Letter to School

[joeysmom]

Hi all! I was hoping someone had suggestions what to put into the letter to my son's school when I take him out for our Disney trip. I know there are people who think it's wrong to remove a child from school, but we decided to. Any teachers out there who can help me? I don't want to cause a problem with his teachers, so any suggestions you have for me will be appreciated.

Thanks!

[GoofysGirl]

I'm not a teacher, but have taken DS out of school twice to go to Disney. I was honest & stated that he was going on a family vacation to Florida. I spoke to his teacher and principal several weeks before the trip and all was OK. We requested his work ahead of time and he was able to complete it while we were gone so he didn't get behind. A little each day didn't ruin the magic! Some people told me to state in my letter that it was an "educational trip", but that sounded a little over the top to me - especially since his teacher & principal knew where we were going. Part of his homework was to take pictures & bring them back to share with the class and tell what each picture was about. Just be honest and have a great vacation!

[pugslave]

I used the letter below. I found it on another website. Her teacher thought it was very appropriate. Good luck!

School Excuse Sample Letter

DATE:

TO: [school official]

FROM:

RE: [students name and vacation dates]

Please be advised that [student] will be out of school during the week of [date]. We ask that his absences be excused.

The reason for [student]'s absence is that our family will be out of the state during this week. While we are gone, we will be visiting Walt Disney World. We believe that [student] will be learning many things during this trip and that his education will continue in his absence from school.

Some things [student] will learn about:

* Different cultures of the world, including architecture, language, diet, and dress, by visiting the different countries in the Epcot World Showcase (Japan, China, Germany, Mexico, Norway, Canada, France, etc.) [student] will have the chance to explore the exhibits for each country and speak with natives from each country who work as cast members.

* American history by viewing the Hall of Presidents presentation in the Magic Kingdom and the American Adventure show in Epcot.

* Nature and conservation at Animal Kingdom.

* Science by exploring the Mission:Space ride in Epcot where he will have a chance to see and feel what it would be like to travel by rocket to Mars and by experiencing the Universe of Energy exhibit which teaches about fossil fuels, energy, and conservation.

* Economics by managing his own spending money and making budget decisions on how to spend his money.

[student] will also be learning about map reading by navigating in and to the different theme parks, as well as the resorts and water parks via the Disney bus system, sociological aspects of crowds including patterns and behavior, physics of the different rides, breakthroughs in technology at the Innoventions computer lab in Epcot, art and animation and the history of film, and mathematics.

We believe this will be a wonderful and educational experience for [student] and hope you agree not to charge him with unexcused absences as a result. If it is possible for [student] to take any assignments with him to be turned in when we return or to turn in before we leave any work that will be due while he is gone, please let us know as soon as possible.

Thank you for your attention to this. If you have any questions or need any further information, please feel free to contact me.

[Parent's Signture]

[Mickey'sGirl]

Here's the one we used last year....

Teacher's Name
C/o School

October 17, 2005


RE: December 5 – 12, 2005

Dear Mrs. x,

Back in June, I briefly mentioned that our family would be taking a trip to Walt Disney World in Florida at the beginning of December. Restrictions at my work this year prevented us from taking our holiday during regular school vacation time.

Family holidays are very important to all of us, and we feel that the rewards reaped are felt for years afterward. With this said, we want to make it abundantly clear that we do not take Harry’s education, nor his placement in your class for granted. Therefore, we have attached our proposal for work assignments for Harry to complete in lieu of the time he will miss from school. Could you please review the list, and provide us with any comments or suggestions you might have? We hope that you will find this to be an appropriate substitute.

As always, we appreciate the opportunity to work with you for our son. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact us directly.

Sincerely,



parent name & phone numbers
************************************
Proposal for Assignments

Proposal for Assignments (grade 2)

1. Social Studies – A study of how other cultures/countries celebrate Christmas.

There is a section of Epcot called “World Showcase”, where there is a special event called “Holidays Around The World” while we are at Disney World. We will be able to “celebrate the holiday season with international characters, legends and music. Delight in wondrous tales and diverse customs with the traditions of Walt Disney World Resort.” We will have Harry summarize his findings in a report.

2. Science – A study of one of the Animals at Disney’s Animal Kingdom.

We will have Harry look at the way in which a specific animal from the park has adapted to different environmental conditions, and identify the ways in which humans have affected that species. He will need to look at the physical and behavioural characteristics of the animal, and its lifecycle.

3. Reading – We will continue our nightly reading. Perhaps Harry can bring 4 or 5 of the classroom books along with him?

4. Mathematics – Perhaps we could take some work sheets with us from the unit of study at the time?

*****

I hope this helps... Pugslave had some good ideas too!

[Ohhohohhhh*ItsMagic]

I've done the same thing as GoofysGirl. I let the teacher know ahead of time and requested any homework for my daughter to do. Plus I had my daughter do a report on her trip with pictures that she presented to the class upon return. I always first notify the teacher to get all of that ready then I notify the school to let them know the dates she'd be gone. Plus I send out an email to the teacher and school as a reminder. Just to cover my bases. To me, family vacations can be just as educational as going to school.

[mickey&missy]

I used the letter below. I found it on another website. Her teacher thought it was very appropriate. Good luck!

School Excuse Sample Letter

DATE:

TO: [school official]

FROM:

RE: [students name and vacation dates]

Please be advised that [student] will be out of school during the week of [date]. We ask that his absences be excused.

The reason for [student]'s absence is that our family will be out of the state during this week. While we are gone, we will be visiting Walt Disney World. We believe that [student] will be learning many things during this trip and that his education will continue in his absence from school.

Some things [student] will learn about:

* Different cultures of the world, including architecture, language, diet, and dress, by visiting the different countries in the Epcot World Showcase (Japan, China, Germany, Mexico, Norway, Canada, France, etc.) [student] will have the chance to explore the exhibits for each country and speak with natives from each country who work as cast members.

* American history by viewing the Hall of Presidents presentation in the Magic Kingdom and the American Adventure show in Epcot.

* Nature and conservation at Animal Kingdom.

* Science by exploring the Mission:Space ride in Epcot where he will have a chance to see and feel what it would be like to travel by rocket to Mars and by experiencing the Universe of Energy exhibit which teaches about fossil fuels, energy, and conservation.

* Economics by managing his own spending money and making budget decisions on how to spend his money.

[student] will also be learning about map reading by navigating in and to the different theme parks, as well as the resorts and water parks via the Disney bus system, sociological aspects of crowds including patterns and behavior, physics of the different rides, breakthroughs in technology at the Innoventions computer lab in Epcot, art and animation and the history of film, and mathematics.

We believe this will be a wonderful and educational experience for [student] and hope you agree not to charge him with unexcused absences as a result. If it is possible for [student] to take any assignments with him to be turned in when we return or to turn in before we leave any work that will be due while he is gone, please let us know as soon as possible.

Thank you for your attention to this. If you have any questions or need any further information, please feel free to contact me.

[Parent's Signture]

This is a great letter! I'm going to use it for taking DD out in Oct-Nov. I plan to let the teacher know at the beginning of school next month that we will be taking her out for vacation. She is going into kindergarten. I was going to have her send a postcard to her class during the trip. I don't really forsee a problem, but you never know.

[joeysmom]

These are awesome, thanks! I don't really foresee any problems, but you never know! I do agree that a family vacation can be educational, and memories are definitely worth something!

Thanks again!

[togirl]

I too will be taking my daughter out for 2 weeks the first of Oct. I never have taken her out for anything before other than a dentist or doctors apppointment. But I am going in for major surgery 3 weeks after we get back and will be recovering and stuck at home for at least 5 months. So I will just tell them I am taking her for her birthday. She will have to deal with alot when we come back and I want to do this for her. I dont think we need to give a big explanation to the school. They are our children. As long as its something you dont do several times a year I dont see why we owe them a detailed explanation of what the child will learn although it is nice.

[Grammie Bear]

My husband and I both work in the schools although in different towns. As long as the parent is honest about were they're taking the child we've never had a problem. Myself dealing with younger children say enjoy. My husband on the other hand works with middle school age children and is concerned with work they might miss if the child is already struggling with their academics. In these cases he will sometimes assign work to be done while away however he does not want to put a downer on the trip. Trips can be educational but if a child is already struggling in school it can be a problem especially if work such as science labs can't be made up. As parents we both feel family time is more important than anything So go and enjoy your family.

[goofy for pluto]

WOW!! Those are impressive letters to the school.
I have taken my DS out of school several times for a WDW trip and I have never written such a detailed letter. Its almost as if you are trying to convince the school why your child needs the time at WDW as much as in the classroom.
Here in Ky our schools get the money they need by having children in attendance each day. I always just write a short note that states that this is when we can go on our trip and he will be absent during that week. I have never asked their permission. After all he is my child and as long as we do not exceed the 10 day excused absences.I feel that we should be able to have family time if we need it.

[TammiMcMan]

Great letters and great suggestions, but educators responses are going to vary greatly and in most situations, the absence will not be excused. I think it becomes harder in the higher grades and many schools have adopted strict policies regarding absences.

As Goofy for Pluto mentioned, those schools that rely on government funding, are penalized when students are absent. It affects thier average, which in turn affects the funding.

Personally, I see nothing wrong with a family vacation, but being in a school district that is begging parents to send in supplies because they've run out by April, is scary. Communication is key, but don't expect every teacher to embrace the absence and supply homework in advance. There are just as many who will expect kids to work extra hard and make up the work they missed upon return. As I said previously though, this is really going to depend on which grade level your child's at.

[DonaldDuck1117]

Wow, just tell the teacher (or teachers depending on grade level) and tell them the student will be out for X amount of days and ask for the work he/she will miss. The end.

I am studying to be a teacher at the University of Michigan and I was laughing with tears from reading the example letter posted above I mean come on, that was the biggest load of malarky I have ever read. Map reading by guiding the family through the park? That's stretching it. Just say you are going on vaction and he/she won't be in class!

[TammiMcMan]

Wow, just tell the teacher (or teachers depending on grade level) and tell them the student will be out for X amount of days and ask for the work he/she will miss. The end.

Unfortunately, it's just not that easy anymore. As mentioned, many school districts have adopted a very strict absence policy. I'm not lying when I say there is mention of having the "proper officials" notified if a pattern of absence is observed. In the higher grades, they are limited to 5 days of absence per semester. Anything over that and it's an automatic fail. Many, many teachers will absolutely refuse to give out advanced work. It's up to the students to make it up when they return.

I mean come on, that was the biggest load of malarky I have ever read. Map reading by guiding the family through the park? That's stretching it. Just say you are going on vaction and he/she won't be in class!

Absolutely stretching it, but if parents want it even considered as an excused absence, these are the hoops they have to go through.

My son is a competitive figure skater. I can't tell you the heck that some of his teachers put us through when asking for a few days off to travel for a qualifying competition. I imagine it's pressure that they are getting from those "higher up", but I've had to produce letters from US figure skating and even then, I was met with much eye rolling.

Bless you, if you are going to be one of the understanding few.

[BronxTigger]

I am a teacher but I do not make the decisions about whether an absence is excused or not. That is (I think) the attendance office's job. All I do is fill in a bubble sheet indicating who is absent and who is late....

Then, I fill in another bubble sheet after lunch about who is absent, then I fill in the yellow book, then the red book, and then on the white sheet.

WHY they make us record the attendance FIVE times a day is beyond my comprehension, but it's required so I do it.

I don't have kids yet but I am seriously considering homeschooling them. DH and I have even had discussions about it already!

[DonaldDuck1117]

Yikes, I guess I just don't see the need to justify a family vaction, especially if the student is in elementary school. I mean honestly elementary school isn't that demanding and I don't feel that there should be a set amount of absences at that age level. High school I can begin to understand but I feel if the student can make up the work and turns it in in a reasonable amount of time then what is the big deal? The whole number of absences rule is put in just to make sure students don't miss 50+ days.

BronxTigger-I know many school distrcits take the decision out of the hands of the teacher. At my old high shool it was 10 missed days equal an automatic fail. I guess if it WAS up to the teacher I wouldn't have a problem with one of my students going on a family vacation...as long as the work is made up

[togirl]

I agree with the later posts. I dont think we need to justify and map out what the kids can do. I mean its a nice thing to tell them after that they did learn something. But I would have a problem asking for permission to take my own child somewhere. My daughter will be starting grade 2. In grade one they did not even get homewprk sent home untill the end of october i believe. Maybe it will be different this year but we are going the first 2 weeks in october. The principals are very nice. I volunteered at the school the last few years. I probably will say like i mentioned n my above post that I feel its something I have to do incase i may end up in a bad place after the surgery and not be able to do it again. I dont want to make her do alot of work when we are away. But as in the summer I will want her to write a page per day in her journal. We can do math problems on the plane and buses to kill some time. Flash cards are very good for the younger ones. Maybe keeping them busy during waits for shows or at restaurants we can pull out the flash cards. I was not too keen on taking her out of school Last year she missed like 2 or 3 days in the whole year when she had a cold. She is a very good student all a's and b's and I think she deserves this. It will be her first trip ever outside of our city so whether the school likes it or not, too bad!

[r4kids]

I find it annoying I have to justify a family vacation every year. We go to Disney every year and always for a week. I have to send in note after note and then fill out paper work. I should not have to go through the hoops they put forth for my own child. We are doing a family activity, this alone should be seen as an "excused absence", with the way things are today we should be happy to spend time together. Our kids are honor roll students and miss very little school. I think they should focus on safety and bullying since that seems to be a bigger problem.

[Tinkerfreak]

We have taken our kids out for the past 4 years. We have only had one teacher who was funny about it. She acted like it was great when she talked to me but she made my DD feel guilty and when we got back kept telling her how much she had missed and that she was behind. She actually went so far as to imply that she might stay back. When I would ask her if there was a problem and offer to help my DD make up everything the teacher would tell me "Oh no she is all caught up everything is fine". then she would start in on DD again to the point that she had tummy trouble and was very stressed. I finally talked to the principal to find out what was going on. I really think she was just jealous because we went. I made it clear to the principal that anyone who would make a child feel this way has no right to be a teacher. It was a rough year but we all made it through it and the next year in fourth grade her teacher was great. She kept a journal and in the fifth grade she had a cm in each country at WS write down some words in their native language and write it in English next to it. Her teacher loved this and she shared it with the entire class. Both 4th and 5th grade teachers saw our trip as a learning experience for her and were genuinely excited for her. It all depends on the teacher.
This year she is going into middle school so we did move our trip time so she will only miss 4 or 5 days instead of 8 as in the past. I will let the school and teachers know that we are going a few weeks after school starts so they have plenty of time to make sure she gets work ahead of time. I am a bit worried that it will be harder for her this time. If it is harder for her we will have to stop going. I know I could not handle the heat and crowds of the summer and I know that school vacations are also crowded.

[joeysmom]

Not to be rude, but I don't think by sending a letter to the teachers is asking permission. I would just like to make things easier for the teacher and for my son. I WILL take him either way, this is a once in a lifetime experience for us, going to Disney at Christmas. I am just trying to be considerate to the teachers and hoping they don't hold the absence against my son. He rarely misses school and has always had excellent grade, so I don't see him falling behind without being able to catch up. But thanks for the input!

[Narawen]

I'm going to be missing 2 or 3 days for our trip in October. We decided to go when we have a long weekend (cant remember if its 3 or 4 day weekend) to minimize days missed. My school is a small private school and no longer notes a difference in "Excused" and "unexcused" absences. We are just writing to tell them ahead of time that I will be absent. Since the last week of the quarter is mostly just turning in long projects and such, I plan to just turn them all in 2 days early and that should take care of the work. I will get any homework ahead of time to do on the drive down, and ake up tests, if any, when I return. I think the most important thing when pulling them out of school is to get as much of their work ahead of time and try to have it done when they return. If the school offers it, try to schedule a tutoring session after school one day to catch up on work.

Also, I don't know about other school systems, but here the public schools have a set list for which absences are "excused" and which are "unexcused". Family vacations fall under "unexcused", no matter where you go and what you do. Unfortuately, most schools with such guidelines are bound by those to follow them and writing a letter will nto help your child to be excused.