Keeping children out of school to go to WDW

[slappy magoo]

I'm marrying a teacher, so it will never be an issue with our kids. When it comes to her students going away, to WDW or any reason, she's pretty honest with the parents and tells them it's up to the student to catch up. She'll give them the classwork and homework, and give them as much after-school attention as she would any other student who asks for it, but she won't make an exception for a kid who fails a test because they went away on vacation.

 

[lazidazi07]

To offer my two cents on the issue, we have pulled the kids out each time we have gone each of the past four years. I have one in Kindergarten and one in Third grade. I have alot of respect for my kids schooling but I also believe in work hard play hard. We go but they earn it. Just my thoughts.

EXACTLY.

 

[bluejasmine]

We almost always go at the end of Aug because the crowds thin out..We have never had a problem my kids know that they will have extra work to do when we get back to catch up..

 

[Buried20KLeague]

We're actually quite lucky... Our kids go to school year round. They go for 9 weeks, then they're off for 3. Makes it PERFECT for off-peak Disney vacations. Their next break starts Sept. 22nd, and we hop on a plane that evening for 10 nights at the Beach Club. :sohappy:

That being said... I've got to admit that even with that schedule, we're guilty of taking them out of school for vacations here and there. Pretty sad, eh? :lol:

Once we did it because of the deal I was able to get... Saved us about $1500... Another time we did it because a cruise I was offered overlapped their last few days of school before a break. In both cases, I talked with the teacher ahead of time and let them know it was a unique opportunity, and we really wanted to take advantage of it. The fact that both our girls (in 1st and 3rd grade) were excellent students made it easy for them to let them out.

On the cruise, our oldest had an interesting project. Her teacher told her she had to take "flat Stanley" with her and take pictures and write about where Stanley got to go (if you don't know flat Stanley, google it). She took stanley diving, to rainforests, on a zip line tour... And had a blast. All while learning along the way (purpose of Epcot, anyone??). Vacations can provide a better classroom than any school, and the lessons are almost always more memorable. :sohappy:

That being said, once they hit probably 6th grade, we'll shy away from taking them out of school. Priorities start changing around then, and things get a bit more serious. But for now, it's my job to educate my kids not only in what they read in books, but what they can experience around the world... And to create memories they'll have long after I'm gone.

 

[slowbee]

when we take our school year trips.. we turn them into long weekends... so our daughter is only missing one or two days, pending if we can schedule it around one of those school system days off.

 

[amykissangel]

Perhaps we're a bit of an exception on the boards, but my family took vacations to Disney every year from elementary school to college.

There is a week in October right before Halloween, where there is a 2.5 day inservice. That half a day, even in high school, you either watch a video (be it a 20/20 ep for your psych class or a nature vid for science), so technically we only missed 2 days of school.

My brother, sister and I are hardly ever sick, and are A/B students, so my teachers never had a problem.

They gave us work in advance, we took tests or quizzes in advance (we really never had to do that, seeing as how no teachers gave tests on a 2 day week), and no one ever complained.

The only problem was senior musical. I had a lead, but we had planned our Disney trip WAY before I ever got the part. The director was not too happy with me, but luckily practice wasn't planned for those 2.5 days of school, so I only missed one rehearsal.

I even took a trip in college in November, right before Thanksgiving. Talked to my Profs, explained that nothing was set in stone, but if they could find it in their hearts to understand what a Disney vacay meant...lol, they were all great about it.

(My music prof was rolling her eyes, like,
"Amy, is it really that important to you?"

I was like, "Don't make me show you the itinerary."

She goes, "Amy, you do NOT have an itinerary."

So I pulled it out of my backpack and showed her the 6 day itinerary.

She was like, "You've got to be kidding."

So I said, "Now that you know I'm a Disney freak, AND a loser, how do you feel about letting me out of 2 days of choir?"

She goes, "The fact that you like Barry Manilow AND Disney makes me afraid for you once you hit the real world. Go, enjoy your youth."

She was so fun!)

The GDR classes I just skipped (I believe I skipped most of Geography 101 AND Astronomy 100, and still got A's...) on that Wed. and ended up flying out Tues. evening. And that's in COLLEGE. If you can do it without hurting your education, do it. (Only my opinion...)

BTW, sorry for the REALLY long post that no one really cares about...I'm just bored at work...

 

[ilovepluto23]

I say if they're young, what are they going to miss...nap time??? Learning ABC's??? Learning how to color inside the lines???

Whatever they're learning in Kindergarten and Elementary School they can sure learn in WDW

 

[Ralphlaw]

Suck up to the teacher

For the last 3 years I have taken my son out of elementary school, and bringing back a gift for the teacher has helped. Last year we got her a set of golden Mickey ears with her name on it. We also got little presents (something like Disney Pencils) for all the kids in his class.

My wife also put together a booklet for the trip that asked questions like, "Which was your favorite World Showcase country? . . . etc. . ." Now, stuff like that probably won't work for older kids, and the fact that I send my son to a parochial school means that the administration and teachers are less likely to offend a parent who sends money every month. But these are just some ideas to consider.

If you tie in something obviously educational, that also helps. We took a side trip to the Kennedy Space Center last year, and got an actual astronaut to sign a space shuttle poster for my son's classroom.

 

[Disney MDACK]

This will be the last year we take my daugther out of school to go to disney. My wife does not want her to miss school anymore than she has to. Which sucks because I love going to mnsshp. Oh well just look towards feb. instead, when half the rides are shut down :brick:.

 

[tinkish]

I'm a first grade teacher, and students do often miss school to go to Disneyland, or some other family vacation. It's usually the kids who really NEED to be in school every day, and are behind in their basic reading, and math skills who leave. The School District hates that they are missing school because every day that a child is absent is another chunk of state money that doesn't go to our district. As our superintendant says, "...each child is worth $6,000, and when they leave our district or miss school...that's how much we lose." Doesn't that statement make you sick? Well, I've got lots more complaints about my district... but that's for another time.

Anyway, the students are required to sign a contract (yes first graders sign a contract) for "home study". Which means that I give a packet of work, some books, and all the items they will need to complete the amount of work equivalent to the days they miss at school. Yes, I even need to give them scissors, books, rulers, pencils, crayons, etc... (usually out of my own pocket money).

But, then there are those parents who just take off for a vacation without informing the school...

And after teaching for 8 years I can tell you that students who don't miss school for vacation time are usually the students who generally do better in school, and who perform better on their state tests. Its parental priorities. If you value education, your child will too.

 

[Scooter]

Perhaps a lot of the kids you see at WDW are Home schooled.

 

[pinkrose]

We are taking our kids out of school this year the week after Thanksgiving for a WDW trip. Due to a medical condition, going during the hot summer months isn't an option for us (my daughter has severe Eczema). I'm hoping to get our trip approved by the principal. Of course, we are going either way, but I do have a note from her allergist explaining the effects the extreme heat has on her skin. I've never taken them out of school before, so this will be a first.

 

[tinkish]

I say if they're young, what are they going to miss...nap time??? Learning ABC's??? Learning how to color inside the lines???

Whatever they're learning in Kindergarten and Elementary School they can sure learn in WDW

Grrrrrrrrrrrrr! As a first grade teacher I find this insulting. I hope you're joking. I know as adults we don't need to read and write on a daily basis, but if children don't practice every day, they don't maintain their reading and writing skills, and often fall behind. Grrrrrrrr! Okay, I'm calm now. Rant over.

 

[tigsmom]

Grrrrrrrrrrrrr! As a first grade teacher I find this insulting. I hope you're joking. I know as adults we don't need to read and write on a daily basis, but if children don't practice every day, they don't maintain their reading and writing skills, and often fall behind. Grrrrrrrr! Okay, I'm calm now. Rant over.

((HUGS)) kids here learn PowerPoint in kindergarten. No nap times, full day instruction. :wave:

 

[piratelass]

when i went back in december, my teachers weren't thrilled with the fact that i was leaving for a vacation, but i think they understood. with our school, you put in a form that goes around to all the teachers with your work. you get everything before you leave, and you are supposed to do it i guess during your vacation. i went on the disney cruise/disney world vacation, so during the cruise when i had down time i did work (believe me, it wasn't my choice to be doing algebra when i could be eating/swimming/sleeping =D)

but thats highschool. i'm not sure how it works other places.

 

[pinkrose]

Grrrrrrrrrrrrr! As a first grade teacher I find this insulting. I hope you're joking. I know as adults we don't need to read and write on a daily basis, but if children don't practice every day, they don't maintain their reading and writing skills, and often fall behind. Grrrrrrrr! Okay, I'm calm now. Rant over.

I agree with you.

I've made books to give my kids for our trip in Nov. One section is a printed out map of our route so they can follow along and mark off cities as we go through them, ect. Another section is puzzles such as word searches, crosswords, ect. The last section is a travel journal where they will journal their starting/ending money each day, what they did, what they saw, fav. thing, least fav. thing, new things they tried, ect. They will also be writing a little paragraph about their day. Not only will it be a nice keepsake, but they will be using writing skills each day. (Each grade keeps journals at their school).

 

[MickeyTigg]

I'm always amazed at how many school aged children there are at WDW during school year.

Parents, how do you make your case to the school? Do they give you a hard time, or has it now become an accepted thing?

We're going on a family vacation...it's when we can get off. If they don't like it...too bad. My kids are execellent student and they make the work up.

 

[pinkrose]

when i went back in december, my teachers weren't thrilled with the fact that i was leaving for a vacation, but i think they understood. with our school, you put in a form that goes around to all the teachers with your work. you get everything before you leave, and you are supposed to do it i guess during your vacation. i went on the disney cruise/disney world vacation, so during the cruise when i had down time i did work (believe me, it wasn't my choice to be doing algebra when i could be eating/swimming/sleeping =D)

but thats highschool. i'm not sure how it works other places.

Here, they are very strict on absenses. If it's unexcused, you get zero's for missed work. You don't get the option to make it up (I believe some teachers do go ahead and let kids make stuff up though). Also, after 5 unexcused absenses, you get a nastly letter. After 7, you go to family court.

That's great that you were able to get your assignemts!

 

[pinkrose]

We're going on a family vacation...it's when we can get off. If they don't like it...too bad. My kids are execellent student and they make the work up.

Yeah, that's another thing here.... my husband hasn't been able to go on a vacation with the kids and I since 2003. He's already been approved for the week after Thanksgiving. :sohappy:

 

[darthjohnny]

With younger kids, it is fine, as long as they don't miss too many days.