feb. breaks - President's Week. You always hear about how busy it is but honestly, by Tuesday, the lines aren't bad at all - it is certainly quiet compared to Spring Break or summer. Plus, it is so much cooler that lines aren't really an issue. We are have a problem in my area though - There are basically three groups of school districts in terms of scheduling. Two have the "split break" of one week in Feb. and one in April and some have two weeks at Easter, regardless of when it is. Up until a few years ago all were on the two week plan. So now, some teachers have different breaks than their kids.

 

[Teacher03]

We went last year in July. We went this year as soon as we got out in June (the 4th). We liked that much better and will stick with June. Until I retire, then we can go whenever we want!

 

[TwoMonkeys]

We go either during summer break, Christmas break, or spring break. We do live in Florida though so we could decide to run down there for a "quickie" over a long weekend if there is something special going on.

 

[Karnak]

After retirement.

Enjoy.

 

[teacherforhi]

We get up to five personal days, which we get docked $50 per day for taking.

The last time we went to Disney, I tried to schedule my trip for a week when we had two school days and three optional workdays, which would have only docked me $100 for the two school days. Unfortunately, all of the workdays were converted to school days because of snow and I ended up having to use all five of my personal days and losing $250.

 

[NoodlesTheRabbit]

I usually go in May or October using personal days and unpaid days. We went in June once; never again.

 

[taximomfor4]

Not to hijack the thread, but isn't a personal day just that-personal. We have times we can't take them, ie, first five or last five instructional days, but they can't refuse them. What are you supposed to use personal days for? We also get bereavement days, but those are specific to the death in the family. Five days for a spouse, child, parent: one day for inlaw, neice, nephew. But, you will be disciplined for sick leave abuse. You certainly can use them for MD, DD appointments, but I'd never take a sick day to go shopping. Maybe this deserves another thread....

I cannot remember the exact contract wording for personal days, but they are definitely not for whatever we weant, here. DH gets 3 per year, and they are for attending to personal business that cannot be conducted outside of school hours. So Drs appointments that aren't for DH, etc. Travel is specifically EXCLUDED, whether for pleasure or for spouse's business trip or for your own second job's business trip. Personal days CANNOT be banked here. They used to be use 'em or lose 'em but 2 yrs ago they began paying you a little bit for each personal day you had left at the end of the school year.


Sick days are if you, yourself are sick or if you have to care for an immediate family member who is sick. But if, say, DH has to stay home with the kids because I am going to the dr, he is not caring for me, nor is it his dr's appointment so he has to use a personal day. DH is absolutely, positively unwilling to use sick days for any unapproved use. He's very very, ummmm, by the book. I greatly respect and admire that about him. It's part of the reason I married him!

HTH. Apparently, the sick day policies and personal day policies vary from contract to contract based on districts.

 

[taximomfor4]

I'm not a teacher, but reading this thread lead me to a question:

For those of you that replied "we can't take a personal day right before or right after a holiday". What is the board's reasoning for this policy? In the younger grades, those days are usually spent not doing much work.....maybe having a party, or such. And the first day back is spent just trying to get them to settle down!

able. But then whatever rule governs preference should kick in: either the person with the most seniority gets it or the one that requests it first.

You may not even know, of course. You have to abide by the rules your local Board of Education creates. But I can't understand the reasoning behind that rule.

If you've got personal days, you should be able to decide how and when you use them. That is what personal days means, isn't it?

Well, DH's district won't let you extend a school break with personal days, either. DH was VERY bummed because his best friend, who was best man at our wedding, got married about 5 yrs ago. DH could not go, because he would have had to miss the last day before Christmas break and personal days cannot extend school breaks, blah blah blah. I was very sad for DH. He is so careful to follow rules and never toe the line. I guess their reasoning is because they don't intend personal days to be used for travelling????????????

 

[BrerMama]

Such a good thread. Special ed teacher here. Not only can't we take our personal days before/after a holiday, we also can't take more than 2 at a time, and if we don't use our 3 in the year, they convert to sick days (which have to be used when either I or a family member is sick). So I use all mine every year, usually to do Christmas shopping, or to spend my child's birthday with him/her, etc. Certainly I don't use them as vacation, although I do know some older (i.e. close to retirement) teachers who have taken off more like 3-4 days in a row but the principal approved it, so who am I to question.

Our school starts the first full week in August, so going in August is out. We get out mid- to late May, but I dread the thought of going on vacation just as soon as school is out and then leaving a whole summer stretching ahead of me with 3 kids to entertain (which is what happened in 2004, and by mid-July, we were all going crazy). During our off-Disney years, we go on vacation in mid to late June and then again in mid to late July (because we can take 2 vacations per summer when we're not seeing the Mouse).

Thinking ahead to next year's Disney trip, I was thinking of leaving Memorial Day and staying through the following week, which would be what we did in 2004. June is just really sticky for my husband to get off because there will definitely be one week where he CAN'T take off, but we won't know which week that is until March at the earliest, and that's too close to departure for me. So our other alternative is July. I just realized that the deluxe resort rates go down right after the 4th, so right now July is looking pretty good. Of course it will be hot, but it's 106 degrees and humid here right now. And miserable. At least I'd be at Disney next year at this time. I'm totally unwilling to go during school breaks -- I need that time to relax and recover before school starts again. No good options, but if I can stay Deluxe, I think that might help my frustrations a bit...

 

[tubachick]

We work 180 school days, and if you are a teacher, you work extra activities, work late, come early, go in on weekends, make phone calls from home and a bunch of other things that take up your "own" time. We have a rule that you can not take personal days after a holiday or day off, but you can call in sick. we get 3 personal days a school year, and if they are not used, they get rolled into your sick days for the next year. (oh, we get 10 sick days a year too).


Having said that, I am a SPED teacher in a High School, and I rarely take off, and am at nearly every school event. Last year, we took a few extra days around Pulaski Day (first Monday in March) to go to WDW (yes, I called in sick) but my principal knew ahead of time, and I had another teacher to cover the class (yes there was a sub, but I was more comfortable if the kids knew the teacher) -- (oh I only teach one class, and do administrative SPED work the rest of the day) a few years back, we went presidents week, and yes, I called in sick two days.

I am sorry if you think its wrong, but we have had three teachers in the 11 years I have been teaching retire, and die within 5 months and they never took a sick or personal day while they work. My new motto is LIVE and do it NOW.

Just my opinon.