When Do You Stop Taking Kids Out of School

[Kerry's Girls]

In Los Angeles, public school students are truant if not out for an excused reason, and after four days a note from a doctor is required for an illness. My girls missed a four day week (MLK day) last year in 4th grade and we got away with it truancy-wise, but the girl at a more difficult school saw her grades drop from As to Bs that quarter, just from missing those in-class tests/assignments, which can't be made up. Grades came right back up and it probably won't keep her out of the ivy leagues, but it was shocking to see the result so clearly as early as 4th grade. I hate it - I do feel I should be able to take my girls away for a week or two during the school year, but it's just not possible - legally or grade-wise. One of my girls moves to a private school next year and they're just as strict - absences only for illness and funeral of immediate family. I'm really pining for those low rate transatlantic cruises during the school year!

 

Best,

Mia

[CI66774]

I intend to take my DD on a world cruise in the next year or two. This will require a few months' absence. The good thing is I can, with as little as two-weeks notice, take her out and homeschool her. I have to keep records of "classes" or subjects but all I need to do is teach three hours per day. Then the next school year, I just re-enroll her.

[rebeccalouiseagain]

I have never paid a fortune for spring break. I've always been able to do a cruise the week of Easter break (in our area they have off from the Thursday before Easter- and return to school 10 days later). I've always gotten good deals on these cruises- they are not marked up like Christmas cruises. So this would be a good time to travel.

 

Kids get sick, have injuries, miss school due to family funerals and the like. To add a week off, when your child may have already missed days of school (likely), is just making it harder for them. Teachers in my area will not give kids make up work for unexplained absences. Yes- you can lie and say they were sick- but don't expect the teacher to give you the work if you tell them that you are traveling. It won't go over well. In the end- I didn't want my son to feel the pressure of missing school or have to lie to his teacher and classmates about his absences.

Edited May 18, 2016 by rebeccalouiseagain

[Reader0108598]

I have never paid a fortune for spring break. I've always been able to do a cruise the week of Easter break (in our area they have off from the Thursday before Easter- and return to school 10 days later). I've always gotten good deals on these cruises- they are not marked up like Christmas cruises. So this would be a good time to travel.

 

Kids get sick, have injuries, miss school due to family funerals and the like. To add a week off, when your child may have already missed days of school (likely), is just making it harder for them. Teachers in my area will not give kids make up work for unexplained absences. Yes- you can lie and say they were sick- but don't expect the teacher to give you the work if you tell them that you are traveling. It won't go over well. In the end- I didn't want my son to feel the pressure of missing school or have to lie to his teacher and classmates about his absences.

 

 

You are a good parent!!

 

Teaching your child not to lie, is priceless. :)

Edited May 18, 2016 by Reader0108598

[Prinycesa07]

I've been thinking about this recently. We cruise for a week once a year. I took my daughter out last year and this year. So, kinder & 1st grade. No problems. We have another planned for October, she'll be in second grade. She'll be at a new school though and I hope they don't give me a problem. kimd of nervous about it now :/ My son will be in kinder.

 

Think around middle school we will stop pulling them.

[celle]

I know it's policy in the US to not allow absences, apart from illness and bereavement. The system seems very rigid to me.

 

I took my three teenagers out of school for a month, when they were in Years 11, 12 and 13 at high school. Their father had to go to the US, for work. We travelled around the US and saw many things, some educational and some just for pleasure. I believe that the things the children saw and learned during that month were more useful than what they would have learned in school during that time.

 

With prior planning, and consulting with their teachers,all had assignments to complete. They each travelled with a backpack full of school books and did homework in the evenings while we were away. All three children completed that school year successfully. They graduated high school and gained university degrees.

 

I look back at my own school days, before most childhood diseases were prevented by immunization. During my primary school years I had absences of 3 weeks for measles and chickenpox, two weeks for German measles (rubella) and mumps, and six weeks for whooping cough - and so did most of my classmates. Somehow, both we and the education system coped with these absences and we received a good education.

 

I agree that you have to consider each child individually - a prior good attendance record and good progress at school probably mean that their schooling will not suffer much if they take a week of to go on holiday. However, if a child has already missed days due to illness, or is struggling, then it would be unwise to keep them out.

Edited May 23, 2016 by celle

[rebeccalouiseagain]

In the US truancy in the public schools is being cracked down on.

[Joannedisfan]

While schools discourage you pulling your kids, ultimately it's up to you. My parents are paying for us to join them on our first cruise this Sept. So my daughter will miss 7 days of school. I tried to time flights so she can do a half day before we fly out. My daughter will be a jr this year and is a good student. It also helps that the school does a a day b day schedule. So she only misses 3 or 4 classes in each subject, rather than 7 classes. My son we are homeschooling, so we will take some work with us, and focus on some educational excursions like whale watching.

 

Our last vacation we pulled her out of school for was 3 years ago. We had a week at Disney planned when my mil passed away. She ended up missing 11 classes. It was harder for her to catch up. Her biggest problem was she didn't realize her emails were not going out, so some of her teachers didn't get her work. She had a d in that class for a while, but pulled it back up by the end of the semester.

[Kerry's Girls]

While schools discourage you pulling your kids, ultimately it's up to you.

 

Unfortunately, this blanket statement isn't true for many/most families. In the Los Angeles school district, it is not up to the parents. If you don't have a doctor's note after 4 days out, the child is truant and they can take legal action and they mean business since the amount of $ they receive is tied to attendance. Also, at one of my daughter's new private school, unexcused absences result in dismissal since they deem attendance very important and there are so many kids on the waiting list.

[Joannedisfan]

It does depend on your state or province or countries rules. While they threaten you, I have yet to hear of a parent being punished when vacation was the only school missed. They are after the families and kids that miss a lot more school than that.

[rebeccalouiseagain]

While schools discourage you pulling your kids, ultimately it's up to you. My parents are paying for us to join them on our first cruise this Sept. So my daughter will miss 7 days of school. I tried to time flights so she can do a half day before we fly out. My daughter will be a jr this year and is a good student. It also helps that the school does a a day b day schedule. So she only misses 3 or 4 classes in each subject, rather than 7 classes. My son we are homeschooling, so we will take some work with us, and focus on some educational excursions like whale watching.

 

Our last vacation we pulled her out of school for was 3 years ago. We had a week at Disney planned when my mil passed away. She ended up missing 11 classes. It was harder for her to catch up. Her biggest problem was she didn't realize her emails were not going out, so some of her teachers didn't get her work. She had a d in that class for a while, but pulled it back up by the end of the semester.

 

Junior year of high school is the most important year of high school for your daughter if she intends to go to college. Missing the beginning of school will not be helpful to your daughter IMO in the short run or on her transcripts. As for A and B schedule. Your daughter will miss seven days of school. It doesn't matter if they are A and B days- it's still the same amount of material. My son has A and B days too- so I know this system. Check with your local school board before embarking on a cruise. Grandparents often don't understand that the school system is not supportive of vacations in September when most kids have off from June-August. My parents preferred not to travel during school breaks. They invited me to go and leave the kids at home or take the kids out of school. I didn't go on these trips. It's tempting but school is more important (it's their job). Trips to Europe and Alaska can be done during the summer when they have off school.

Edited May 24, 2016 by rebeccalouiseagain

[Joannedisfan]

For us it's more than just a family trip. My daughter see's her grandparents maybe once a year. Other relatives even less. My Aunt and Uncle from England are also going on the trip and we have not seen them in over 6 years. They have never met our youngest son. We asked our daughter before making the decision.

 

It does help that Arkansas allows 10 missed days before they report it to the authorities.

[rebeccalouiseagain]

Have fun on your cruise. My uncle and his girlfriend are coming over from England in September and staying with us here in Maryland. I'm really looking forward to it. I'm not sure he realized it was labor Day weekend- and there will be crowds at the local attractions but he had booked it before I could tell him.

Edited May 24, 2016 by rebeccalouiseagain

[celle]

I don't think there's any wrong or right answer to whether it's all right or not to take children out of school. So much depends on the child's age, performance at school, and where you live.