What downsides when you pulled your kids out of school?

[Gregandmel]

We are in the works of planning a Sept. 2010 trip (end of September). We have 2 boys and one will be beginning 5th grade. School will only be in session about 6 weeks prior to going and I"m worried about him falling behind and then just not being able to catch up. I'd hate for him to start off on the wrong foot. We are going to have him tested this summer for an auditory processing disorder (he does fine in school as long as certain adjustments are made to his learning style). I'm just going back and forth with this. We don't want to go when it's busy & I think this might be a good time to go. For those of you that have pulled your kids out what did you find was helpful on getting them caught back up? Did you take homework with you and work on it a little at a time? Were the teachers mad? Thanks for any input !

[Fangorn]

You'll find a lot of discussion on this topic here at Intercot over the years. You can do a search for past threads to see those responses.

My personnal experience has been that there was no downside. For 5 years in a row, I attended a conference at WDW in October. 4 of those years we took the two youngest boys out of school. They spanned 6th grade through high school junior. One of the boys has a learning disability as well.

We just told the school (we didn't ask) we were going and asked for their school work. In all cases, the teachers were very accomodating. One year, my older son did all his Geometry homework for the week on the flight going down (for us, that's at least a 6 hour flight). He was very happy about getting that done.

Our rule was that the boys had to do their work each morning before they and their mom went to the parks. No school work, no play time. It worked like a charm. We had no issues with them doing their work by 10am.

When we got back, the boys turned in all their work, and everyone was happy. In no way did we or the teachers feel that they "got behind" because of the trip. Most of the teachers were envious and had the boys tell the class about some aspect of the trip.

All in all, it was a very positive experience everytime we did it.

BTW, my wife is an elementary school teacher and I've done a stint at teaching high school.

Hope this helps some.

Steve

[Maleficent's Dad]

My only advice would be to check your district's policy re such absences. With the advent of "No Child Left Behind," more and more districts are tightening up their attendance policies.

[Jeri]

We always go in the middle of Oct.
I take my older son out of school for 8 days. We did this when he was in 2nd grade ,5th grade and will be doing it again when he is in the 8th grade in 2010.

He is a straight A student so that helps. I always tell the school right away when the school year starts, and ask the teachers how close to the actual time would they like to be reminded. Usually they say 2 weeks.
I always tell them that he will stay after or come in early either before or after our trip to make up the work. I also tell the teachers that I don't expect them to have work for us to take, because that is a lot to expect them to do on top of everthing else they do. I let them make the choice of how they want to do it.

We have been lucky because we have never had a problem yet. Usually the teachers send some work, and some have said don't worry have a great time he has NO work to make up.
They also give him up to 8 days after returning to have all the make up done.
We always make a point of letting the teachers know that we are willing to do whatever it takes to make sure he doesn't fall behind and that all the work gets done.

We can only go in October because there is only a small window of time that my husband is not busy at his jobs.

I should also point out our oldest has Aspergers, so he learns differently too. But we have never had a problem. I should also so say I talk to the ofiice and principal too at the start of the school year so they too are aware of what our plans are.
I say take him out and just make sure you are committed to do the extra work to ensure he doesn't fall behind.

[GrmGrninGost]

We check with the school system ahead of time. Then, whenever one of our children miss another day, we always get a letter threatening to fail them for missing too many days. This is in spite of the fact they are exceptional students who are on the honor roll. Go figure!

[Strmchsr]

I've seen it be okay and I've seen it create a huge problem. It depends a.) on the child and b.) on the school systems. With your child already having a learning issue I might be even more hesitate to miss school. That aside, if the school will allow the absences without it being detrimental to your children (which is a big issue to check before anything else) and your kids are academically capable enough to catch up all missed work then it shouldn't be a problem.

No one likes to go when it's "busy" but there really isn't a slow time anymore. Spring break, early summer, late summer are all managable times. The only times WDW is really NUTS is Easter week, Christmas week and around the 4th of July. The rest of the time you can see everything you want to without any issues.

[Gregandmel]

I appreciate the input. Academically he's right where he needs to be, but I know it's because he's had great 2nd & 3rd grade teachers. We'll be taking everything into consideration before we actually book anything. We'll see what 4th grade brings for him and if I think we can pull it off, we will. I know there isn't a "quiet" time anylonger and this may be the last year we could actually pull him out before he gets to Middle school. I appreciate the insight!!!!

[Cinderella's Lady in Waiting]

[QUOTE=Fangorn;1858139

We just told the school (we didn't ask) we were going and asked for their school work.
[/QUOTE]

We agree! We always took our kids out and they never had an issue catching up. That was part of the deal "we can go to Disney if you guys can keep up on your work". I remember one year my son's English paper was to describe(in detail) what's around you. Well he did this while waiting for a parade on Main Street in MK. The CM's joked with him about doing 'homework' in WDW. One of his best papers. That being said...now that they are both taking AP classes in high school we will be going with the masses over July 4th. They could never keep up with their work missing 10 days of school. You know your child best! Have fun!

[ThanxForNoticin]

The only downside is that you could get some grief from your school district. I know there are different policies and procedures and regulations for schools. But as long as my kids were getting their good grades, it was OUR decision to take them out of school for a trip anywhere - including Disney.

We always tried to get as much work as we could ahead of time. Sometimes they had to do a little report about the trip when they got back. But we never regretted all the years we went during the cooler weather when it was usually less crowded. We tried August once and it was not fun for us.

I hope you have no issues with taking your kids out of school for a nice trip. It's definitely the way to go - as long as your kids are keeping up their grades.

[DawsonAR]

I was afraid to take our DS out of school, but the teacher and the school were both fine with it. We started teaching him the concepts he would miss a few weeks before the trip. We also were able to get all his work and homework prior to the trip so he could have it completed before we left. The teacher spent some time with him at school before the trip working with him too. It was the right decision for us.

[kakn7294]

Both of our DDs just missed several days of school for a short trip a few weeks ago. Our older DD (8th grade) went with the HS band but still had to get teacher permission to go - she had some homework that she was able to complete before we left then stayed after school for 30 - 60 min on 3 days upon our return to make up work she missed while gone. Our younger DD (3rd grade) had to be approved for missing school by the principal - I had to send a form letter outlining the reason for the trip to the office at least 2 weeks in advance of the trip. She had a minimum of homework before we left - nothing to take along - then had a few things to complete upon our return. She was supposed to take the class "pet" (a plush chicken) and keep a journal of what he did each day but the child who took him home for the weekend didn't bring him back to school in time for her to get him for our trip. They give our kids 1 day's time for each day missed to make-up work. In the past when they've missed, they've had similar amounts of homework and once had to keep a journal of our trip. None of the teachers gave us any problems and we've never had any problems with them falling behind even though DD#2 struggles with math this year. My DDs' teachers had known about our trip since the beginning of the school year. I found it was always more conducive to a good working relationship with the teachers and school to keep them informed.

[SBETigg]

Those family times are special. I think it's much easier to pull them out in the elementary school years. We had absolutely no negative repercussions from out early trips, when they were in elementary and middle school. Our memories are priceless and I don't even recall any trouble they had getting back into the swing of things when we came home. I wouldn't trade it for the world. It was so much easier to navigate less-busy parks with kids.

Once we hit the high school years, though, pulling them out was a huge mistake. It was hard to catch up and get back on track and take their schoolwork seriously for a while.

[dtootsie42]

We started going to Disney World when our youngest was in 1st grade. We usually go every other year and always seem to go in December. We lived in Texas when our daughters were in elementary and junior high and I usually went in and talked first to the principal and once I got the ok I went to the teachers and counselors. Most of the teachers were great and would give us homework to do while we were gone. It was a little harder when we moved to Washington State because they were in High School. I was pleasantly surprised how accomodating the teachers were to my daughters. My husband and I were always involved at our girls schools and all three of them were good students which I do think played in their favor.

My best advice is lots of communication and put a positive spin on the whole thing. Our girls love Epcot... one of my daughters suggested doing a report on each of the countries....back at school she did a power point which her classmates and teacher loved.

Dec. 1997---Contemporary
Dec. 1999--Poly
June 2000--Disneyland
Dec. 2001---Poly Concierge
Dec. 2003---Poly Concierge
Dec. 2005---Poly Concierge
Nov. 2007---Poly Concierge
Oct. 2008--DisneyLand
Next trip Dec. 2009--Poly Concierge

[RedSoxFan]

All three of my trips required my kids to miss school for 3 days total. Each time I had at least 1 child in high school. Never had a problem and the teachers were understanding (and wanted to come with us). They do bring their homework with them (if given any) and then catch up on what they miss when they get back.

[scootch713]

Our secret... shh..... we go the full week before Thanksgiving(like this year, the week of the 15th). We get home, the kids have school monday/tuesday and then are off 6 days for Thanksgiving break. So they have 6 days to make up all their work. Once they go back, they are completely made up and it was not like we even missed school. Has worked very well for us.

[tinksmom02]

We've apparently gotten into the habit of travelling in mid-Sept. DD's kindergarten teacher was very excited for us. The school's policy is to give the missed work when the student returns to school, and they have as many days as they missed (in our case, 5) to make up the work. she's also allowed 10 absences a year. In kindergarten she missed 5 for the trip and 2 for illness in the winter.

I sent practically the same letter to her first grade teacher. She didn't seem to be as excited for us (she didn't call me at home like the kind. teacher did). She had a LOT of work to make up when she came back, but because it was only the third week of school, it wasn't anything new or difficult. I think she had it all done within three days. She also (knock wood) hasn't missed any other days so far this year.

We're planning a trip for the same time this fall. The biggest problem I have is that I always miss Back-to-School night. I planned our '08 trip for a week earlier specifically trying to attend B-t-S, but they bumped it up a week. Oh, well.

I would be hesitant about pulling her out around this time of year, or when she gets older (middle school, maybe), but for us, early -mid September doesn't really pose too many problems.

[PrettyMinnie]

Well we have a bit of a difficult time because the 4 kids are in 4 different schools! The public schools aren't much of a problem, as long as they are excused. I know the workload to make up is a lot and often gets done either before we leave or any spare time we have while in WDW.

Now, one of the kids doesn't live at home. He is only 14, but it is still difficult to take him out of school.

The hardest is with the private schools. They have a policy that there is no excused absences other than illness or other serious situations. Unfortunately Disney World does not count. The school has the right no to allow any student to make up work upon their return in addition to after school detention for every day absence.
The school does give 2 full weeks for both Spring and Winter break, but of course those are 2 of the craziest times in WDW. Bummer.

So needless to say, our WDW are limited and skillfully scheduled to accommodate 4 active kids and 2 working adults. It gets harder every year.

[PETE FROM NYC]

MI FOKES TOK ME OWT OF SKOOL TO GO TOO DISNEEE AND LOK HOU I TURNT OWT

Seriously.we took niece,grade 9,and nephew,grade 5, out of school 2 years ago with no ill effects except for the fact that I helped with their homework.Boy,did I have a lot to remember.

[ibelieveindisneymagic]

We've taken DD out of school twice for Disney, and she misses a couple days every September for a NASCAR race...and well, she usually misses another day or two for a trip.

I know it sounds like a lot, but we value the time together as a family, as feel that she learns as much on the trips as she would in school.

Her teachers have generally been good, given her work to do while we're away, and we always give her extra work from us (usually it the form of creating a diary, or photo essay or powerpoint) about her trip to hand in.

They are only children for a little while, enjoy every moment

[TwinniesNMeLoveWDW]

I never had a problem taking my girls out of school when they were in elementary school. I think they never missed more than 3 or 4 days, and they always got good grades so I didn't worry. That was actually one of the conditions for missing school, that they had to keep their grades up or we wouldn't go. I agree with many of the other posters, it was very important for us to spend some family time together.

I think the best time was around the week before Christmas, when everyone is excited for the holidays and no one in school gets much work done anyway (including the teachers), so I didn't feel like the kids missed much.

Now however, they are in 10th grade, and I would not have them miss school if at all possible. Their classes all only run for 1/2 the year, and they each take several honors classes, so missing just a few days means a lot of work to make up. No more school-year WDW trips for now.