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! :confused:

[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.:thumbsup: 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 :thumbsup:

[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. :sad:

[Gregandmel]

Wow - I really appreciate all the great advice and input! It helps with the decision making and we will definitely make sure we have alot of communication with the principle and his teacher. And I like the idea of going around Christmastime (week before). I agree that there probably isn't a whole lot they put on the kids' plates during this time. Or maybe even really early May, right before the end of school gets out. I just know we are limited once he gets into Jr. High & High School. If he needs extra "guidance" with his work and learning, this will really be difficult for him to take him out of school. I hate to be selfish in pulling him out of school to hit a "quieter" time of year, but for the money and the experience, I really want all of us to ENJOY it!! We went many many many years ago (before he was born) in the summertime - holy cow - never again! Regardless - thank you for the great input!!! It helps to know the best way to navigate everything.....and I want these memories!!! :-)

[Dopey's Girl]

When I was in 10th grade (10 million years ago) my parents too me out of school for 6 days for a cruise, and some time in Disney, while I loved the trip, it was really hard to get back into the swing of things. I was a good student, but missing out on the classroom portion of my lessions really hurt me. My best advice is to see how your son is feeling in school at the end of this year, since things only get more difficult as kids get older. If he's keeping up and adjusting well, I wouldn't see any problem pulling him for a week of WDW fun!

[playdead88]

we have pulled our kids out of school for the past 4 years and are pulling them out again at the end of may - dd8 has missed only 1 day this year due to illness and ds15 has not missed any days - we always try to pick a week with at least one day of that week an already planned day off - not hard to find - do you know how many teacher workday mondays there are in a year - a ton! i don't think there is one month out of the year without a monday off for something or a 1/2 day for something else - anyway we have yet to run into a teacher who hasn't been helpful in getting the kids work together and we always make sure it gets done and turned in the day we get back - kids are only kids once so we're going to disney :mickey:

[RedSoxFan]

And when the kids are in middle school and especially high school; it is harder to take them out if they play a sport. DS#1 played baseball and DS#2 played lacrosse when we lived in Virginia. So we went 2 times during Thanksgiving week. When we moved to NY 3 years ago, DS#1 was in college and DS#2 played soccer (no lacrosse at present school), basketball and ran track. No Disney as he was in sports all year. Last October we went to Disney as DS#2 is in college and DS#3 plays basketball (winter sport). Next year it will be difficult to go as DS#3 will be a senior and DD12 will be in 7th grade and will play modified soccer, basketball and softball -- a sport every season. So we're not sure now when we'll get back to the world. So much easier to go when they were younger.

[yellen97]

I took dd out of school in 1st grade in december and regretted it because that is just when the kids have gotten into their "groove" for the year. then she ended up missing a whole week in jan/feb due to the flu. I swore I would never do it again...but....

I decided to go the week before the last week of school (6/13-6/20). I looked on the school calendar and 6/15 is the last day of the marking period...the last 2 weeks of school are a joke- she can't get any more grades, it's just parties, etc. I feel ok about it and her teacher's response was "can I come too". It not only saved us about $800, but the crowds and heat will be more manageable.

of course....now I have guilt because she had perfect attendance in 2nd grade and now in 3rd grade so far....but that's another story!

[Tinkerfreak]

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.

This exactly how we do it too. We offer to help in any way we can and let the teachers know early on. We make sure we realize it can be extra work for them and that we will do whatever is easiest for them. October is also the best time for my DH to go.
We have never a had a problem making up work. The only problem we have had is youngest DD getting sick right after we got back and missing another week of school. Made it a bit harder.

[joonyer]

When my oldest DS was in 8th grade, he was not allowed to make up a test that he missed when we pulled him out for a WDW trip because family vacations do not count as excused absences in our school district. The zero he had to take on the test dropped his semester grade (and subsequently his year long average) from a sure "A" to a middling "B", the only B he has ever made for a year long average. I was not happy about it, but didn't worry too much since it was middle school. However, now that he is a straight "A" student in high school, I don't think we'll do that again. Too much is riding on grades for that academic scholarship. He puts the pressure on himself and refuses to miss a test even for a trip to WDW (we have talked about it).

[HJL413]

"Hey teacher leave them kids alone"

P. Floyd

[Daddy Mouse]

Downsides include the following:
1. Not being able to make up tests or quizzes
2. Assignments not completed
3. New concepts not mastered
4. Teachers and other students jealous

Upsides include the following:
1. Standing in line for a dolewhip instaead of a lunch line
2. Togetherness with family
3. Rides instead of classes
4. No homework

[c&d]

In our district if your pull your kids out of school they are not allowed to make up anything. No makeup tests and no homework assignments allowed, period, end of discussion.

[MickeyandTink]

We'll be pulling out our DD this September from her 3rd grade class for a week. We've done it the last two years without any ill effects (other than a nasty letter from the school district) to her grades or learning. While we would prefer to do our trips when she would not miss school, the unfortunate reality is that with hotel, park tickets and airfare for four of us, it is only financially feasible with a big promotion (like free dining).

We won't be able to do it much longer, but we feel our family time is too important to pass up now.

[DonLefNY]

When the kids were younger we took them to WDW every January. But once they hit middle school we stopped as it got more complicated. Then we had 5 or 6 teachers to deal with rather than 1. And the district changed it's policies. The days off were marked as "Illegal Absences" and teachers were prohibited from giving homework in advance.

[tjstrike]

We always used to take our kids out of school for Disney, then this year we went during spring break and didn't enjoy our trip nearly as much as we usually do just because of the crowds at the parks, so needless to say the next trip we will be pulling the kids out of school. Yes, I'm sure there will be consequences but we'll have to leave with that. All of our kids are straight A-B kids so I think they'll be fine.

[Mom2princesses]

I really think it depends on your school. My dd's school is really tough on pulling kids out of school for any trip. My husband is from South Africa his family still lives there we decided to take the girls to see all their aunts and uncles, cousins and grandma. My older one (at the time 11) had not been there for 10 years! My youngest had never been there. It was a once in a lifetime trip they would miss 5 full days and 2 1/2 days before Christmas. Well, the principal did not care that they would be going to be with family whom they have never really seen before. She didn't care that they would experience life in another country on the other side of the world. They both learned so much. They refused to give out homework before the trip. One teacher 'cheated' and helped us out and mailed the assignments to us. But I was really ticked off. To top it off my older dd still made the honor roll that marking period. The problem though is that for the rest of year I have to remind my older daughter that she can NOT miss many more days. Not because she would not be able to catch up but because the school has this magic number of 15 days allowed. I think they have a stupid policy. I would still do it again though. Seeing my girls bound with their cousins was priceless. Spending time with my inlaws was more than worth the hassles. We are going away to WDW in June and I'm pulling my older dd out on her last day of school. I don't care what they say. That day is a complete waste anyhow. THey only go in for 2 hours.

[mudpuppysmom]

DS#1 is in 1st grade this year. We went to WDW in January of his kindergarten year and no grief from the teacher, but a little grief from the principal. This year, new priciipal and no grief, but LOTS of grief and homework from the teacher.

I think it depends on the school district and the administration at the school if you ask me.

The 1st grade teacher is really strict and I mean REALLY.....which is a good thing and a bad thing.

Each morning DS did a little bit of homework before we left for the parks.....I got him up with me and while I showered he ate breakfast, then while I was in the main part of the room with him he did his homework with some assistance sometimes (like when there was a new concept started). One morning I got up early to go to DTD for a special thing they had for passholders (x-mas shopping time) and my sister watched my kids (DH also was on a tour at Epcot) -- that one morning he did not do any homework b/c my sister thought that it was just "nasty" that he "HAD" to do work while on vacation. I tried to explain to her that going on vacation during the school year is a priviledge and in order for that to be able to happen we had to make some sacrifices -- a little bit of work each morning was not killing DS and that was the sacrifice we had to pay. My sisters older daughter had no homework to do while on vacation nor did she make any up when she got home (I was told that).

Yes, I think that Disney CAN be educational to a certain extent and we use that in our letter to the school -- heck this year when I picked DS up before our flight the principal came out of his office to wish us well and tell us to enjoy our time! When I asked him if he was onboard with this, he was excited that we had the opportunity to go! He said "Sure Disney is educational -- and fun."

So I think it depends on your family perspective to learning and the school you are in. Do I think it's going to get harder -- most definitely. Are we going to be able to continue to do go every year during school -- I'm not sure, it is dependent on our kids. I tell DS that he needs to work hard and pay attention in school and he does for the most part, but he's a kid and sometimes they have to let go just like adults let loose every once in a while.

We not only like going during off times, that is when we as a family can get away most of the time. DH is military and also works construction. Summer is just not in the cards for us, that is DH's busy season. So if we want a FAMILY vacation we have to go during the school year. Yeah, I've taken DS#1 by myself (prior to DS#2's birth), but we miss DH and I'm sure he misses us too. I'm sure there will be times we'll be apart in the future, but we try to stick together as much as possible. As someone said, family time is important!

You just have to weigh all the options and decide what is best for your family.

[Mousemates]

"Hey teacher leave them kids alone"

P. Floyd

:thumbsup: Let me add this to your thoughts...with my apologies to Alice Cooper

No more pencils
No more books
No more teacher's dirty looks

Out for Disney
Out for Walt
We might not go back at all

Schools out for disney
Schools out for vacation

[PirateLover]

A teacher's perspective:
As kids get older and have more and more subjects, it becomes more difficult and less practical to pull them out for an entire week. However as long as you know what is being missed and your kids are hards workers, it shouldn't be a problem. I had 3 students miss a week of school this year for Disney, one in 6th, one in 7th, one in 8th. The one in 6th didn't miss much and ended up being ok. The one in 7th brought work with her and completed it all. The one in 8th asked for work, but I'm convinced he brought none. He fell way behind and his grades definitely suffered.

Overall when this topic comes up, I am of the "Go for it! Family is important! You only live once!" mindset, but I also think that you need to be realistic. Good luck!

[Gregandmel]

You all have been wonderful. Thank you so much for you advice and your experiences. I totally agree that each student/school/ etc... plays a big part of things. My son is going to be going into 4th grade next Fall, and I just feel like this is probably "it" for him as far as pulling him out of school. I just do not believe he will be the type of student that is going to do well with missing a lot of school. My older son wouldn't have been a problem no matter what grade he was in, but our younger one is an entirely different student. Thank you again!

[garymacd]

Downsides for pulling your kids from school to visit DisneyWorld?

NONE!

We did this in 1994. It was shortly after my in-laws passed away. We were all so stressed out we could barely think clearly, especially my beloved wife.

We arranged it with their teachers and had all their school work that they were going to miss in a binder for them. They had most of that done during the car ride from home to Florida.

At the time, it was the best thing we could have done. We really needed time to decompress after the heck we had been through over the previous year.

In retrospect I would not hesitate to do it again. That month in Florida was probably the best thing we could have done for ourselves and for them. If only the kids were eight and six again....