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He missed one day in Sept because of a cruise. He'll miss 5 days in Dec and 1 day in Feb. Really not a lot of days compared to over years. We usually take him out for 2 weeks during the year. We've never had problems in the past. The district sends a nasty letter after a certain number of days. The first day of kindergarten the principal said to disregard it because it sounds mean but they really don't do anything about it. I'm more worried about his teacher. We he missed a day in Sept she knew ahead of time and we took his homework with us. She marked it late and docked some points because of it.
My daughter has missed more than five days for each of our Disney trips and we always get her homework before we go. What days are you going to be gone (i.e. Monday-Friday) If you get his homework before you go and have him turn it in the day before you leave it wouldn't be late. Also, if someone is sick they can't count that against them as far as late assignments. All of our teachers have been extremely lenient regarding vacations because frankly, we have had teachers go on vacation during school even though they have their entire summer off, simply because of costs. There is no reason to penalize a student for work because they are taking a vacation. We are going in December also and my daughter will miss 3 days of school and I sent a letter to her teacher and principal and they approved it within one day and sent me a note back saying have a good time and we are a National Blue Ribbon School. Now granted my DD is only in 2nd grade, but I plan on taking her out of school for a trip every year that we go to Disney because I refuse to go during a holiday or in the summer because it is so much more expensive. Good luck. Below I attached the letter that I used for last year and this years trip.
I don't disagree.....my point is that parents should know the policy and consequences ahead of time and be able to live with them. Also, a teacher may not have a choice in the matter. IMO, it is unfair and unrealistic for parents to expect an "exception" for their child.
100% agree. I know our district's policy (which I don't agree with), we fully understand the policy and take it into consideration. I expected the "nasty" letter we got after our Jan. trip and it did irritate me at first but in the end I chalked it up to being a standard letter that goes out and tossed it. What made me mad about the letter is that is was worded in a way that suggested that my child has an attendance issue, which to me means randomly missing school with no reason. My child missed a block of days for vacation, which the school knew about long ahead of time. What also irritated me was that it was from the school's principal, who probably couldn't pick my child out of a line up and wouldn't know him from any other child. That's why I bring up his teachers- they have no control over the policy, they can't make an absence excused or not, but they know my child far better than the people who dictate that policy and if the teacher has concerns about my child missing school then that's completely valid (and would definitely affect our decision to pull him out.) I don't expect teachers to provide him make-up work (but will work with him to get it done if they do provide it) and I don't expect them to count it for full credit because it is late. In our district 3rd graders don't get letter grades and they are evaluating progress based on skills so it's much easier in terms of making up work than older grades.
We've been very lucky in the past and DS has had wonderful teachers, I appreciate them more than I can express.
My daughter has missed more than five days for each of our Disney trips and we always get her homework before we go. What days are you going to be gone (i.e. Monday-Friday) If you get his homework before you go and have him turn it in the day before you leave it wouldn't be late. Also, if someone is sick they can't count that against them as far as late assignments. All of our teachers have been extremely lenient regarding vacations because frankly, we have had teachers go on vacation during school even though they have their entire summer off, simply because of costs. There is no reason to penalize a student for work because they are taking a vacation. We are going in December also and my daughter will miss 3 days of school and I sent a letter to her teacher and principal and they approved it within one day and sent me a note back saying have a good time and we are a National Blue Ribbon School. Now granted my DD is only in 2nd grade, but I plan on taking her out of school for a trip every year that we go to Disney because I refuse to go during a holiday or in the summer because it is so much more expensive. Good luck. Below I attached the letter that I used for last year and this years trip.
I'm not a teacher but I know that DS's teachers have told me in the past that it's difficult for them to provide work ahead of time because lesson plans change and it's very possible that the homework could change. For our trip a few weeks ago, DS's teacher just put the homework she handed out aside for DS to complete when we returned. Until his teachers pointed it out, I would have no realized that sometimes it is challenging to provide it ahead of time.
I'm not a teacher but I know that DS's teachers have told me in the past that it's difficult for them to provide work ahead of time because lesson plans change and it's very possible that the homework could change. For our trip a few weeks ago, DS's teacher just put the homework she handed out aside for DS to complete when we returned. Until his teachers pointed it out, I would have no realized that sometimes it is challenging to provide it ahead of time.
That makes sense, DD teacher this year said she would just give her the work that she missed when we return and she would have plenty of time to finish it. Knowing how intelligent my daughter is, she would probably finish all of it the following day and return it to school the next day. We always try and go from Tuesday-Tuesday, because their homework comes home on Monday and it states what all they have due that week so we have all of her homework done on Monday night for the entire week, so the only day she has to make up work after our trip is Monday and Tuesday. But this year we are going Thursday-Monday, but she never has homework on Thursday or Friday nights, she is going to take her spelling test on Wednesday that week, and then we return on Monday and she will get Monday's homework on Tuesday and have it turned in the following day. We are lucky, and our district also has a county policy that says vacation days are not excused, but our principal has excused all of Alianna's from Kindergarten, 1st, and now 2nd. We luck out because she is a 4.0 student and is never in trouble. Not to mention when she did her work before we left, sometimes she was ahead of students when she returned.
We took DS out of school for a few days when he was in 3rd grade. We talked to the teacher and it really wasn't as much of a problem as I thought it would be. We brought it up at our first conference with her - a couple of months before the trip.
We worked with his teacher to make sure all his missed assignments were completed. Another thing we came up with was to have DS write a journal while we were gone. It was actually a nice way to wind down at the end of the night. Every night when we got back to the resort, he'd sit at the table and write about his day. When we returned, he turned the journal in at school.
I'm not a teacher but I know that DS's teachers have told me in the past that it's difficult for them to provide work ahead of time because lesson plans change and it's very possible that the homework could change. For our trip a few weeks ago, DS's teacher just put the homework she handed out aside for DS to complete when we returned. Until his teachers pointed it out, I would have no realized that sometimes it is challenging to provide it ahead of time.
This is part of why teachers tend to dislike family vacations taken when school is in session.
Also, if many in the class have difficulty with a given lesson, a caring teacher will back up and re-teach that lesson differently, assigning different homework than originally planned. Then, should the absent child also show a lack of understanding on the original homework, the teacher will attempt to work further to be sure the student understands--more work for both student and teacher.
I can't begin to count the number of times I laboriously prepared homework for parents who requested it prior to a family vacation--only to have the student do none of it whatsoever even though the parent assured me they'd see that it was completed and turned in the student's first day back at school. ("Yeah, I'll bet it will be" was my private reaction, and that was generally the case. Understandable but irritating after I'd gone to all that work for nothing.) Doing so was simply impossible for the public speaking classes I taught and really handicapped the student during the semester we studied interpersonal communication when virtually all our work consisted of small-group exercises done during class with written work related to what we'd done during the exercises. I could usually think of something similar for makeup work, but oftentimes it simply couldn't be done for those exercises. If the student had to miss due to illness, a funeral or other emergency, that was one thing, but I admit I often resented having to assemble some kind of makeup for a group exercise that couldn't really be effectively made up when the reason was a family vacation.
With as much pressure as teachers are under to pack learning into every minute of the schoolday, it's very frustrating to be asked to accommodate family vacations that aren't partially during a school vacation with only a few days out of school. I honestly had one family take a 21-day cruise in January "because that's when the winter is coldest and we need to get away somewhere warm."
I don't think there's any satisfactory solution for either families or schools when many companies only permit a certain number of employees to be out on vacation during a given week, and vacation time for the next year must often be scheduled in the fall of the previous one. Families do sometimes have to take kids out of school for the entire vacation.
But it can be very difficult and burdensome for teachers already pressured from several directions.
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Last edited by Her Dotness; 10-21-2010 at 07:19 PM..
This is part of why teachers tend to dislike family vacations taken when school is in session.
Also, if many in the class have difficulty with a given lesson, a caring teacher will back up and re-teach that lesson differently, assigning different homework than originally planned. Then, should the absent child also show a lack of understanding on the original homework, the teacher will attempt to work further to be sure the student understands--more work for both student and teacher.
I can't begin to count the number of times I laboriously prepared homework for parents who requested it prior to a family vacation--only to have the student do none of it whatsoever even though the parent assured me they'd see that it was completed and turned in the student's first day back at school. ("Yeah, I'll bet it will be" was my private reaction, and that was generally the case. Understandable but irritating after I'd gone to all that work for nothing.) Doing so was simply impossible for the public speaking classes I taught and really handicapped the student during the semester we studied interpersonal communication when virtually all our work consisted of small-group exercises done during class with written work related to what we'd done during the exercises. I could usually think of something similar for makeup work, but oftentimes it simply couldn't be done for those exercises. If the student had to miss due to illness, a funeral or other emergency, that was one thing, but I admit I often resented having to assemble some kind of makeup for a group exercise that couldn't really be effectively made up when the reason was a family vacation.
With as much pressure as teachers are under to pack learning into every minute of the schoolday, it's very frustrating to be asked to accommodate family vacations that aren't partially during a school vacation with only a few days out of school. I honestly had one family take a 21-day cruise in January "because that's when the winter is coldest and we need to get away somewhere warm."
I don't think there's any satisfactory solution for either families or schools when many companies only permit a certain number of employees to be out on vacation during a given week, and vacation time for the next year must often be scheduled in the fall of the previous one. Families do sometimes have to take kids out of school for the entire vacation.
But it can be very difficult and burdensome for teachers already pressured from several directions.
I can understand your concern regarding work, but if work cannot be given prior to the trip, then a few days afterwards is something that should be easily accommodated. Especially when there are teachers that take vacations during the year and our kids are stuck with a subsitute teacher for a week. The 21 day cruise is excessive, but I don't think 7 days should be a problem. I also know that in a demanding job you can't always take off around a holiday or a school break because that is when "everybody" wants off. Most people have to travel during non-peak times in order to get a vacation, or at best, to get something affordable. I know for a fact that when we went in 2009 it was in March and my daughter missed 6 days of school because we went from Tuesday-Tuesday. When we went in April of this year we scheduled it during spring break so my daughter would only miss 2 days of school (Monday & tuesday) after spring break and the vacation was twice as much. Now we are going in December and she will miss 3 days of school because are going offpeak. I will never go around a holiday for cost reasons or during the summer for cost and heat reasons so taking my daughter out of school will be something that they will have to live with. Now when she is in Junior High or High School I will have to evaluate when we go, because things are demanding moreso when they are in higher grades, which is all the more reason to not have issues when it comes to taking 2nd & 3rd graders out of school when they are 7 &8 years old and the chances that they are going to miss too much to recover is simply ludacris.
parents should know the policy and consequences ahead of time and be able to live with them
I agree. I know our district does not condone missing school for vacations and considers it unexcused therefore does not EVER give work missed. Do I agree with that, absolutely not and I have a degree in education. Here, in our district, it's all about the state funding and the more unexcused absences a district has, the less $$$ you get. Last trip I took the kids out for 4 days, DD (3rd) was given all the work she missed when she got back but adamently told none of it would "count". I had her do the work anyway just to keep her in the loop. I know what the district's policy is and I don't expect acceptance for removing my kids for vacay and I'm okay with that.
I agree. I know our district does not condone missing school for vacations and considers it unexcused therefore does not EVER give work missed. Do I agree with that, absolutely not and I have a degree in education. Here, in our district, it's all about the state funding and the more unexcused absences a district has, the less $$$ you get. Last trip I took the kids out for 4 days, DD (3rd) was given all the work she missed when she got back but adamently told none of it would "count". I had her do the work anyway just to keep her in the loop. I know what the district's policy is and I don't expect acceptance for removing my kids for vacay and I'm okay with that.
Wow, that is harsh. I can't believe that even if something is unexcused that they don't allow you to make it up for a grade. I thought our system was strict, but at least ours is at the discretion of the teacher. The district says it isn't excused but our teacher and principal have the authority to overide the decision and I haven't ran into a case in which we weren't given the opportunity....and let's hope I never do.
Especially when there are teachers that take vacations during the year and our kids are stuck with a subsitute teacher for a week.
This is shocking to me because it is against our district's policy for teachers to take a vacation during the school year. In fact, we are not allowed to take personal days directly before or after school vacations/long weekends. Special exceptions can be granted only for extenuating circumstances (and WDW is less crowded/costly at that time isn't one of them). In addition, most teacher contracts are structured so that a teacher is paid for the days she/he works. Our vacation time is school vacation time (and technically, we aren't paid for it). So if my salary is based on 187 work/school days and I were to somehow be able to take 7 of those days off for vacation, I would have to take that time off with no pay.
Edited to add that this is not only the policy of my school district but also of every district that I know of. If you think the policy for students missing school is strict, you can be assured the policy for teachers missing school is as well!
Here's my take for what its worth. I work in a high school, at that level it is frowned upon, but not unheard of. an excused absence is one where the school has written notification from the parent. You are the parent - you make the decision that is best for your family! That said, I would nicely ask for any school work that your child would be missing in advance. Have your child complete the homework ahead of time and hand it in. I mean it is third grade, They should not mark the homework as "missing". That is just crazy. Tell them that is not acceptable. Life is too short to worry about such things...go and have a blast!! (oh and bring the teacher back treat from Disney)
This is such a tough issue for me personally....I struggle with my feelings on it a lot. In the end, we don't pull our kids out of school for Disney or other vacations (although we will be pulling them out for one day for our Thanksgiving trip this year.) One of my reasons is that I have a son who gets sick at the drop of a hat who has missed a LOT of school the past couple of years due to illness. I just don't know what's coming with the winter ahead, so I always feel like if I pull him out for a week, then what if he's sick a lot too?
Anyway, that said, I can understand and respect why others would do so. For one thing, the airfare is exorbitant if you try to go anywhere during scheduled school breaks for Thanksgiving, Christmas or Spring Break. In addition, those are the most costly times to get hotel rooms at Disney. Taking a vacation during a less crowded time of year can be less than half the price of going during a busy time. Summer isn't bad cost-wise, but it's very hot and some people can't take the heat. Others can't take work vacations then.
I think the key is moderation and common sense. I had a woman tell me her son was having a very very tough time adjusting to first grade this year, but pulled him out the third week of school to go to Disney. I also had a friend who pulled out her daughter during ISATs (very important standardized tests) to go to a water park resort a few hours away (and this was the 3rd vacation they had taken that year during school time). I didn't think either of those decisions were the best. But for others, who may have capable students with no problems keeping up, I don't think 5 days should be the end of the world.
Overall I do feel that the schools infringe more and more into family time every day. I support education and I am diligent about making sure my kids complete the work they are asked to do. However, my 4th grader is now getting hours of homework every night and does get homework on weekends as well. I have to question when is the time for families to just enjoy being together? When can kids play with their friends and just relax? It's crazy and I'm not sure I completely understand why they need to send so much work home.
As for us, with my kids just missing one day, I may just skip the whole "excused/non-excused/advance permisson required" rigamarole and just call my kids in sick. Sure, it'll be transparent, but since it's only one day I think it's the easy way to go for us.
Good luck and I hope all goes well for those of you pulling kids out for vacation this year!
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15 total family trips with stays at the Poly, AKL, Wilderness Lodge, Beach Club, Swan, Dolphin, POFQ, Pop Century, All Star Music, Movies & Sports, and Coronado Springs.
I think all of you are very lucky who's school systems allow for family vacations. In the school system where my (much-younger) sister went, they were allowed 5 days absence per semester, period. For sickness, Dr.'s appts., whatever - however the principals can excuse any absence that they see fit with a good reason from the parent. This became a problem when our father passed away, causing my sister to miss 3 days, followed a month later when our grandfather passed, which made her miss another 3. (She was in 4th grade.) The principal refused to excuse any of the absences, and had my mother called into truancy court. Luckily, the superintendent of schools was a member of our church and knew my mom and sister well, and when my mom came to court and told him the situation, he wrote his own "nasty letter" to the principal and told him to get over himself. He excused them all after that. It's frustrating that so much of the policy was just left up to the administration, as he was obviously using it as some sort of power trip. Obviously, he wouldn't have approves of anyone taking a vacation during the school year.
I think the key is moderation and common sense. I had a woman tell me her son was having a very very tough time adjusting to first grade this year, but pulled him out the third week of school to go to Disney. I also had a friend who pulled out her daughter during ISATs (very important standardized tests) to go to a water park resort a few hours away (and this was the 3rd vacation they had taken that year during school time). I didn't think either of those decisions were the best.
You are absolutely right -moderation and common sense are key. Unfortunately, many people don't display much of either. The two scenarios you mentioned above are examples of why schools have such strict attendance policies.
When a school district's policy counts a vacation as an unexcused absence, I think that work made up should at least get partial credit. Isn't the point of schooling supposed to be doing the necessary work to learn what's taught? So, it seems really counterproductive to me to say, "If it's an unexcused absence, then no credit at all." The typical student reaction will be, "Great! I get out of doing all that work and got a vacation besides." (Unless their parents are as conscientious as several of you've said you are, insisting that the work be done anyway.)
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Luckily, the superintendent of schools was a member of our church and knew my mom and sister well, and when my mom came to court and told him the situation, he wrote his own "nasty letter" to the principal and told him to get over himself. He excused them all after that. It's frustrating that so much of the policy was just left up to the administration, as he was obviously using it as some sort of power trip. Obviously, he wouldn't have approves of anyone taking a vacation during the school year. 
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