Take children out of school or not?

[602sr]

Have any parents told the school that they were taking a cruise and stated the days they were taking off?

 

How did the principal/school respond?

 

I am nervous about approaching the schools about this. As much as I would have loved to have them take the cruise when school session was off, I have a major surgery coming up with a long recovery ahead, and I wanted to have this special moment/memory with our kids before the surgery.

 

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. :confused:

 

602Sr

[SadieN]

It boils down to how old your children are, what grade they are in, how likely they are to complete their assignments and the school/district policies.

 

Here is a rather heated thread from the Family Board.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1870873&highlight=ada

 

We have taken our DDs out of school twice for trips.

Once was a 3day repo cruise/touing Vancouver and a train ride back. Both were in elementary school.

 

The second time was when we took the oldest to college in Rome, youngest was starting her junior year of HS. She was out for the first two weeks of the school year.

[Gabruska]

We have 8 and 10 year old boys and taking them out. It's the only time we can have a vacation due to our business. It's only 5 days out for us and we always make it educational. There is always something to learn traveling to different places and such. bringing books and math work sheets. I think family time is really important and 5 days out of school will not hurt. But just my opinion...Enjoy cruising with children!

[Cjh1975]

We did it last year with our 7 & 8 year olds. We just told the school office a few weeks ahead of time. The school had the teaches give my girls homework to do while they were gone. They missed 7 days of school. Hoping to be able to do it again this school year too. Life experiences are just as important as an education in my opinion.

[Singer4Him]

We were blessed to be able to homeschool our two youngest children for the last few years of school, which enabled us to be able to take them with us when we cruised. I counted those days as school days (MS still requires 180 school days, even if you homeschool). I figured if our public school could take kids to the same zoo, every year, then I could take my children to three foreign countries. I had them complete assignments about the three places that we visited.

 

If they are in elementary, I think I would definitely speak with their teacher and let him/her know that they will be out and visiting several foreign countries and experiencing their culture. Also, get any assignments that they may miss during that time, so that they won't have quite so much to catch up with when they return.

[Jaco5NC]

Last year we took our two children out of school twice, for one week, each vacation. Both kids are in Elementary school. Our school offers "Educational Excused Absences". I outlined where we were going, what we were doing and how it would benefit my children. The Principal and their teachers were fine with it. My kids had no trouble catching up with their studies upon our return. The memories we made were priceless. We will be again taking them out for a week in October for our upcoming cruise and will handle it the same way. We feel these are our children to parent and make life decisions for. OP, you know your children and what is best for them and for your family :).

[Midwestgal]

We never took the kids out of school to go on vacation. Will it matter in 15 years if you do....no not at all. Take the and enjoy, trust me its not going to matter when their 25 that you pulled them from school.

[stewpapa]

We did. Don't regret it. Didn't hurt them at school at all. Wonderful family memories. Couldn't afford to take 6 kids in Summer. Family First!

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

[luv-my-kids]

Taking my freshman out of school net week. She will only miss 3 days of school for our short cruise. I tell the school the truth...........they have never called it an unexcused absence.

 

 

Good luck! :)

[Ian2000]

Have any parents told the school that they were taking a cruise and stated the days they were taking off?

 

How did the principal/school respond?

 

I am nervous about approaching the schools about this. As much as I would have loved to have them take the cruise when school session was off, I have a major surgery coming up with a long recovery ahead, and I wanted to have this special moment/memory with our kids before the surgery.

 

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. :confused:

 

602Sr

 

My daughter is 17 now and will be taking her out of school for a week the first of December. My son who is now 20, when he was younger along with his sister, we would take them all out of school for a week on a cruise and never had any issues.

 

Approach the school as it being an educational trip. Advise them you plan to have your kids do a travel essay on the islands they are visiting. Also some important work that will be happening during that week, that you will allot homework time during the cruise that you will work with your kids on.

 

Your family time with them before your surgery is by far the upmost important and any school that doesn't recognize that has some issues.

 

Enjoy your family time and don't think anything of it.

[alreadypacked]

Taking my freshman out of school net week. She will only miss 3 days of school for our short cruise. I tell the school the truth...........they have never called it an unexcused absence.

 

 

Good luck! :)

 

Interesting discussion. My experience as a kid in school was similar.

 

I may be out of the loop today since I'm not a parent, but I was a kid once and (back then) an unexcused absence was pretty much one not notified to the school by your parents. In other words, you'd cut class.

 

If your parent notified the school of a family vacation or other situation, the child wasn't penalized in any way.

 

My school didn't even have a problem with my early dismissal one day per week so I could attend additional (out-of-state) practice for my non-school-affiliated sport.

 

I went to a parochial school, though.

 

Is this a public school thing (due to government regulations and all)?

[Lerin]

We did. Don't regret it. Didn't hurt them at school at all. Wonderful family memories. Couldn't afford to take 6 kids in Summer. Family First!

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

 

Ditto, family first. After all you are your child's primary teacher.

 

The only concern I would have is when my kids are high school or college students. At that point missing class could hurt their graduation requirements or get them benched on sports teams. If your kids are that age, be sure they even want to miss school for a vacation.

[dredawg]

They are your children!!...kids are in school for 12+ years I really don't think a week or two here or there is anything to worry about. If you're concerned just ask the teacher for a couple of quick assignments for them or get them to assign some reading...I'm sure you'll be able to find an hour or so every couple of days for them to get some work done.

 

Think of all the things your kids will learn on a cruise...different cultures and languages. When they are in geography class they can say "Hey I've been there" or have a better understanding of marine life because they were lucky enough to have snorkeled among real live coral. This is your vacation...no responsibilities or work so make sure during the cruise you take the time to sit with your kids and listen to them, laugh with them, let them know how important they are to you and then you will have taught them the most important thing in life....that they are a valued member of your family...they don't teach you that in school!

[canadiangal40]

We have taken our kids out of school for 10-14 day vacations every year. Always notified the school way in advance, had additional assignments sent home before hand so kids would not miss out on school work and they had to write reports on things they saw and did, culture wise and educational wise. We've never had a problem. We are in Canada, so I'm not sure if it's any different than US laws. Our kids are now 12 and 14 and we are taking them out again in January for our cruise and will miss 9 days of school, we are taking 2 weeks off.

[Kokomos]

Our family vacations usually are during school. One year the principal told me vacation were un excused absence. It was up to each teacher to decide if she would get make up work or zeros everyday. They sent sent everything plus extra. We changed school districts a couple of years ago and I send a note to principal and each teacher a week ahead so far we haven't had any problems. Bottom line is they are my kids and family comes first. Have a wonderful vacation and speedy recovery

[Kentchikan]

As a teacher I'm all for the kinds of priceless experiences children get travelling that really broaden their horizons. If you're going to take them out of school check with the school to see if they can do independent study while on the cruise. That way the school doesn't lose the ADA money from the state. I'm speaking about California and I don't know about other states.

[cjknox]

My parents have taken me out of school multiple times to go on cruises, not that big of a deal.:rolleyes:

[CheapieD]

You are the parent and if you want to pull them out of school than that is your prerogative. The school can't prevent this (unless they miss more days than the minimal requirement for attendance, and they still can't prevent but could force a child to attend summer school or repeat a grade)

 

I think a day or two would be ok but multiple weeks sends the wrong message to the child about the importance of school. And yes I know all the parents are making it an educational experience while they drink their piña coladas and lie on a beach...

[Viv0828]

A possible reason not to take a child out of high school might be if they are taking chemistry or physics or calculus and missing a week might hurt them academically.

I see no reason not to take an elementary or middle schooler out for a week or so.

[hillymama]

We live in CA & have taken the girls out of school 3 times. We told the schools - one in elementary & one in middle school - that we needed to attend a family event. Here, if you keep your kid out of school for 5+ days you can home-school them. This way the district gets paid & that's the biggest concern for the schools, imho.

 

This last time was hard on the 13 year old as she got behind in algebra & we'll have to be very strategic if we take them out of school again. Prior, there were no academic issues.

[sparks1093]

We never took the kids out of school to go on vacation. Will it matter in 15 years if you do....no not at all. Take the and enjoy, trust me its not going to matter when their 25 that you pulled them from school.

 

Of course it will matter, they will have wonderful memories from a great trip:).

[silvercrikhix]

I would take them out and get any work sent with if possible.

The benefits to children with family time and travel experiences far outweigh what they would do in school.

I had my son write a travel log and included a copy with his homework upon his return.

The teachers were quite impressed with all he learned on that cruise!

[Onessa]

Contact your school's principal or someone in the school's administration to determine what the school system's policy is on absences. Some states have very strict regulations and your students' absences may impact the funding that the school system receives from the state. Individual school systems will have varying policies. But start knowing what your school's policy is.

 

If the school says "any absence over three days will require a doctor's note indicating your child was sick or we will consider him/her truant", then you need to make your decision as to how to proceed based upon that knowledge. (. . . and you may want to consider finding a new school for your kids :D)

 

If the school has a policy you can live with, next approach your children's teachers. Explain to each that you have appoached administration, you have approval to proceed and briefly outline what your plans are -- dates you will be gone, number of school days, etc.

 

Be very flexible - ask how they want to handle it. Sometimes they may want the child to "make up" the work prior to vacation, sometimes they will give you the assignments and you can set some time aside with each child to do the work, sometimes they will want the child to make up the work once they return.

 

Even if the teacher indicates that there will be no make up work make certain to provide some educational activities to help keep your kids "sharp" (or to "keep the peace" if one kid has worksheets and required reading; and the other does not).

 

As others have stated, ultimately the decision is yours. But by knowing the "rules" for your school, you will be able to be more effective.

[Kentchikan]

We live in CA & have taken the girls out of school 3 times. We told the schools - one in elementary & one in middle school - that we needed to attend a family event. Here, if you keep your kid out of school for 5+ days you can home-school them. This way the district gets paid & that's the biggest concern for the schools, imho.

 

This last time was hard on the 13 year old as she got behind in algebra & we'll have to be very strategic if we take them out of school again. Prior, there were no academic issues.

 

You are correct that loss of money is a concern in these days of tight budgeting. The independent study is a good compromise and think of how much they gain from the cruise and the district gets paid. However the school is also concerned with their education and should have sent a packet of missed work and other activities with you. I know a lot of families have their kids do it all before they leave so that they can really vacation.

[tinkerbell1984]

Our school seems to be pretty strict...

 

5+ UN-excused absences and you are considered truant.

 

10+ TOTAL absences, excused or not, and you are considered truant.

 

However, we are missing the 4 days after Labor Day this year to go on the Breeze. I never considered contacting the Principal. But I do already have notes typed up to their teachers hoping to get work to keep up. I also know the school will try to call if they don't know what's going on after a couple absent days, and I will of course be unreachable and didn't want any issues with that.

 

Now I'm wondering if I should talk to the office...

 

Last year, my son missed 3 days for a cruise and work was given to him.