Texas Schools Attendance & Taking kids out for vacation (credit, wedding)

[thefineprint]

Originally Posted by Montirob

Not necessarily. Does the school get funding if they suspend a student? If they don't, does that encourage the school to be more lenient on discipline? THAT sure wouldn't make sense.

Actually, yes this does happen. I used to work for a district that RARELY allowed principals to give out of school suspensions - they were always in school suspensions so that their attendance was counted. We hired ISS teachers specifically to teach these classes in each school.

It's all about the money.

BTW OP- my parents took me out of school for vacation every year and I survived. My mother even allowed me to take 'mental health' days when I woke up and just couldn't drag myself to school. You know, the same mental health days that we often take as adults. Missing school to learn life experiences in the real world, see sights that I would have only learned about in a textbook in class and spend quality time w/ the people who love me didn't come in the way of me earning a masters degree either.

[Gooseysmom]

We just got back from a one week vacation (we told our 4 year old it was a field trip) to the D/FW area. When I wrote the note for my daughter's elementary school (she attends Pre-K), we got a phone call from the lady who handles attendance for the school that a one week vacation would normally be an unexcused absence, but this time the principal excused it and to not expect it to be excused should we do this again. My daughter is 4, not 14. She is in Pre-K... PRE-K!!!!!!

The reason why we took this vacation after the school year started is because we were supposed to go to Disney during the summer for her birthday. Then we were informed that we had to re-register her for Pre-K (even though she had gone to the same elementary school the year before and had ALL her records) and the only day we could do it was a day we had planned on being at Disney. We could also wait and opt to re-register her in August when the administration came back, but since my daughter is special needs and could only be enrolled in one (out of 4) class and had a max of 17 students, we decided that waiting until August to register her for Pre-K was too great of a risk.

And since my husband is also military and I am a civil service employee, we both had schedule conflicts until this past week. Not to mention that my daughter is only 4 and I really do not think missing a week in Pre-K is that big of a deal. In the future, we will probably take any vacations during spring, summer or winter breaks, but we were very happy to be doing some tourist things in D/FW without having to worry about a ton of crowds.

Private school or home schooling may be in our daughters' future. I'm not very fond of TAKS testing anyway and this In Loco Parentis seems to be taking things a bit too far.

Michele

[Montirob]

Originally Posted by pobre

Education IS a partnership...but there need to be some guidelines as to how the state funds it...daily attendance makes sense.

Agree on the need for funding guidelines, but daily attendance doesn't make sense to me. Does electricity usage go lower when some students stay home? Do teachers take a cut in pay because they are only teaching 22 students instead of 25? I would propose that they fund the schools based on the enrollment on a fixed date, kind of like a drop date in college.

I know that some will say that if it didn't matter whether the kids showed up or not, that truancy would be higher because the school just wouldn't care. But living close to a HS and working close to another one, it seems that after the roll is taken in the morning, that kids just walk off campus and the school doesn't worry about taking any action to get them back.

Originally Posted by pobre

However, the school still needs to keep those kids who miss school up to speed. Most children are fine. But some cannot afford even to miss a day.

Excellent point. Hopefully the parents understand how their child learns.

Originally Posted by pobre

Would your child's school be OK with keeping kids out of school if tuition was paid on a per-diem basis?

Probably not, which is why I don't agree with this basis of funding.

[merc11ty]

Take away from your kids education so you can go on vacation?

Sorry, that sounds borderline selfish.

[Li'l_Bit]

Part of a child's education is to teach him/her that there is a time and place for everything. Taking them out of school to take a vacation does nothing to teach them that, IMO.

[Montirob]

Originally Posted by merc11ty

Take away from your kids education so you can go on vacation?

Sorry, that sounds borderline selfish.

I think, like most things, the answer isn't yes or no. Some vacations would be selfish. But... say there was a cultural or historical opportunity in another city that didn't occur during "normal" vacation times. It could be argued that experiencing this event would be much more educational than being in school for those few days.

[merc11ty]

Originally Posted by li'l_bit

part of a child's education is to teach him/her that there is a time and place for everything. Taking them out of school to take a vacation does nothing to teach them that, imo.

+1

[catriona]

I would love to be able to take my kids out of school for a Disney vacation, or to take advantage of the cheaper cruise rates in the off season. The allure of spending $250 per person on a cruise vs $650+ is so tempting. The memories of WDW in the fall when there were no lines at any of the attractions and the weather was cooler is so irresistible.

However....

The main reason we do not take our kids out of school for vacations has nothing to do with the state requirements for attendance. The kids need to be in class so they can learn. Maybe this isn't so true in the lower grades, but believe me, once they get into high school, and in some cases, even middle school, the curriculum moves at a such a pace that my kids complain if they miss even one day due to illness. I have to check with them to see what is going on in class before I attempt to make medical or dental appointments! Talk about something being a royal pain!!

Maybe when the children are in the lower elementary grades, they can get by with missing a week of school. I can't remember if it is fourth or fifth grade where the expectations seem to take a leap. There is definitely a leap between fifth and sixth grades, as well as from eighth to ninth, then every year in high school is another leap. My kiddos went to both a private school where you could take them out for vacations and public school where I wouldn't want to even think about it, and I find the issues to be the same across the board.

Also, ask yourself if you would like to have to take your work along with you on vacation. My husband takes pains to make sure he is work-free when we are on vacation. I'm lucky in that I can just 'clock out', so to speak. My kids definitely don't want to have any school work. However, you can get the assignments and take them along on vacation, but really, what kind of a vacation is it for them when they are doing not only homework, but also the lesson for the day? Don't forget they will probably be tired from the day's activities. Who wants to lug all the books and folders around on vacation anyway? Can you provide tutoring in Pre-Calculus or Physics? What about that band/orchestra instrument that needs to be practiced due to the upcoming competitions? Will you have access to a computer to type up and/or research an essay over the conflicts that existed between France and Britain over North America and in Europe during the American Revolution? Don't forget the chemistry or biology labs that will be missed, either. My kids both agree that vacations are to be vacations with no school work to worry about.

I guess if you must take your kiddos out of school for vacation, do it while they are young, because once they get to a certain point, not even the grandeur of a Caribbean cruise or the fantastical fun of a theme park are worth the hassle of playing catch up in school.

[marucardona]

Originally Posted by mamatotex97

We went to Disney during Spring Break and never again. Lol. With that said I would not pull my child out of school for it. Just plan a week over Thanksgiving or Christmas. If you look at the school calendar the students have a break of some sort EVERY MONTH!!! That should allow plenty of time for various getaways.

The principals hands are tied and has a responsibility to the state. It wont be an issue with a child in kindergarten but say in middle school they are only allowed a certain number of days to make up any missed work.

Yes, the schools have to turn in a count to the state. How else would the state know how much to alot for ? Its called being accountable and it's a fact of life like it or not.
When you have to teach a lesson twice because Johnny went on vacation and missed out, Diferentiation takes on a whole new meaning.

That sounds very appropiate when it is possible! but guess what. There are people that can not take vacations during school breaks (like us) because have a business that serve schools while they take their brakes. And guess what else, just a little bit of common sense will take for this to be different. I agree with you on teachers not teaching twice the same class. Parents and students need to look for a way to update which only take a little bit of effort.

[gregorie]

It is excused and encouraged to leave school to participate in the olympics, but not go on vacation. This action clearly shows the public the priority of student attendance.

The teachers are given more than a week of paid time off, however families can be granted zero flexibility. How can the students be learning when the teacher takes a week for his/her mother's funeral? Because it doesn't matter long-term.

School is not important. Education is everything. Schools can be used to educate. Success has nothing to do with grade point average. The most successful people in America travel on a regular basis. They work hard and play hard. They fully realize the value of travel and more importantly realize the damage caused to their kids by not being in school.