For those with kids I have a question about trips during the school year

As a daughter of an educator (who never took us out of school for vacations, he was the principal after all) and a former educator myself, I don't see an extreme problem with taking young children out of school for 2-3 days for such a major trip on an occasional basis. I think it is important though to have good communication with the teacher and school. It's nice when parents check in with the teacher to see if there is any work that will be missed that can be sent home before or after the trip for your child to make up. I always thought it would be nice if parents offered to donate money to the school for the ADA, average daily attendance, money that the school wouldn't receive for the days your child had an unexcused absence.

I worked at a fairly affluent junior high school where pulling kids out for extensive European vacations, ski and tropical island weeks and multi day Disneyland getaways was a problem as far as work missed and money lost.

I don't think though that a day or two at a time once a year for an elementary student will impact the school negatively and it will be a wonderful experience for your family.

A couple of years ago, we took our then elementary school aged granddaughters out of school one Friday for an overnight trip to Disneyland. Their teacher parents also missed a day of school to attend a conference on the same long weekend. When the girls got to Disneyland the youngest one's eyes lit up and said, "so this is where kids go when they miss a day of school", priceless.

I am a teacher and mother of 6th and 8th graders. I have pulled my kids from school for up to a week many times in their school careers. When they were really young, I had no problem tacking an extra week on to spring break - these were usually the times we visited grandparents as our entire families live all the way across the country, not a cheap or easy flight with little kids.

My older son had the opportunity to go to Spain for a soccer trip last march over spring break, and I took him out an extra week so we could explore more of spain before the soccer, and I had no problems doing that whatsoever. Now, he is a bright kid, and school work is easy for him, so he was able to catch up without issue.

I teach high school and I have kids missing for various reasons a lot... if it's a kid who struggles, it can be hard for them to miss, but in all cases we work it out. I think travel and family time is very important and sometimes it's just not possible to do it on school breaks. Plus I am at a different school than my kids and our holidays often do not line up.

Now, once they get to high school I will be more choosy about having them miss... likely it will be only for school related trips, my high school sends kids on lots of service and learning opportunities, so I am assuming my kids will want to do those once they get there.

But a week (or 2 days!?) in kindergarten? Please, no problem at all. I can;t see any reason why not to take a kid out a few extra days to extend a family trip to Europe. I would take an extra week and not even hesitate to think about it!

Kim

My kids are in elementary school, but junior high for the older one is coming up fast...my answer might change as they get older, but for now:

I have no trouble with them missing a few days, for example if the trip is over spring break but we leave or get back 3 days before or after the official break. I have had them miss a week (actually 6 school days) before but am not fully comfortable with that after 2nd grade or so. I will do so again only for specific things, for example we really want to celebrate Easter in Sevilla at some point and Easter is not over our spring break. Otherwise I prefer to attach the trip to a vacation and only miss 3-4 days max.

I've found that being in contact with the teacher beforehand, in general, not just about the trip (make sure they know you are an involved parent who takes education seriously), and then offering to do school work while gone and have the kids write/photograph a report on what they did. Being specific about the educational nature of the trip also helps - your child won't be sitting on a beach sleeping all day, she will be learning and having valuable experiences.

I am lucky in that my kids school is very big on family time and on experiential learning (public school, nothing fancy, but a great place!). We also have families from all over the world so a kid missing two weeks to celebrate a holiday with family in India, for example, is not at all unheard of.

Apparently some schools are strict on this stuff, but my attitude is too bad. Family time is important and kids need real world learning as well as school. I am perfectly capable of keeping elementary school kids kept up on work for a few days, and the value of a trip like this greatly outweighs a couple missed school days. If a day here or there doesn't matter if the child has a fever or cold, why should it matter for a valuable educational experience?

As an elementary educator and parent I personally view world travel as an educational and cultural experience so I would understand and be willing to accomodate the family that takes a young child away from school for an occasional family trip. Let her teacher know she will miss a few days and see what your school district's policy is for unexcused absences. In some districts teachers do NOT have to make accomodations or allow make-up work for unexcused absences. This would not be much of an issue in kinder though but for an older child that is critical. In your case requiring a few days absence from kinder for a family trip to Europe seems justifiable. The advantages outweigh the disadvantages. Since I was a teacher at my children's school I had to work and did not schedule trips during school days but dealt with many families that did just that. Again, for a few days at that young age, once in the school year, no problem missing school. As your child gets older and you know their academic and social strengths and weaknesses just judge it as to what will benefit the child and your family the most. For some children, breaking their school routine would not be advisable. Others handle it well. Ideally, I would not recommend travel during the school year but adding a few extra days on to the spring or Holiday break could be considered for a special reason. Older children would need to keep up with all work and missed/alternate assignments as designated by the teacher. If work cannot be made up and grades will be penalized then I would not do it. Secondary students miss school all the time for excused athletic events and other competitions or performances. Teachers make accomodations because these are excused school activities. To me, an occasional day or two, or maybe even a week, is no big deal when this is a family trip that has its own educational value (different countries, different languages). Now, I would not feel the same way if it were a regular occurence or for a trip to a famous amusement park, or for shopping days all of which I have heard as reasons for absences. Of course, as an educator I advocate for regular school attendance but I can see how on occasion something may justify an absence.

"...my parents never thought it was a good idea for kids to miss school for that kind of reason. I'm torn between being ok with her missing one day or not missing any."

I assume summer breaks just don't work for your family for one reason or another.

Off-season travel: It's very common in my part of the country for families of Mexican heritage to make annual trips to Mexico over the Christmas holidays, often of 3-4 weeks in duration. Schools have traditionally scheduled Christmas vacations ("winter breaks" in today's lingo) for just 2 weeks, but as many classrooms were sometimes only half full for 1-2 weeks in early January, many districts have been forced to schedule 3-week winter breaks to accommodate this winter migration pattern and to stem the drain on ADA funding.

If your district has done the same, then perhaps in some years you could have a week at home over Christmas as well as 2 weeks in Europe (or elsewhere.) Or if it's just 2 weeks, then just go for the entire Christmas period. Or perhaps you could get into a district with a 3-week winter break - at this early stage in her educational career, changing schools is less traumatic.

I've noticed that some school "spring breaks" no longer are Good Friday through Easter Sunday. Some districts have eliminated them almost entirely save for 1-2 days off (possibly to compensate for extended Christmas breaks, sometimes to make up "snow days.")

How far you take this depends on how important it is to you to get your family abroad. For us it was very important. We did so mostly in summer. But on two occasions when my daughter was in 4th grade and once in high school (where she was learning German,) we saw good options for off-season travel, and she ended up missing 4-5 days of school at a time in exchange for time in London, Germany and colonial Mexico. She missed out on a lesson or two (and on some social drama) but what she gained was immeasurable.

BTW - we're both teachers.

Another retired educator checking in here with a vote for foreign travel as an educational experience. We worked with the teachers to be sure the children were up-to-date on classwork

I am writing this as a former second grade teacher and a grandparent. We have twin granddaughters who we have been very close to. When they were in third grade we took them on separate trips to Europe for 8 days each. (London and Paris) We had been to both cities many times so could mainly go to sights for them. The one that went to London in September missed 6 days of school and the other in October missed only 3 because of teacher meetings and a work day. They were given homework before the trip. I wouldn't have traded those trips for anything!! They got so much out of them. I made them a Shutterfly book that they shared. Each brought back treats or gifts for their class and teacher. We reminisce about their trips all the time. They are in fifth grade now and it's harder to miss school. May have to settle for a summer trip now, but traveling in low season has so many benefits.

As I said earlier, I am fine with missing some school. I just want to note another option - in much of the US school is out in mid to late May. Mid May to mid June is busier than earlier in the spring but is not the worst of high season that you will see in July and August. We do 2-3 week trips in this time frame and find it a good balance of nice weather, no school,and a bit less busy than later. We often leave on the last day of school, late May here, and return in the 2nd week of June. A 2-3 week trip is nice and while I am ok with missing some school I would not take them out for 3 weeks!

If teachers have a common sense it should not be a problem. Kids will learn something on their trip abroad which they never can learn at school. Besides, what about home schooling? Those kids go never to school. So your kids can be taught whatever they miss at school by you.

The problem is for the school district and its attendace statistics during statewide grading. High absence rate counts against a school and the district. Therefore, I wouldn't ask about the policy, but I would tell the teacher she'll be gone and ask what work she can do while you are gone. This trip is the best education you can give her. Your parents had a different point of view. However, as educators, my husband and I rarely missed a class, but I wouldn't hesitate to pull my children out for an enriching experience.

Another teacher/parent here chiming in.
I teach 4th grade and, as someone who believes that traveling with children is EXTREMELY beneficial to them in many ways, I always tell the parents at Back to School Night that if they want to take their children traveling to go right ahead. I also tell them that this is one of the last years it will be possible for them to do so in light of the academic demands of intermediate school and high school. I also tell them that I will deny ever having said this out loud! That said, I preface this little speech by saying that if their child is doing well in school then it isn't a problem...if their child is struggling then they should think long and hard about whether the trip is worth it. Some of the concepts they learn in 4th grade are pivotal, especially in math. If a child is doing well then they can easily pick up the concepts they are missing...otherwise it can result in long-lasting gaps.
As a parent who also teaches, my son's spring break rarely aligned with mine so I would pull him out in elementary school so we could travel or visit family. It wasn't a problem to make up what he missed. After elementary school we didn't do this anymore since it was just far too much work for him to make up.

I wouldn't hesitate to take a K student out of school for 2 days...the concepts they learn in kindergarten are repeated and practiced all year. If they miss something in those 2 days it will spiral back around during the year several times.

I've been teaching kindergarten for over twenty years. I have no issues with kids missing school due to traveling, as they'll be learning when on the trip, just a different type of learning. Two days . . . that's nothing. One week . . . that's fine too.

As far as asking the teacher to put something together to bridge the gap of what will be missed, I'm not a proponent of it. So much of what we do in kindergarten is NOT workbook pages, it's more hands-on type of learning. Plus, who wants to work while on vacation? What I typically do is send home a few key pages of work AFTER the child returns to school. Those are more apt to be completed, and will help to fill in any holes in what was missed.

One main issue at my school is that the administrator really frowns on students missing school due to traveling. Often, she has swayed parents to alter their plans. Stand firm . . . it's your kid. Be sure to let the teacher AND "office" know when your child will return. That can prevent the rare instance of a students being "exited" from a roster to make room for a new student. IF that happens, there's no guarantee that your child will be "re-enrolled" with her current teacher.

She'll have a grand trip . . . I hope you go for it!

There is no problem with pulling a student from any grade for one or two days. There is a wonderful educational value in travel. There can be significant problems with longer times at the high school level and poorly timed pull outs at the high school level.

Every year I have students who are pulled out for a week or two during the school year that never really recover academically. Sometimes it is the difference between passing and failing the class for that student. Pulling a student during the last two weeks of a semester is generally a recipe for problems.

I will also share with any interested parents a pet peeve of teachers. Parents will ask us to get two weeks of work ready for the student who will be gone so that the student can "keep up." This usually involves a significant investment of time on the part of the teacher that is outside our usual work hours. We do it anyway because we are eager for our students to succeed. 9 of 10 instances, this work is never completed by the student. If you don't plan on your student doing the school work until he/she returns, please don't ask the teachers for the assignments in advance. Your student can simply find out what the assignments were upon return.

Some schools have minimum attendance policies in order to receive credit so be sure to know the exact policy of your school system.

Hi!

As a parent, I've realized that absences while the kids are young aren't a big deal. Travel experiences are educational. This is my personal view based on my children and our experiences.

I've also realized that so much depends on the child when the child is older. I pulled my daughter for 3 days when she was in 7th grade for a trip when I turned 40. It was 10 days before the end of the year and when she came back she was slammed with end of the year assignments and projects. I felt horrible for her since she was pretty stressed and is the type of student that has to work really hard for her good grades. Now that she's in high school I wouldn't pull her out for a trip since she'd feel way to stressed and would miss so much material. As for my son - he's 11 and a different student. It's unlikely he'd feel the stress and he'd catch up quickly. But - if I were to pull him out before the high school years I'd consider a day around spring break or after Christmas break. But no way at the end of a semester.

Happy Travels!

Occasionally we would pull our children out of school if the experience out of school would be more advantageous to our children than remaining in the classroom. We never did it for a trip to an amusement park. We did not pull them out once they were in high school. Our one child was pulled out in junior high but it was an unusual circumstance. My sister was getting married, and my daughter was in the wedding. We planned to go cross country for the wedding and stay a week. My mother was seriously ill, and this would give our children an opportunity to spend time with her, hence the week stay vs. a long weekend. Unfortunately, she died shortly before the wedding. The time was still valuable so our children could spend time with my father who was going through quite a transition.

We pulled our three kids out for a week or more several times . However that was in elementary school only .

Once they got to high school it would only be for a day or two . It's much harder to catch up in ha or even later grade middle school .

My stepson is now 11 and in grade six , I did pull my daughter out of grade six for a week , however she was an excellent student , our stepson is not a good student , so we aren't going to make it worse by putting him in a catch up situation . Same with my two sons , one son I would pull out as he was in special education and missing school didn't matter ( he was never graded ) but my older son was only an average student , so by grade 7 we started only 1-2 day pull outs .

A child in kindergarten , I wouldn't think twice about pulling them out for two weeks .

We took our kids out for 5 weeks last year and the school was fine with it. They often miss several days at a time. I think it depends on the kids. Both my kids do very well academically and as long as that doesn't change then why would there be an issue. They learn a lot traveling so it is still an educational experience

Someone above warned about children being dis-enrolled from a district if gone for too long, which is done to protect a districts attendance statistics. We were surprised by this when we were gone for a semester on a sabbatical and our 8th grader wasn't allowed to choose classes for 9th grade because he had been dis-enrolled.

This situation has nothing to do with this question, but as long as we're discussing children, school, travel, and absences--including a five-week absence, I thought I'd put it out there.

I took an October/November trip that began in Amsterdam, through Germany and Austria, down into Italy and ended in Rome. We took our three youngest children. 15/16, 12, and 7/8 (two had birthdays on the trip).

Was it a good idea? It depends on how you look at it. Some of the kids' teachers were very positive about it, others weren't at all. IMO the better teachers considered it a great opportunity. The teachers who generally use only handouts for assignments weren't at all happy about us asking them to help plan extended homework.

None of the kids had any damage to their education, long term they remained honor students with good grades. In the short run, the same teachers who weren't excited about the trip seemed determined to make them suffer for it.

The boys (oldest two) enjoyed the trip but didn't seem to get enough out of it to make it worth the effort. They (and their older sister) also came on an earlier month long trip to Mexico in July. It was fine, but the weather was so hot I decided to take future trips in cooler months. Plus we lived in Spokane and the summers there are not to be missed.

The girl (youngest) was happy and fascinated the entire time. I think the trip spawned a deep love of art. In one museum, I showed her how she could see the light reflect on the paintings and realize a great master had once stood where she was standing, in front of the painting, making those brush strokes.

She graduated from high school but didn't go to college, she's 19 now and does art using her computer. She is paid commissions to do work for people she has never met in person. Most of it is bizarre by my standards - it's a different generation. Some of her animation has had upwards of ten million views on Youtube and many around the country are familiar with her work - even if they don't know her or her name. I'm glad she found her passion but we'll see where it leads.

Thank you everyone for your honest opinions, especially those of you that are teachers. My mom is a retired kindergarten teacher and my dad was a principal so something like this was never an option for us, unless it was a school sponsored trip and then neither of them went as chaperones. I totally agree about her being able to get a lot out of the things we see, she already remembers some of the things from our last two trips even though she's only 5. We always do lots of things that have historical meaning and we talk about them with her but we throw in some fun things too (like the zoo). Her favorite thing about our trip to Berlin last year was going into the cathedral. She loved the architecture, the "decoration" as she said and we even toured the basement with all the coffins where she asked lots of questions. I think also being able to immerse herself into the German culture for a week would help her greatly in learning the language.

Thank you again for your input. Now if the airfare for the first part of April would come down a little I think we can make a decision.

I don't see a problem with kindergarten, but when high school students are absent, will the parents get them tutors in math/science/foreign language to teach them the material they missed? Or do parents think their students will be able to figure out the work missed by themselves? And what about the labs they miss and have to make up? As a high school science teacher, it is really a problem for students to make up the work missed and if they also have sports practices or drama practices after school, when do they get help/make up the labs missed since teachers have required meetings several mornings a week? As much as I love to travel, I put my foot down when my husband wanted to take our daughter out of school when she was in high school.