taking kids out of school

[kurukthemal]

IMHO, it comes down to parenting. I would not take my kids out of school to just go and have fun. However, the world itself is a great classroom and with a little effort, a parent can easily created a journal to document experiences, insights, etc. We are going to Alaska this summer and I am already thinking of ways to make it more engaging and a learning experience for my three DDs (9, 7, 5). Similar to an earlier posting, I would love the chance to debate a school official on the merits of travel learning versus traditional classroom. I also agree with another post in that it is not the teachers responsibility to create the extra/make up work for the child.

[lovely_serenity]

Wow, I had never realized how strict U.S. schools were in pulling children out of school. I was pretty lucky then, having such a lax school system.

[Tonka's Skipper]

I would point out for everyone, You are the parents, not the school systems!

[holden0301]

For us, 4th grade was the last year we pulled our daughter out of school. The school counts vacation as unexcused absence (after 10 you get the truancy letter, court, etc.). The amount of work she had to make up when she returned was crazy. Our school's policy is that they do not assign work before a trip; the student is expected to make up the missed work when they return. This put undue stress on our daughter. She doesn't need that kind of stress in elementary school:(

 

Instead, we take advantage of odd days off, like election day in November (a Tues.) which is preceded by a teacher inservice day (a Mon.) to do long weekend getaways during the school year. Our longer vacations are in the summer.

[CC Help Jenn]

When my daughter starts high school she will lose credits if she misses a certain number of days (7 for half year classes or 16 for full year classes) So in reality we could do a week long vacation without consequence. However since she will be a freshman this year I thought it would be best not to add any more pressure on her and to have her miss time.

 

In grade/middle school we took her out a few times for week long vacations with no issue. I would also do it again in the future (sophomore year and later) if she has the grades and the time missed won't mess up her credits.

 

We have never expected a teacher to give us work ahead of time but have asked that she have a day or two to complete any missed work when she gets back

[Irene7]

Also important to point out - only a portion of any public school revenue comes from federal funding, and the relative amount of federal funding can vary from district to distrct, depending upon many factors, of which attendance is only one piece. The bulk of funding comes from tax dollars at the local or county levels. State and local governing agencies can also generate attendance policies regarding attendance.

School rankings or "grades" usually take into consideration overall attendance percentages. In some instances, homebyuers look at school rankings when deciding where to raise their children. Such rankings can impact your home's value. There is also a growing trend to link teacher evaluation and compensation to these "rankings". So although an unexcused absence here and there seems insignificant, taken as a whole, there may be larger impacts.

 

Regardless of all of these other factors, the most important consideration should be the child (and the impact on classmates). As stated in an earlier post - most vacations taken during school time are for adult convenience, preferences or budget. There's nothing wrong with this, but I just wish people would own up to their choices to pull their kids out. Yes, it can be the most valuable educational experience in the universe (our goal is purely fun, togetherness and relaxation and if the kids learn something - great), but these types of expereinces can usually be scheduled during school breaks. It is your decision in the end.

 

Well said, and that is how my school district operates.

 

I only took my daughters out of school once for a DW vacation when they were in middle school. I had called the school and spoke to the school counselor and their teachers and was advised by all that if the trip was educational, that it would not be held against their grade or attendance record. One teacher said Epcot fell into this category. We'll low and behold, about two weeks after we returned from the 7 night vacation I received letters each stating that both girls have reached the maximum days out and if they missed one more day that semester, they will fail the year. I fought this but to no prevail. If they were sick, they had to have a doctors note, even if they were out one day. I told myself that I would never do that again, and I didn't.

[matondo]

We took our DD out of school her senior year of high school for a week to go on a cruise. She contacted all of her teachers and brought her homework with her on the ship. I have a picture of her working on her homework.

 

I would like to note that she was an excellent student. If my child was struggling with their studies in any way I would NOT pull them out of school.

[Irene7]

We took our DD out of school her senior year of high school for a week to go on a cruise. She contacted all of her teachers and brought her homework with her on the ship. I have a picture of her working on her homework.

 

I would like to note that she was an excellent student. If my child was struggling with their studies in any way I would NOT pull them out of school.

 

My daughters were also excellent students and were on the honor roll every year from 6th through 12th grade, so I didn't think twice about taking them out of school after talking to the teachers. But the main issue with the school was their attendence record. I guess looking back I can understand it more, since they do belong in school.

[c-cruise]

I would do whatever works best for your particular family and situation. Just know in advance what the schools policy is and what considerations there are for missing those days (make-up work, unexcused absences, etc.). If your kids are good students and aren't going to have other unexcused absences then you are probably fine. Schools and teachers are used to dealing with this (and generally supportive I have found). You won't be the first or the last person to pull their kid out of school for vacation. The age of the kids also matters, there is a big difference between pulling a kid out of kindergarten for a week vs high school.

[AliceIn]

Depending on how old your kids are, you may want to ask them for input. Last year we took the kids out the week of labor day (they'd been in school two weeks prior to that). My 12 year old asked that we not do that again, as he had a really rough time catching back up with the class. He's in the gifted program, and they move very fast in math and science. He ended up having more than a double load of work when we returned, and he wasn't happy about that at all. This year we decided to go on a cruise and booked during the summer break. My pocketbook wasn't thrilled with the change, but we don't want to have a repeat of this past fall again.