How Are You Getting Children Out of School

[crissy11]

I am having a time with my 6th grader's principle. He is saying this trip is not educational just a vacation and he may not approve for her to be out a week. I have already had to pay $2000 for both of my children to go on this cruise. I talked to the superintendent today but he says he will talk with him but it is his decision to allow her to be excused or not.
What are your principles saying?

 

[stacywhitlow]

I wouldn't worry too much about it. Just don't send them. If it becomes a big issue, you have already spoken to the superintendent so I don't think anything will come of it. Have they missed any days yet? If so, you will need to find out what the limit is before they fail. Here we can only miss 20 in a school year or the kids may have to repeat or go to summer school.

 

[PamperedDor]

I guess it must differ state to state, but I have never asked permission to take my kids out of school - I just do it - I send a note sayiing they will be absent *** day to **** day and that is it - please send home anywork they can make up -

My feelings are that we pay enough in school taxes, my kids rarely miss school and are good students - its not anyones say but mine if they miss school. Here I think the district doesnt get paid if its "not a legal" absence -

 

[finley1991]

I have already had to pay $2000 for both of my children to go on this cruise.

Is this a public or private school?

 

[MissChef]

I am having a time with my 6th grader's principle. He is saying this trip is not educational just a vacation and he may not approve for her to be out a week. I have already had to pay $2000 for both of my children to go on this cruise. I talked to the superintendent today but he says he will talk with him but it is his decision to allow her to be excused or not.
What are your principles saying?

I take it this is for a PC trip, right? I would talk to the teacher and see what your child can do to make up the work, see if your daughter can do it before you leave, because then it would be done in advance and no making up would have to be done.
I say pray, and leave it in God's hands....He can change anyone's cold heart! I'm so sorry this principle is such a jerk! What a slap in your face for all your hard work. Did you explain that you earned this trip and that you personally did not plan when this trip was happening, and you personally can not change the date?!
When it all boils down, she's YOUR child, do what you feel is right for you and your family! My kids would be pulled out and they would go and then the school would have the fight of their lives! And I would not back down until I won! That's me though! I will not settle for idiocity, and cruelty, and my pastor would pray with me and I would believe in God to take care of it for me and so be it, it would be done!
I'll pray for you!:angel:

 

[pampchefrhondab]

In our school system kids are allowed to miss up to 5 days during a 9 week grading period w/no Dr's excuse. If they miss more then 5 they have to have a Dr's note for the kids to return. The strange thing is these can be 5 different occurances not just 5 days in a row. So say your kid misses 3 days for a bad cold/fever and then misses 2 days for the stomach flu, you would have to have a note. I think that's kinda crazy. Five days in a row I could understand. I'm not really sure what they would do if the 5 days were due to a vacation. I do know some school systems if they don't approve of it and you take them out anyway they will give your children 0's on all the work they would have done and they won't let you make it up. Just something to consider if this would affect their grade.

We took our kids on a cruise in November and didn't have any problems letting the school know in advance of their absence, but they only missed 3 days and didn't go up to the 5 day limit.

Like others have said, each school system is different.

Good luck,

 

[janetupnorth]

Which trip are you going on Crissy? Is it DC?If so, how can it NOT be educational...aren't you seeing history?Aren't all the trips this year in places with plenty of history?Approach the principal with optional work for your kids...where you will take them and have them write a report on it...I've found around here the public school are strict with letting students out. Private schools here are VERY flexible and actually encourage family trips sometimes!

 

[MissChef]

Which trip are you going on Crissy? Is it DC?

If so, how can it NOT be educational...aren't you seeing history?

Aren't all the trips this year in places with plenty of history?

Approach the principal with optional work for your kids...where you will take them and have them write a report on it...

I've found around here the public school are strict with letting students out. Private schools here are VERY flexible and actually encourage family trips sometimes!

ooooh!!! very good idea!!! Good one, Janet!:thumbup: :thumbup:

 

[vwpamperedchef]

While, I am not a parent, but I was a teacher, I have to say, I do not think kids should be pulled out of school for vacations (but I do have a however, so hang in there). I think students get enough time off during the year that they can go on vacations with their families.

HOWEVER, due to this vacation being EARNED and there is a set time the trip as to be taken. I would approach the principal that you are not a liberty to decide when the trip is taken. I think it is a great lesson to teach a child that when a trip is earned through a company (as great as ours) it should be shown that mom or dad made a commitment to their job and as a reward, earned the vacation.

Like I said, I can agree with the principal about "vacations" but this serves more as a "recognition" for hard work.

Hopefully you will manage! Good luck.

 

[Rebeccascabinet]

I know every school is different. I've never asked to take my kids out of school. I just take them. If they are missing more than 2 days I request that they bring their missing work home so that they don't get behind. My kids hardly ever miss school, so may be that is why. That being said, I would find out what your policy for the school is regarding school absences and let them know you had no control of the date of your cruise. It is for work.

 

[straitfan]

In my classroom if a student is going to miss for a vacation, I ask them to keep a journal of their trip (can be illustrated with drawings or photos if desired.) They then share their journal with the class when they return. This has always worked well for me. I don't know of a policy where kids "can't be taken out of school" in our district.

 

[Kristina21]

Taking them on a trip that you earned is a great life experience! How many kids can say that their parents took them to < enter vaca spot here> because they earned it with their business. How many kids get to go on cruises? Or go to D.C.? What a great example it would be to show them the finished product of setting and reaching a goal!!! That's more important in my opinion then it being educational.

 

[lkprescott]

Have you check the school's actual policy? In our school, most trips are approved, you just tell them how it's educational (and if Disney qualifies, why not a cruise - they'll meet people from all over, learn how to network and as folks mentioned, see the importance of doing a job well done). Some teachers want the child to not only keep up with work done and will prepare it to be taken with but also a report on their vacation. I wonder what this principal would consider an educational trip?We are told in our school's policy that it's not to be all the time kind of thing. One a year is reasonable, none is better though and strongly not encouraged and if the trip happens during standardized testing time? Forget it.. NO one gets approved. They don't want you to even schedule an appointment that would happen during the day on PSSA days... Try really talking to the principal, find out what the exact protests are, and find out the real policy (vs his bias or opinion). See if there's a compromise you can reach with him and hopefully all will be well, but remind yourself, that most likely, something will be asked of the kids... so they don't fall behind and will want to factor that into the trip's schedule. Do try working on it... simply not taking your child to school could affect their school record adversely and provide a very stressful lesson. My mom once let one of my sibs have an 'illegal' absence and found out, had she lied, all would be well.. nice lesson, eh?

 

[fikibiff]

Although my kids are only in k-3 and k-4, I think not being allowed to take a vacation is B.S. I remember going on vacation when I was young and we just got our homework ahead of time. 1 week is not going to kill anyone and if it is, then something was going wrong to begin with. I can see the standardized testing period being an issue, but that's about it.

I don't know why, but this issue really made me mad. I didn't even know that a school could deny you for a request off. Am I at work?? I am the one paying them. It would have never even occured to me that I needed to make a request. I would have just sent a note (as I did for our recent vacation) that my child will not be in school from ...-...

 

[Nanisu]

take em out and don't worry about it. And have fun!!!

 

[jcsmilez]

Many schools do not receive funding when the students are absent, this may be why the principal is being uncooperative. However, if your child does an independent study program for the week, I believe they still would receive some funding (it may depend from state to state, district to district?), making that the best option for all involved. Ultimately it is your choice to take your child out of school, I would think that they will want to make it work so students don't fall behind. ** As a teacher, it's so much better when parents work with me when their child is absent, as opposed to the sad cases where the kids are absent and I watch them fall further and further behind.

 

[ChefBeckyD]

Although my kids are only in k-3 and k-4, I think not being allowed to take a vacation is B.S. I remember going on vacation when I was young and we just got our homework ahead of time. 1 week is not going to kill anyone and if it is, then something was going wrong to begin with. I can see the standardized testing period being an issue, but that's about it.

I don't know why, but this issue really made me mad. I didn't even know that a school could deny you for a request off. Am I at work?? I am the one paying them. It would have never even occured to me that I needed to make a request. I would have just sent a note (as I did for our recent vacation) that my child will not be in school from ...-...

I was just going to post and ask if anyone else was even a little bit ticked that a school system is telling a parent what they can or can't do with their own children. I can understand letting the school know they will be gone, and getting homework in advance - I would expect that. But to be told that you can't??? Don't think so!

 

[janetupnorth]

Another option, although a pain...take them on the trip and then call them in sick each morning from the trip.If they ask what they are suffering from say "homesickness".

 

[urbnk8]

At ver worst, if they are still being stupid, say they're sick!!! What can they do then? They may know, but that's too bad.

 

[katie0128]

I wonder if "not approving" means that he would mark it as an unexcused absence, rather than an excused one. Most schools have policies about how many unexcused absences any student can have before they are not promoted to the next grade.

I don't think the school can say "NO, you can't take your kids out", but I would think it would be within the principal's power to decide whether it was a legitimate absence or not.

Remember, that if a student misses school, the school has to document what they know about the absence. And if the school says the absence was legitimate, then they have to provide proof of that. I know that our schools don't receive funding if the absence is unexcused.

Some of the rules are not the school's choice... it is what is dictated to them by the local and state governments.


ETA: I was taken out of school at least three times that I can remember for vacations. All were approved (although the administration wasn't happy about it) because my mom planned in "homework time" each day (about 90 minutes if I remember correctly) and then we had to do some sort of report/presentation for our class when we got back. At the time, I really hated doing homework while visiting DisneyWorld and having to do MORE work (presentation) when I got back. But now I can understand why my mom did it. It showed me that, while school was not optional, it was flexible and that just because you are on vacation, doesn't mean your responsibilities back at home disappeared for a week.

 

[chefshawna]

This is just crazy!!! I have a HUGE problem with other people thinking THEY can tell me what is the best thing for MY child!! I could understand if it was going to hurt them or be dangerous, but come on!!!! They are going to be doing something that not everyone gets to do. Most kids have never been on a cruise and would love to. They could go back to school and give a report about the whole thing. Tell about the different places they went and how the foods were different at each place. Tell about how the beaches differ, the various sealife that are at each location, etc.... This could be a great opportunity for your children AND their classmates. Take lots of pictures and add those to the report. I think that life experience is so much better than anything you could read in a text book.
I am in agreement with some of the previous posts to just take your kids and send a note. This is just one example of why I am leaning towards home school for my children when they get school age!!! I am so thankful that I have that flexibility with PC!

 

[ted122781]

QUOTE]Some of the rules are not the school's choice... it is what is dictated to them by the local and state governments.[/QUOTE]
Exactly, I know that in my school district (my sister's a teacher), no student is allowed to miss more than 9 days of school. If they go over, it has to be an out of control reason i.e. death in family, natural disaster etc. If they do not have a sufficient enough reason they have to attend Buy Back Time over the summer. Each day of Buy Back Time constitutes one day the student missed, and the parents have to pay for their children to attend Buy Back Time. If the parent doesn't pay then the kid is held back. The schools hate it, but it's out of their control.

 

[Paula R. Lewis]

Well, it sounds like the principal is being a little difficult, but it could be because they're trying to get you to re-schedule your trip, not realizing your position of having no control over it.

Here, we have to send in a note at least one to two weeks in advance, if we're going to miss school for a family vacation, for approval. It's not encouraged to vacation during normal school times, of course, but, at the same time, our school realizes that sometimes individual situations will arise that cannot be helped.

If the absence is not approved, and you take your child out anyway, they are subject to all "zeros" on any work that was done during the absence.

That being said, if you cannot reason with them at all, and do have to "get tough", you may have to mention that you guess you will just have to pull them out of the school system and home school for the rest of the year, so that they don't get behind. Up here, that would get them scrambling, to be sure, because our public schools definitely lose funding if a student is pulled out!!

Keep smiling! Pray and trust the Lord, it will all work out, one way or another!! And congratulations on winning a cruise!! They're wonderful!!

Blessings,
Paula

 

[MissChef]

I was just going to post and ask if anyone else was even a little bit ticked that a school system is telling a parent what they can or can't do with their own children. I can understand letting the school know they will be gone, and getting homework in advance - I would expect that. But to be told that you can't??? Don't think so!

uhhh.... yeah!!!!!!!!!!! you know that I'm on the same page with you, Becky! You knew I would be! LOL! Go read my post, my annoyance comes out! I read it and thought "the nerve!" I actually had to calm down, cause at first, I was mad! for her of course, but also because people are just idiots some times!

 

[Rebeccascabinet]

I think its crazy that parents have to ask "permission" to take kids out of school! Get approval for a vacation? I don't think so. Now, I wouldn't take a vacation during the school year, but I think this situation is different. It's crazy.

 

[wadesgirl]

Just send a note with them. You can personally check with the teachers about homework. Some will give it to you before you leave so the kids won't be behind. Others will have them make it up when they get back. You don't have to tell the school why! My sister is taking my neices out of school for a trip to Mexico in two weeks. They'll even miss their standarized tests (which they still have to make up). She had no problem requesting the days out of school.

 

[cewcooks]

In our school system if your child is out for more than 15 days straight note or no note you have to re-enroll your child in the school. We have many families that go to their home country for an extended amount of time. I would talk to the teacher and get work or ask what's to be covered especially important tests etc and have fun on your trip, the principal's main job is to the safety and education of children, not when families decide to take a vacation! Good luck

 

[crissy11]

Ok, I came home after I emailed here and called our asst. superintendent who used to be our principle, up until Jan. of this year. I had already talked to him before Christmas to make sure there would not be a problem for my daughter to miss in April. He said no that anytime a child goes to another country or state it is educational. I told that to the principle that I talked to today and he said he was the principle now.
After I talked to then principle/now superintendent he said he would call and talk to the principle but ultimately it was up to him to approve it.
she came home today and it is approved BUT she has to give an hourly report on what she done while she was gone. He has to approve that and then have the final say on whether the trip is approved or not. Don't make sense to me if he is going to approve it beforehand and then can not approve it based on what she journals.
If he does not approve it she cannot make up any work that she missed and will get zeroes on all tests that week.
she is an A+ honor student and in the gifted program and still has to do that crap. I told her not to worry about it because everyday we will get a schedule on the cruise and we will write it all down for him.
She can only have 5 unexcused absences and then you are called in for truancy. This is a public school.

 

[janetupnorth]

I think her biggest life lesson of this whole thing will be on politics and authority.

 

[kaseydee]

You know the bad thing about that is that you can call in your kid sick anytime & it is excused, but a trip you can not control might not be.....whatever. I know several people who take their kids out of school all the time for crazy reasons & have no problems. Schools need to worry about what the kids are being taught ( or not in a lot of cases) & about keeping control of the kids. I agree w/them about telling the guy fine I'll take her out & home school, that might light a fire under him. I also wouldn't be happy getting the ok late last year from the principle & now it is time the current guy saying no & the previous guy not saying "hey, I told her last year it was ok".