Vacation Vs. School

[boys_school_tn]

We pulled the kids out for a few days when they were in 3rd and 6th grade. Only one teacher gave us a hard time. Now, we homeschool, and relish going once school starts.

[wedway fan]

we'll be pulling the kids out in april 08- 2nd and 1st grade. i'll continue to take them out until the work load gets unbearable.

as another poster said, you can somewhat justify the missed education by finding educational opportunities in everything you do. we'll be doing geography (we're driving down), finances and budgeting (they've got disney dollars), world cultures (epcot), physics (just about any ride), plus some journaling if i can get them to do it. i figure that's as much if not more than they'll get in school for a week.

[MickeyandTink]

We will be doing it on our next trip, about 7 days out all together. Our dd is in 4th, and ds is in 1st. I don't mean to sound rude, but I'm not really concerned with what the school thinks. I'm by no means a rebel, lol. But our kids will only be young for a very short time. All too soon family vacations will be a thing of the past. We are their parents, and it is our decision. It works best for us to go during school time, and our kids do just fine in school. That being said, of course I intend to give proper notice and complete any required homework, as I know teachers have their jobs to do and a schedule to keep and I respect that. Just give plenty of notice and have a great time!!!!!!!

We are working with DD's school (she's in 1st grade), but we would still be going even if they weren't cooperative. School is very important in our family (DW and I both have college degrees and I've got a doctorate), but it is not the be all, end all. Plus, we want this to be a fun AND educational trip, and at least for this trip going during the school year was the best time for all of us.

[illini]

It's up to you and it's up to the school.



However, her school is the only one in the county rated "exemplary" and in order to keep this status (thus funding) they must have a certain high percentage of attendance. Therefore, they place heavy premiums on the child if you pull them out for vacation.

Last year, we pulled DD out for a week in October for our WDW trip. When we got home, we had a letter from the school board that said we could face truancy court.

So, I can't pull DD out anymore .

Yikes! My kids' school is exemplary as well (I'm in TX, too), but we don't get the truancy letter until they've missed 10 days. I got it one year because we'd had a Disney trip and then 2 long bouts of strep. I'm pulling them out again this fall, though.

I figure the parents know best. There's so much more to education than sitting in a classroom. I also reckon that there are times even in the best classrooms where the kids aren't learning, so it's kind of even steven in my book. (Yeah, I know that's not really logical but oh well!)

[kaylamag]

We are going in january of 08 and i am extremly nervous about pulling my 10th grader out of school for 8 days. Our school district allows a 5 day educational trip, but we aren't coming back until the middle of the next week. I not too worried about my second grader. I don't know weather i should call the school now or wait until closer to the trip, any suggestions?

[martinfamily5]

We have pulled our children out on every trip that we have taken. We always go in Oct. over fall break, so they miss the first 3 days of that week. However, while they are in elementary (DS is the only one left in elementary), they go 1 full day, and then 2 half days. So he will only miss 2 days really. We were a little worried about our oldest this year. She is a junior and has a very difficult academic load this year. She is ranked 35 in a class of 416. She said if she gets to go to Disney, she will handle it. Our school system has a family leave form and they ask that you not miss more then 5 days in a row, so our trip fits.

This is the first year that I have worked for our school system and we are going to Disney. I don't think that I can get paid for the time that I am gone, but it won't make a difference. We will still go.

Family time is more important to me then school time.

[bkfree]

We are going in january of 08 and i am extremly nervous about pulling my 10th grader out of school for 8 days. Our school district allows a 5 day educational trip, but we aren't coming back until the middle of the next week. I not too worried about my second grader. I don't know weather i should call the school now or wait until closer to the trip, any suggestions?

Humm, While I have no qualms about pulling mine out while in grades K-8, it really changes once they hit high school. Our high school, grades 9-12, only allow 5 excused absences per year,even for out of state trips. The only exception would be a prolonged illness or some sort of trauma. No way would 8 days in Disney fly. I don't think I would try it. We could fly out on a Friday afternoon and come back on the next Sunday, they miss 5 days of school but get 8 days in Disney, which is plenty.
I would maker sure the repercussions or punishment for your son is worth the extended time before locking it in.
When my sister and her family had an extended trip during the school year, her two oldest that were in high school could not miss that many days so they flew down a few days later, had just as good a time and no trouble with the school.

[MNNHFLTX]

Whether parents should take their school-age children out of school for a WDW trip is typically a personal decision based on their child's circumstances. That said, though, if I were you I would contact your school's administration and clarify their attendance policy. Many school districts do have restrictions on excused/unexcused absences and you wouldn't want to find out about them after-the-fact.

My son has always gone to schools that have pretty strict policies and for that reason I have never felt comfortable pulling him out for more than 1-2 days. I guess I was always worried that something else might come up down the road that would put his attendance in jeapardy.

[peggyclausen]

I would certainly agree with RaRaRoundTheWorld, Parents are the first teacher for kids, They easily understand and determines problems and issues, kid is facing through. I would suggest you not to miss your trip to Disney, You will surely feel awesome being there. Last Year I And my sister family went for a Disney tour and had lots of fun over there. My sister was also worried about Her 4 year old, Long Island Day Care going daughter, regarding missing up the subjects. But After talking to teachers of her preschool, she got relaxed and got ready for a trip.

[Imalismom]

I am a high school teacher. I pulled my kids out prior to middle year of junior high. Even that year after I pulled them out, I had to have a doctors note for any other absences.

Once they reach 8th grade, my personal opinion is DO NOT DO IT. They miss too much to really ever catch up.

As a high school teacher, I cringe whenever a kid misses 1 day.... missing 5 days is usually a game changer in their grades for the rest of the semester.

[mydisneygirls]

I took my kids out of school for a week every year when they were younger. I would have no problem now that they're in high school but they play sports and that's the only reason we don't go during school now. I look at it like this --- the last time I looked on their birth certificate I'm listed as their mother not the school, so I guess I have the right to do what I want, when I want with my children. I know this reply is long but wanted to share a true letter from a parent to the school after his kids missed school.


A Pennsylvania father penned a scathing note to a school principal after she said a trip he took with his 9-year-old twins to see the Boston Marathon was "recorded as unexcused."
Mike Rossi shared the note from school principal Rochelle Marbury on his Facebook page.

"Dear Mr. and Mrs. Rossi," the letter read. "I understand your family recently took a family vacation. I want you to be aware that the Abington School District does not recognize family trips as an excused absence, regardless of the activities involved in the trip." The school district is not in the position of overseeing family vacations or evaluating the educational nature of a family trip. The dates that your children were absent were recorded as unexcused. An accumulation of unexcused absences can result in a referral to our attendance officer and a subsequent notice of a violation of the compulsory school attendance law,” it added.

Mr Rossi’s searing response to the letter has been shared by thousands of parents online. Here it is in full:

Dear Madam Principal,
While I appreciate your concern for our children’s education, I can promise you they learned as much in the five days we were in Boston as they would in an entire year in school.
Our children had a once-in-a-lifetime experience, one that can’t be duplicated in a classroom or read in a book.
In the 3 days of school they missed (which consisted of standardized testing that they could take any time) they learned about dedication, commitment, love, perseverance, overcoming adversity, civic pride, patriotism, American history culinary arts and physical education.
They watched their father overcome, injury, bad weather, the death of a loved one and many other obstacles to achieve an important personal goal.
They also experienced first-hand the love and support of thousands of others cheering on people with a common goal.
At the marathon, they watched blind runners, runners with prosthetic limbs and debilitating diseases and people running to raise money for great causes run in the most prestigious and historic marathon in the world.
They also paid tribute to the victims of a senseless act of terrorism and learned that no matter what evil may occur, terrorists cannot deter the American spirit.
These are things they won’t ever truly learn in the classroom.
In addition our children walked the Freedom Trail, visited the site of the Boston Tea Party, the Boston Massacre and the graves of several signers of the Declaration of Independence.
These are things they WILL learn in school a year or more from now. So in actuality our children are ahead of the game.
They also visited an aquarium, sampled great cuisine and spent many hours of physical activity walking and swimming.
We appreciate the efforts of the wonderful teachers and staff and cherish the education they are receiving at Rydal Elementary School. We truly love our school.
But I wouldn’t hesitate to pull them out of school again for an experience like the one they had this past week.
Thank you for your time.
Sincerely,
Michael Rossi
Father

[bostonchic13]

I have 2ds(14&8)and we plan our vacation for august before school starts,usually after labor day in new england...if you take young kids then would be ok but my older one would have to makeup school work!would love to go winter break in February!?anyone have info on weather,park hours etc...

[ThanxForNoticin]

As is evident from this post, this is a long-running, controversial topic with differing opinions. I know some parents like to dig their heals in on it and take the kids out no matter what the school says. I know some superintendents who like to dig their heals in and say absolutely no to kids missing school for a family trip. Unfortunately, there are times the school district has the law on their side, no matter how many valid reasons parents can give to pull the kids - and sadly, the kids end up being the ones stuck in the middle of the mess.

When our kids were younger, we absolutely took them out of school for up to 5 days for family time - many of those times were trips to Disney. As long as our boys did well in school (which they did), there was no reason they couldn't miss a few days from school. Many times we took books with us so they could work on the plane or on a rainy day. And I would contend - maybe especially now that they are older - that those trips were extremely educational for them. By the time they were young teen-agers, I could've dropped them off at the airport with their bag and a confirmation number, and they understood how to check bags, go through security, and fly - VERY valuable. When they got to college, there were times they didn't get to every class (they did college sports) and had to work on their own to catch up with a subject - sometimes on a bus returning from a game. They were already familiar with the concept.

So with all due respect to the teachers, but I never bought into the concern that missing a couple days of class could cause irreparable harm to a kid's grade for an entire marking period - if the kids knew what they had to do on their own. I have a very detailed and strenuous job, and I can miss a week here and there and get back on track when I return!! Most kids will do that, too.

Maybe the underlying issue for us was that we absolutely love Disney, and we have millions of amazing Disney memories over the years. But one memory we have is that we did one trip in the heat of the summer - a trip that was too hot and too crowded, and our choice was to not return ever again in the summer months - which we haven't. We instead chose to go at less-crowded, off-peak times, and we enjoyed it so much more. But we did have the kids away from school by doing that.... Never more the 5 days for the trip, but we felt that was best for us and our kids at the time - and we never regretted having that family time.

[IloveJack]

We homeschool, and our oldest is only in first grade, so it's no big deal to go whenever we decide. Part of the reason we homeschool is to keep our family together more, so I understand family vacations and the need for them. I taught high school for 8 years and was glad to see MOST kids go on a family vacation during the school year. Kids with and A/B average were always good about getting their work ahead of time and catching up (fairly) easily. However, I don't think a child with a C average or below needs to miss a week's worth of classes. Too often, their grade can't take that hard of a hit.
So, echoing everyone else, it really depends on the child/student. But the mom in me says you'll never get this time back.

[princessgirls]

I have taken my girls out in the past for a few trips.... trying to pick times like for example over Thanksgiving week where there was a very short school week, and not too many new concepts would be introduced...that being said, I'm in the high school years now, and there is little or NO wiggle room to miss a few days, and if I did, it could only be for 2 days. The work load in High School would be too much to miss a week other than dire illness or death in the family for. No joke....It makes me sad.
Julie

[BriarRose0708]

We pulled them out for a week last October. They were in grades 2 and 3 at the time and it wasn't a problem. Vacations aren't excused absences, but our kids are almost never sick and they have excellent grades so we didn't care. Their teachers were very supportive as well, they gave them worksheets to do on the plane and some light reading and that was it. This year we would have pulled them from school again, but thanks to state testing pushing their spring break way back to the end of April we feel good that crowds are going to be fairly light at that time. Unfortunately with our oldest going into 6th grade next year and middle school being more strict we might not have the advantage again.

[BrerGnat]

I would totally take my kids out of school if they didn't have to make up the missed work. We don't really care what letter grades they get at this point (Elementary) because they both have identified learning challenges that we are working through (autism related). However, they do not get a pass on all the work they would miss out on, and they have to complete it regardless. Personally, *I* don't want the stress that goes along with making them either work while on vacation OR doing it all at once after we come back, on top of their regular homework load. No thank you. We don't pull them out anymore, although we did a couple years ago. Their school here is much more academically rigorous and the make up work would be too much of a burden.

[MNNHFLTX]

Just wanted to point out for anyone that hasn't noticed--the original post was from almost nine years ago. The OP's kids may be grown up and in college at this point!

Let the debate continue!