writing letter to teacher about child missing school.

[msthunder]

yeah,, we did speak with the teacher also,,meet with her the first week of school.

I can't take credit for the letter,, like i said i found it on the internet (can't remember where) and just tweaked it for our needs. But whoever wrote did a GREAT job!!!

 

[executivechef]

I agree with all of the good people on here. Truth being the most important part of your letter. Your on your way to Disney with your family for a loving trip....end of reason, period.
That being said, my experience with taking our kids (17-16) from high school came with some information from the school with regard to days being absent.
We were informed that the days our children miss would follow them as record of attendence for future years (college). The school wasn't trying to scare us out of the vacation just to let us know of how missing days MAY affect college entry.
This post was just for other who may have children of high school that are thinking of vacationing who never took a thought to how missing may affect future schooling.
Guy

 

[wdwhoneymooner]

My sister-in-law has been an elementary school teacher for over a decade and she's heard multitudes of excuses for children missing school for a family vacation. As required, she needs to remind the parents of the mandated attendance policies, as well as the required work completed by all of her students. Generally, if a student makes up all of the work and is caught up with the rest of the class, she will excuse the child's absence; but she will not allow another extended absence during the school year unless there is an emergency.

She's come across a variation of the letter posted above and has said, frankly, that it truly doesn't hold much weight in her decision of excusing a student's absence or not. What matters more is whether or not the student is at the required level of the school system's curriculum and if he has shown the aptitude necessary to make up any work. If it's a good student with no glaring needs or deficiencies, then she doesn't see a problem.

In all her years of teaching, she had one instance where she did deny a parent's Disney vacation request because the student was falling behind in several areas.......and it got nasty.

 

[luvGoofy]

Where we live we are allowed a max of 7 days for a family vacation and we just have to fill out the form and then the teacher signs it and they send it to the board of education. As long as there aren't excessive absences or bad grades they will approve it as long as the work is made up within a week of return. Usually the teacher sends it with us. I would suggest looking into whether your school has a trip form that needs to be filled out and then go from there. Enjoy your trip - we will be there the second week of December

 

[DisneyDragon]

This issue is so highly dependant on the child, actually. If the child is an average student or better, few teachers or prinicipals are going to get bent out of shape over a week's absence when it has been decided by the parents.

I took my own daughter out of school for a week in two consecutive Septembers, and it wasn't an issue for either teacher. We just simply informed the school that she would be out of school for that week. She attended a very strict school here in Toronto, and they didn't even blink.

Realistically, would they fail a child for a week's absence? Not likely here in Canada, and probably less so in the "I Shall Sue" United States. Failure, if it ever happens these days, is related to a child's performance. That being said, if your DS/DD is struggling, it may not be a great idea.

 

[il grande chuck]

we're taking our kids out of school for a week in november. it sounds like most of the time it's not a big deal, but i'm amazed that *any* school would get nasty about it. it's wrong to do so, but that kind of nonsense makes you want to lie about your trip (i.e., aunt tessie is sick).

i know that's wrong and sets a bad example, but i think it's really wrong for a school to get bent about a family vacation - a very expensive and special one at that.

chuck

 

[dixiegirl]

I absolutly loved that letter!!!!..I plan on telling both the teacher and the principal the truth and not come up with anything fabricated, I know that it probably won't be excused but I figured with two weeks before our trip that I'd like to give good enough notice.. see if poosibly my daughter would either gets suggestions on whatthings to go over while on our trip or given work papers..but as far as giving work...I know many teachers don't practice this anymore..which is fine by me...september is the only time of the year that he can go on vacation for a full week do to his work. And last year with the truency officer showing up I think it was due to the teacher and pricipal not communicating with one another on the absence of my daughter..I learned from that to tell both teacher and principal....great suggestions though!!!!

 

[amykissangel]

We were informed that the days our children miss would follow them as record of attendence for future years (college). The school wasn't trying to scare us out of the vacation just to let us know of how missing days MAY affect college entry.
This post was just for other who may have children of high school that are thinking of vacationing who never took a thought to how missing may affect future schooling.
Guy

It IS good that they told you, because places like Harvard or Yale might have issues with absences like that. I, however, got good grades, was only sick maybe one or two days out of the whole school year, and we took a one week Disney trip with no problems.

We of course went on Teacher Convention week, and I only missed 2.5 days of school. But compared to your grades, ACT/SAT score, and extra curriculars...unless you miss a crazy number of days of school, I don't think colleges even look at that. At least not here in WI.

But I suppose you don't have to worry about that with your first grader! Have a great time - and if you are an artsy-craftsy person, sit down with your daughter afterwards, have her pick out her favorite pics, and do a small scrapbook with her. She can bring it in and do a show-n-tell kind of thing. And the teacher would probably appreciate it as well.:wave:

 

[KICKYPANTS]

On a lighter note....I called my daughter's school last week and told the secretary that she will be missing the first week of kindergarten for our vacation. The reply I got was, "Ok, she won't be missing much anyway."

I tend to agree!

One more sleep!!! :sohappy: Or should I say ,"One more restless night of tossing and turning."

 

[JimboJones123]

Um, if I were a teacher, I wouldn't want to know what the trip was for. I feel it would be kinda rude pushing that the trip as something educational, and worth missing class for. Just say it's a family trip. Nothing else. Besides, who needs to brag. Especially to the other kids at school. Show and tell is kinda a bad idea. "Look what I did while you all were at school!" Trying to justify the vacation just seems like nothing more than convincing yourself that you are doing the right thing. Say, with the work loads that the parents have, this is the only time we will be able to spend the week together this year. It is important to us to do that since we never see eachother throughout the week. That's enough. Does it matter where you go? Every trip could be educational. Just because Disney has the hall of president, who actually goes? The trip is about family time. Stress that. And stress the work to keep up with studies. I remember we would take 2 nights off from trips to work only on homework and swim at the hotel when we were kids. 2 hours work, swim break, 2 more hours work, swim break, and 2 more hours. 12 hours of work for the week in 2 nights w/no TV and it kept us focused on school. It was the only time I actually turned in homework in elementry scool.

 

[Aurora_25]

We have taken my daughter out for a trip to WDW before and we just filled out a form that the school had about a month in advance. We had to get the teacher to sign off on it and the principal. Now, the teacher wasn't under an obligation to give us the work early that my daughter would miss, but during the month before the trip I worked with the teacher to know what all my daughter needed to do while we were away. Luckilly my daughter goes to a school where they put family first and the education second- now that may sound wrong to you, but it just means that if there is a very important family event or something comes up in the family, they aren't going to be furious with you for not having your child in school and they will work with you to keep the child caught up. Let me also say that it's a private school so they get a little more leway government wise I guess as to children being out of school for so many days.

Something you can do is get your child to learn how to say hello in at least 3 languages (just ask CMs in the World Showcase as they all come from Different countries) and then go back to school and share with the class- you know, not something really hard, but something very do-able.

Just be honest and write a letter to the teacher and principal about the trip

 

[polynesiangirl]

Wow, times have changed since I was a grade schooler (and really, it wasn't THAT long ago...)

Even when I was in high school it was pretty much "If your parents are taking you out of school, so be it. It's up to you to get what work you can before you go, and make everything else up when you get back." I mean, obviously my parents wrote a note to the school to let them know I wasn't just sitting at home by myself all day, and that we were in fact going on a real family trip...but I can't even imagine one of my teachers having a problem with it.

I guess things are different now. I know there are a lot more pressures on school age kids.

No real point to this post, just comments! :lol:

 

[pinkrose]

Here in Alabama, they have a strict attendance policy. This year they said that 5 unexcused absences will result in you making an appearance in court. They will then go over the rules with you. Another one (or so) and you end up back in court with possible charges.
We will be taking our children out to go to WDW the week after Thanksgiving. I typed up a letter to the principal (absences have to be excused through him) stating about all of the educational experiences they'll be having, ect. I also stated that I had a Dr's. note from my daughters allergist stating that she has (severe) eczema and extreme temps cause flare ups. So, we can't go during the summer. Thank goodness he approved it and they will be excused (and we won't end up in court since they're missing 5 days).

 

[kcnole]

It's gotten ridiculous with how much schools get paranoid about missing a little school, especially at this age where it's not that big of a deal. If it were high school I'd understand, but it's not. My family went every year in January and I normally missed a week. The school gave me all the assignments and I had a week after getting back to have them all completed.

I would just tell the school that the only time your family can take their vacation is this week and your child will be out of school during that week. Then ask the teacher to give you a list of everything they will be going over in school, homework assignments, etc... and that your child will make it all up as soon as possible.

If they give you a hard time, I think it's ridiculous as long as you agree to make up all the work.

 

[ELopez]

We homeschool our children (currently a 3rd grader, 2nd grader, Kindergartener & infant). We are going to WDW at the end of Sept. and we have been working on notebooks about all the countries in EPCOT. We have checked out books from the library, and I have a social studies curriculum called Galloping the Globe that has been very helpful. My girls are learning to locate the countries on a map and globe, draw their flags, as well as some facts about them. Mainly, I want them to get a feel for the cultures in hopes they will enjoy the EPCOT experience more.

So, for any of you that it is practical, I recommend you actually do some educational things before the trip. It's easy to say what an educational experience it will be and how you will do school work there and when you get back, but it's tougher to actually follow through with it.

And yes, I use it to justify a vacation to Disney. I am unashamed.

 

[amykissangel]

Um, if I were a teacher, I wouldn't want to know what the trip was for. I feel it would be kinda rude pushing that the trip as something educational, and worth missing class for. Just say it's a family trip. Nothing else. Besides, who needs to brag. Especially to the other kids at school. Show and tell is kinda a bad idea. "Look what I did while you all were at school!" Trying to justify the vacation just seems like nothing more than convincing yourself that you are doing the right thing.

I disagree a bit.

Of course you shouldn't brag about how much better it will be for the kids to be in WDW than in the classroom, but all of my aunts and my mother are teachers. They would like to know why a child is being removed, where they are going, and what educational experiences they can bring back to share.

I wouldn't send the huge letter (while nicely done, I would think only the very strict schools would need something like that), but my aunts, as well as all of my teachers in Green Bay (K-12) added on little extra assignments for trips.

When we went to DC, I had to take pictures of two of my favorite monuments/buildings, and explain the history. When we went to California, I had to do a report on Alcatraz Island and bring back photos to share with the class. And for every Disney trip (at least until high school), I had to do things like little albums, or mini-reports with pictures, or get sand from a beach, or find out little known facts. The teachers would like to know where the kids are going; at least all the ones I had.

They also want the experience to be shared...a little kid goes on a trip, they want them to be able to share it. I remember 1st-5th grade being a myriad of kids coming back from The Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, Disney, Skiing, Europe, California/SanFrancisco, etc. They/we all did big presentations and I remember a lot. And that was....about 15 years ago!

 

[RedBaron]

Um, if I were a teacher, I wouldn't want to know what the trip was for. I feel it would be kinda rude pushing that the trip as something educational, and worth missing class for. Just say it's a family trip. Nothing else. Besides, who needs to brag. Especially to the other kids at school. Show and tell is kinda a bad idea. "Look what I did while you all were at school!" Trying to justify the vacation just seems like nothing more than convincing yourself that you are doing the right thing. Say, with the work loads that the parents have, this is the only time we will be able to spend the week together this year. It is important to us to do that since we never see eachother throughout the week. That's enough. Does it matter where you go? Every trip could be educational. Just because Disney has the hall of president, who actually goes? The trip is about family time. Stress that. And stress the work to keep up with studies. I remember we would take 2 nights off from trips to work only on homework and swim at the hotel when we were kids. 2 hours work, swim break, 2 more hours work, swim break, and 2 more hours. 12 hours of work for the week in 2 nights w/no TV and it kept us focused on school. It was the only time I actually turned in homework in elementry scool.

I was thinking the same thing. I would not be too specific about where I was going on vacation. I dont really think it is really any of their business to know about the specifics, just that my kid will be out for what ever days. I love disney, but still feel it is a bit of a stretch of the imagination to say it is educational. Im not saying a kid wont learn anything, but unless the teacher happens to be a disney freak, they will probably read the letter and say "yeah right, you are going now to miss the crowds, you could have learned about Shamu in July". If the teacher will give your child make up work ahead of time that is great. I remember one trip I took I was very impressed to see 2 kids doing thier homework on the plane for the entire flight and in the airport before hand.

 

[slappy magoo]

My fiancee (5 more weeks of calling her THAT) is a teacher, and she gets pretty bummed out by kids going on vacation anywhere during the school year. Part of that is her work ethic-she is a professional teacher, but considers kids to be professional students, going to school is their job and it's a disconnect when a parent stresses the importance of responsibility one day, and then tells the family they can split school for a week to hang with Mickey the next. It also bothers her that some parents automatically assume that she will whip up a handy dandy lesson pack that will allow the kids to absorb a week's worth of lessons an hour or two here or there, not to mention any sort of lab work or working-in-groups activity the class is supposed to do all together or in teams. She notices their work slipping as they count down to The Big Day. And she gets really mad when those kids come back to class unprepared and she's supposed to "cut 'em some slack" because they went and enjoyed responsibility for a week.

Now, me, I'm all for the occasional shirking of responsibility as long as
a: I am caught up or now I can easily catch up, and
b: my absence will not unduly affect others

Al Franken (relax, it's not political) wrote that, in his opinion, quality time with your kids isn't nearly as important as quantity time-great big gobs of time spent together, sometimes doing something interesting, sometimes just doing nothing, but being together. It proves you actually want to spend time with your kids when you're just hanging out with them. I think a vacation, especially one to WDW, gives you both quantity & quality time.

But I see her point, too. Some of the kids who go off for a week are the very students who need to pay more attention in class, they need every minute of class time.

I agree with people here, that if you're gonna take the kids out of school, just be honest. Maybe not explicitly honest, "family vacation" works just as well as "WDW vacation." But as a rule, I'd hope parents seriously consider how their children are doing in school, and if it's a good idea to take them out of school. Maybe it's not such a big deal if they're younger, or it's early in the school year, but every teacher works differently, and taking the kid out might not only affect the kids' grade, but the relationship between the kid and the teacher, if suddenly the teacher has to spend time playing catch up with one student, to the detriment of the class. I'm sure the teacher won't flat-out hate the kid, but anger might manifest itself in other less-obvious ways.

Either way, I know that, until my future wife retires, it's a moot point. We'll never go during the school year as long as she's a teacher. MY thinking is, if she can get over her fear of flying to the point where she can do it alone, I'll take the kids out for three days in November, during the NJ's teacher convention, and she can meet us Wednesday night, and we'll all fly back together. :lol:

 

[Nemo14]

I think we're drifting away from the original topic....

 

[amykissangel]

I agree with people here, that if you're gonna take the kids out of school, just be honest. Maybe not explicitly honest, "family vacation" works just as well as "WDW vacation." But as a rule, I'd hope parents seriously consider how their children are doing in school, and if it's a good idea to take them out of school. Maybe it's not such a big deal if they're younger, or it's early in the school year, but every teacher works differently, and taking the kid out might not only affect the kids' grade, but the relationship between the kid and the teacher, if suddenly the teacher has to spend time playing catch up with one student, to the detriment of the class. I'm sure the teacher won't flat-out hate the kid, but anger might manifest itself in other less-obvious ways.

Either way, I know that, until my future wife retires, it's a moot point. We'll never go during the school year as long as she's a teacher. MY thinking is, if she can get over her fear of flying to the point where she can do it alone, I'll take the kids out for three days in November, during the NJ's teacher convention, and she can meet us Wednesday night, and we'll all fly back together. :lol:

I agree - just be honest, ask what work to make up, be as nice as possible, and ask if there's anything YOU as the PARENT can do to make the teacher's life easier. They have to deal with so much crap these days...at least try to help them out.

On another note, good luck getting her to fly alone if she hates flying period Give her some Xanax and tell her you n' the kids'll be waiting at MCO.