Need to vent! School Days Missed

[LuLuO]

I was just looking through our districts attendance policy because this thread got me curious. My kids are very young and my DD just started preschool there this year so this does not affect us yet but all I could find was that after 10 days a doctor's note may be required and that after 10 absences a referral to the Children’s Division and/or the Eleventh Circuit Family Court for truancy or educational neglect may be made. It also says that all work must be made up though in school experiments and group activities may not be able to be made up.

Something tells me that they would not look favorably on us taking our kids out for two weeks of vacation but I suspect that exceptions could be made on a case by case basis. I assume that the work would be made up at the teacher's convenience and not necessairly prepared beforehand at the student's convenience.

 

[tinacaplan]

I don't know about any of you BUT if my 10 yr old could miss 10 days of school, come back and have no trouble jumping in where they are at in class and do OK and make up all the past homework. I would be having my butt down to that school seeing why my child was not being challenged or given work at their level.

Seriously if a child in upper elementary can miss 10 days straight without a problem they are not being challenged!!!!! And that would have me extremely worried. A child if they are pushing and learning new things at the upper level of their ability should not be able to walk away from 2 weeks of school and not be lost.

Completely agree. While it is your choice to do what you will, ten days is a very long time. And, frankly, given what principals have to deal with these days, you should be thrilled that he or she wants to have a meeting with you.

 

[SoonerSarah]

Out of curiosity, are you in OK? And if so, in what district are you?

I live in Odessa, Texas. Was born and lived most of my life in various spots in Illinois, lived for less than a year total time in Oklahoma. DH was born in Norman, lived mostly in Norman and Dallas, and played in the OU Marching Band. He's Sooner born and bred. I came along later, loving football but not having a college team. LOL It's complicated.

 

[Luv Bunnies]

OP: I think the principal is just trying to do his/her job responsibly by questioning a 10-day absence. The school doesn't get paid for the days your child is not there and with the current school budget cuts, administrators have to do everything they can to ensure students attend on a regular basis. The principal is probably getting pressure from the superintendent or school board to question unexcused absences. Please don't approach the principal in a hostile manner just for doing his/her job.

In terms of making up work, my middle schooler's classes are moving so fast that I would hesitate to take him out for even one day. If he's sick, he'll stay home. But I would never choose to keep him out of school for a vacation. If we can't travel during school vacations, then we just won't travel. There are plenty of other ways we can spend time together during non-school hours. Just my 2 cents.

 

[kirstenb1]

the last time we took our older dd out was 5 days in 3rd grade. It was a total bear to make it up. She was so stressed, we decided that was the last year we could do that.

 

[SydandPaige'sMom]

OP, sorry they were giving you a hard time. I hope you have a wonderful, worry free trip.

When I told the teachers and principal at my girls school, they all wished us a fabulous trip and no one seemed concerned about the time missed. Granted they are only in grade 2 and JK. Two out of the three talked about learning life lessons, and the experience they will have as a huge benefit.

I know that I missed a ton of school when I was growing up. I was a competitive figure skater and I was late 2 or 3 mornings a week and left early some days for practice. I also missed many a friday due to travelling for competitions. Not all education needs to come from a book. Heck, even in school some of the most important things you learn surround social interactions with peers.

 

[SoonerSarah]

I have a friend in Houston that was required to remove her daughter from school and then enroll her again when they had to take her out for a week because of a family emergency.

I think that if students are expected to be there, then it should be as equally important for the teachers to be there. Quite often when there is a sub that is not long term, things are not taught properly, things don't get done they way they should be, and kids aren't learning as they should.

 

[sam_gordon]

There are plenty of other ways we can spend time together during non-school hours.

Ding, ding, ding. We have a winner! All those who talk about Disney being "educational" and "kids will learn more with us than at school" never say they keep their kids home to go to the grocery or do laundry or make dinner.

 

[PaulaSue]

Our school has rules as how many days can be excused (I think a max of 5) for vacation and any unexcused days the kid is not allowed to make up the homework/tests.

 

[palavra]

I have a friend in Houston that was required to remove her daughter from school and then enroll her again when they had to take her out for a week because of a family emergency.

I think that if students are expected to be there, then it should be as equally important for the teachers to be there. Quite often when there is a sub that is not long term, things are not taught properly, things don't get done they way they should be, and kids aren't learning as they should.

Why in the world would you assume that it is not important for the teachers to be at school? Most teachers have a limited number of sick/personal days. Do you mean that teachers should not ever have time off during the school year?

 

[princessmom29]

I have a friend in Houston that was required to remove her daughter from school and then enroll her again when they had to take her out for a week because of a family emergency.

I think that if students are expected to be there, then it should be as equally important for the teachers to be there. Quite often when there is a sub that is not long term, things are not taught properly, things don't get done they way they should be, and kids aren't learning as they should.

I hear this argument over and over and I would love to know where it is that teachers can be gone as much as some parents are reporting. I get 2 personal days A YEAR! Other than that I need a doctor or court excuse to miss work. Students get 4 a SEMESTER (8 a year)to miss for no reason as long as mom writes a "please excuse" note indicating she knew the child was out. That is 4 times as many absences as a teacher. Any other days that I miss are for district mandated training. I have no control over when that is scheduled. I show up when I am told to do so. It is SOOO much more work to be out than to come to school. It takes 3 times as long to prepare for a sub to teach because I need to leave very detailed lesson plans and spell out absolutely everything, or my kids don't get what they need that day. I teacher upper level science, and a sub actually qualified to teach for me is rare. We have 1 in our sub pool.

 

[Happy Mom2]

Where I live you could be charged with truancy and have to go before a judge. By law if a child misses more then 17 days (excused or not) they can not move up to the next grade.

Personally, I think missing two weeks of school for a vacation is too much, no matter how good of a student your child is. That being said, I'm taking my DD out of school for 5 days to go to Disney. It will be unexcused.

 

[bwilcox]

The bottom line is: Schools have a right to make and enforce their own rules. I don't think there's anything wrong with taking your child out of school for a vacation AS LONG AS you are prepared to accept the consequences, such as unexcused work or zeros. I hate the entitlement of "They're my kids and I'll take them out of school if I want to!" You agree to follow the rules when you enroll your child in public school. Every school I've heard of has a handbook available for parents at the beginning of the year, so it should be spelled out very clearly what the rules are.

 

[amym2]

I don't know about any of you BUT if my 10 yr old could miss 10 days of school, come back and have no trouble jumping in where they are at in class and do OK and make up all the past homework. I would be having my butt down to that school seeing why my child was not being challenged or given work at their level.

Seriously if a child in upper elementary can miss 10 days straight without a problem they are not being challenged!!!!! And that would have me extremely worried. A child if they are pushing and learning new things at the upper level of their ability should not be able to walk away from 2 weeks of school and not be lost.

I agree with this also. In the lower elementary grades, this is not as much of an issue. When we pulled DS out of school for Disney, his teacher gave him a disposable camera and asked him to keep a journal. Considering how difficult it was to get the kid to write anything, this was a great learning experience.

Once kids are in the upper elementary grades, the issue gets more complicated. When I taught fourth grade, it was a real pain when parents asked for a week's worth of work for vacation. Remember also that there's a lot of learning that goes on in schools that is missed out on when a child is completing work outside of school. I did lots of cooperative learning especially in areas like science and social studies. We used a kit-based science program that could not just be sent home and completed. So basically the student just missed out on anything that wasn't pencil and paper. I didn't give zeroes, but I did explain to the parents that I would be basing their grades on the limited work they completed when they were in school.

And I absolutely agree that you need to work with the principal on this. It is not an "us versus them" issue. They want your kids to be in school, both because they want them to learn what they need to, and also honestly yes, because the school gets docked financially and status-wise when a child is absent. We had one school not get "4-star" rating because of ONE absence that exceeded the school's allowed amount. The schools have no control over this, other than to encourage the parents to get the kids there every day.

 

[elilala]

If your kids can keep up with the work, then there shouldn't be a problem. I see nothing wrong with your kids missing some school for a vacation. I missed lots of school to go to WDW in elementary. It all turned out fine. Go ahead and vent away

 

[Leajess99]

I hope it goes ok. Try to enjoy your trip with your family
However, I could also use some advice: I am in a similar situation and we don't know what to do. We own our business and winter is typically the only time to travel. We don't want to face the crowds and price increase at Christmas, so are considering the beginning of Dec. for our annual WDW trip. DD is in 3rd grade and missed 2 days for pink eye earlier this month(not allowed to attend anyway due to contagiousness). Last year she had perfect attendance! But, the school has a ten day (cummulative) absence policy. We don't want to get in "trouble" but also value our family vacation time. If we missed 5 days for vacation, basically she can't get sick for the rest of the year Not sure what to do. Any (flameless) advice would be appreciated.

Is that cumulative including excused absences?? That seems unreasonable if it does. Shoot, my 7 year old missed 17 days of school last year due to illness so what would your district have done, kept her in the 1st grade (so not a good idea since she is already very advanced for the 2nd grade which she is in now)?? Sorry but I have to hope that 10 days is unexcused (ours is 6 days and then you can face court action).

I would calmly talk to your principal about it and know that he does have the power to excuse the absences or make them unexcused and pursue disciplinary action. If you go in calmly and reasonably and without the "These are my kids and I will do what I want and you can't stop me or tell me what to do" attitude than in my experience many principals would be willing to work with you.

I would really watch the dates if you are looking at the first week of December as Pop Warner football is there and some dissers have had bad experiences with them.

 

[Leajess99]

Why in the world would you assume that it is not important for the teachers to be at school? Most teachers have a limited number of sick/personal days. Do you mean that teachers should not ever have time off during the school year?

My middle daughter had one year where her teacher was gone for a whole month due to her daughter having surgery out of state. The surgery was necessary to save her life. The teacher had the sub in before she left and worked with the sub. Of course when that sub got sick they had a different one but honestly, the kids did NOT suffer and the subs did fine.

 

[SoonerSarah]

If your kids can keep up with the work, then there shouldn't be a problem. I see nothing wrong with your kids missing some school for a vacation. I missed lots of school to go to WDW in elementary. It all turned out fine. Go ahead and vent away

Why in the world would you assume that it is not important for the teachers to be at school? Most teachers have a limited number of sick/personal days. Do you mean that teachers should not ever have time off during the school year?

I'm saying that if it's so horrible for kids to miss school, then the same standard should be held for the teachers. Here it is expected that a child absolutely not miss a single day of school other than sickness. Some teachers and such are OK with some misses, such as someone going to Disney, parents that have business trips, family wedding or graduations, but many others look down on it severely. And the kids see it. They see that they will possible get held back if they miss too much school, for any reason, no matter their grades or behavior, but the same standard is not held for teachers.

Here, I have several friends who are teachers, and particularly those that have a student in a sport, they are gone all the time. One of them I know for certain that she took off 15 days to go on sporting events with her child. Absolutely nothing is said.

Teachers are frequently missing school for their children's award ceremonies at other schools. They take personal days to go to a concert, and then they of course have their sick days, their district training days, etc.

And I absolutely think that teachers are overworked and underpaid. I have no problems with them getting/having vacation time. But here at least, there is a double standard. They have to deal with a lot that they should never have to, and unfortunately, a lot of that stems from the parents. As the wife of a Youth Minister, I understand that completely. The hardest part of the job is the parents.

 

[superme80]

I say have fun! I personally could care less what the schools think!

 

[yankin]

I guess we are very lucky in that regard. My kids will miss three weeks next month. My children attend a DODDS school. DODDS are use to dealing with military and realize that due to deployments and such we cannot always take a family vacation in the summer. My kids are good students and the teachers will give them there assignments a week before we leave. After hearing some of these school policies on vacation time I am pleased my two attend the school they do. Somehow I feel a public school in the States would not be so understanding.