Telling School about WDW Trip

[Terry2]

I've never planned a trip during the school year before. I've got one in 1st grade -- not too concerned about telling that school. Other daughter is in high school. How do high schools usually handle this? (I know my daughter will be responsible for any missed work, etc., but I mean in terms of it being an "unexcused/excused" absence?)

 

[mom2val]

Go to your dd's schools website and look at the student handbook. They should have official guidelines in there.

 

[RMulieri]

Check with the School district.But I will say alot of High schools are not so keen on it.Most of the districts around here do not excuse vacations in High school

 

[greengeen]

Not excusable in our district. High school is pretty important, missing even a DAY can be a big deal. At a certain point your plans are secondary, ya have to get used to it.

 

[Hannathy]

If your DD is in any high level courses make sure you check with her whether she even wants to miss!!!! I know there is no way my DD would miss high school for more than 1 or maybe 2 days at most and if she has many AP courses it will be extremely difficult to make up. Expect a dip in her GPA at least for a bit. If she is in any sports or theater she may not be allowed to miss or will forfeit her spot.

Is there no break time you can go for her sake? The first grader who cares but HS is a whole different thing.

 

[ms_missy66]

Some schools (mine) have surprisingly strict attendance policies. Our school has a policy if you have 3 consecutive or 5 total unexcused days. Vacations are unexcused, no matter how big of a case you want to plea about its educational value. If you hit these marks, you're put on attendance probation for one year. If you have another unexused absence or tardy before that year is up, you get referred to the district for further intervention. If you have another, you have to appear in family court. I know all of this because we did it last year when my DD was in kindergarten (and doing excellently academically). She missed four and a half days, the week before Christmas. I don't regret it because my dad wasn't well and he passed away four months later. That trip will be in our hearts forever. And while I'll never say never, I don't intend to do that again. The stress isn't worth it. We have just a few days left of our year. I'm, very much, looking forward to a day when I can not feel like I have to run to the doctor for a note if I feel like my DD isn't well enough to go to school. I've written this story several times on here and I'm sure folks are sick of hearing it. I just share as a cautionary tale of really knowing the consequences of taking your child out of school to go to WDW.

 

[princessmom29]

At our school students get 4 "parent note" absences and after that they must be doctor's note or they are unexcused. 4 unexcused is a loss of credit for the entire semester. Unexcused absences=zeros. I would check the school's policy as she could end up with a lot of zeros.

 

[kohlby]

Agree to check with your school. Some attendence laws are even by state.
Where I taught, no more than 5 unexcused absences were allowed a semester. There was block scheduling - 4 courses in spring and 4 in fall. So the middle school had a 10 days in a year policy instead. Unexcused included sick without a doctor's note or away with a parent note! Private schools have more wiggle room here, but public schools are very strict. If you miss more thgan 5, then no credit is given. Some high schools have attendence make-up days for this reason - though I think there was only 1 make-up day each semester where I taught.

 

[mjkacmom]

My 8th grader would refuse to miss school - even though the grades won't be on her permanant record, she's have a really hard time making it up. The school is not even obligated to let your dd make up missed work. Is she planning on applying for college?

 

[BuzznBelle'smom]

This gets brought up here a lot. I agree with the other posters--check with the school BEFORE you book the vacation. Taking elementary kids is generally no problem, middle school gets dicey (some parents do, some don't), but HS is particularly tricky.

Some schools have very strict attendance policies that put your child in jeopardy. Some students, particularly the high achievers, don't want to miss because it impacts their grades and class rankings. Sports have their own issues and attendance policies.

I would recommend doing your best to get this all figured out, before you have your heart set on this trip. Personally, we go during the summer--it's not optimal, heat and crowd-wise, but there's no way my DD14 would miss a day of HS for a vacation. You might be able to find a less-crwded, cooler visit time, if you look at your school's calendar.

 

[Flight]

In our school district, the kids are allowed to have five excused days for family vacation, wherever they want to go.

The days can be separate or taking all at once.

There is tremendous value in a family taking a vacation together.

 

[mjkacmom]

In our school district, the kids are allowed to have five excused days for family vacation, wherever they want to go.

The days can be separate or taking all at once.

There is tremendous value in a family taking a vacation together.

Of course there is, but to risk failing classes, on the permanant record, just go to WDW in the offseason?

 

[turnlisa]

Just went through this fight with our district. We didn't get our district calendar for this year until October 27. We usually have a week off for mid-winter break in February so I booked our vacation accordingly. The calendar comes out and instead of a week we get a four day weekend.

I contacted the schools (older DS in middle school, younger in elementary). Even with the calendar coming out so late they are not making exceptions. Vacation is not excused - it is considered "verified". The thing is the truancy officer treats unexcused and verified the same - 10 of them in a semester and you go to court.

The absence policy at our school is awful. To excuse an absence, I have to take the kids to the doctor - parent notes are not acceptable. So I have been to the doctor 4 times in the last month since each of the kids got sick twice. I even took my youngest for a fever - not excused without a doctor's note. The district does encourage if your child is sick to keep them home - but it's not excused. I don't know what parents without insurance do.

All this being said, I am still taking my kids out for 4 days in February. In speaking to most of my older DS's teachers they wouldn't cancel vacation either. They encouraged us to go, said they would give my DS homework, and have a great time. This whole thing has us questioning our district - my kids may be going somewhere else next year. The district next to us allows excused to be a parent's note - and vacations are considered excused as well.

 

[Hannathy]

In our school district, the kids are allowed to have five excused days for family vacation, wherever they want to go.

The days can be separate or taking all at once.

There is tremendous value in a family taking a vacation together.

Yes there is BUT the same value can be had in June,July, and August or breaks!!!!!!

Once they hit high school there is a tremendous amount to consider and I would hate for her college dreams to be shattered just to go to Disney.

(and yes admission into some schools and programs is so tough that missing 1 AP class or not being able to be in 1 play can make a difference.)

 

[mousebymarriage]

My school district is not as strict they allow 14 unexcused absences per school year. Vacation is considered an unexcused absence but, we pull our kids out almost every year and they miss 5 days of school. My kids usually only miss a day or two from school for illness each year, luckily they don't get sick much. DD is in 8th grade this year and this will be the last year we will be pulling her out. She has requested that if we go to Disney when she is in High School she would prefer not to miss school. She is a straight A student in Honors/advanced classes but, is afraid that she will miss too much work once she is in High School.

 

[happymommy]

If you have a highschooler, odds are you already KNOW the teachers and their policies. And, you probably do know the demands of your child's courses.

Schools do vary widely, and I am assuming your kids are in public school. I would talk to each individual teacher, and see how your child is doing, how they feel about the amount of work that will be needed to make up, and their policy. They may think it's a good opportunity for your to have a family vacation, or they make think it's too much time missed in the classroom (not being sick, which can't be helped). Teachers have widely differing views on these things. So do schools.

My kids are in private school, but my 7th grader son has ADHD, so for him to keep up with his demands at school is very hard. Plus, they are both in a high math class. Although my DD could make up work easily (she missed 11 days first trimester due to H1N1 and strep) my DS has a hard time. I couldn't pull him out for an extra day. He'd get dug down into a deep hole.

I do think open communication is important! Start talking with them before you book. Or, if your child doesn't want to miss, and you are planning the trip, I did this. I stayed with my best girlfriend at her house for a week, while my folks went to Florida. It was actually fun - and her mom was so nice, she even packed me lunch every day. So maybe that is an option, if the schoolwork is too much to miss..

Good luck with this!

 

[disneygirl338]

I would consider talking to your DD's teachers directly. You'll be able to see which ones are going to be flexible and which ones aren't, and how that will effect her grades.

 

[ivgotahalo]

A lot of schools (esp high Schools) are not allowing these absences anymore because of the high stakes testing required. I teach 3rd grade and even at that level, it's often hard for the students to catch up. I actually had a student go the week before Thanksgiving. There's so much at stake with these tests. It's very stressful on the kids, and the teachers.

 

[YanksWinAgain]

A lot of parents must pull their kids... I was down about 3 or so years ago on business (stayed in Port Orleans) and I went to MK and Epcot on the "after 5pm" ticket (can't remember what that is called). There were TONS of kids of all ages there. It was the middle of October (Food and Wine festival in Epcot). I asked one Mother and she said she home schools her kids and was looking at this as an extended field trip (we were in Epcot).

Can't see pulling the kids out myself...

 

[starsweeper]

I used to teach middle school. Kids got 10 days, with only 5 being unexcused. Anything beyond 5 days unexcused and the student/family would be investigated by the district for truancy. We typically allowed students to make up work for credit for unexcused days, but that was not official policy. The actual student handbook said we had to provide material that was covered, but the missed work would be given 0%.

My main issue with students/parents was not missing school, but failing to follow through on making up the work and having an attitude about it. It was like pulling teeth to get students to make up quizzes and tests missed. I provided my free lunch time and an hour before school several times a week, but some parents would be furious because I wouldn't stay an hour late. Heaven forbid their darling miss a lunch period talking to friends or get up an hour early to make up missed work, when I'm doing them a favor not giving 0% for everything.