Long Island here..and our district is a
PITA about attendance. 18 days is the limit. Also high school kids...not more than four consecutive days without returning with a dr.'s note, indicating the illness and need to be out for an entire week. It is soley because of the state and federal aide we loose when kids don't come to school. I have taken my kids out many times over the years and it really wasn't an issue until the last 5 or 6 years. Mind you I have an 11 year age difference between my youngest son (who is a senior in high school this year) and my older son. Back in the old days..the teachers wished us a happy trip
and asked us to bring them back a souvenier. One year my older son's teacher used his trip as a learning experience. With a trip to Sea World..he came back with plenty of pictures and they had a day where she discussed killer whales. Those days are
GONE. My younger son has grown up in a very different school system. They teach for the test now. Especially in the younger grades. At least here in NY. It's all about the test scores.
There is very little spontaneous discussion...it's getting the kids to get good scores on the tests so that the district comes out looking good. They publish these results for each district in the paper. We don't even have teachers who want to teach 3rd/4th or other grades where the kids are being tested because a bad performance is considered a reflection on their teaching. Long time teachers of these grades want out to other grades with less pressure. Who can blame them.
Add to this..we have a situation in the last five years in particular where our district/community has had to deal with a huge influx of illegal aliens. Educating children who reside here illegally has drained the budget. Providing English second language courses and the like. I swear a few years ago, my son went to the nurse to grab a couple of tissues..he had a cold. She told him he was limited to
one and don't come back. They don't have enough money in the budget to give him another tissue. I told him he should have sneezed on the witch. So much for God bless you. Oh wait..they can't say that in school anymore.
I have not found the problem to be with the teachers so much as the district policy. My brother is an attorney and did have a client whose son was not going to graduate because he didn't have the required credit for a needed course because he was absent from the class more than 18 times. He was a gifted student...straight A's. He did, however, have a chronic illness
that put him over the 18 days alloted for absences. Turns out..the reason the district picks this 18 days alloted for absence is because after 18 days the district is required by law to provide to the student..at home...a teacher for a couple of hours a day. Since they don't want/ or have the money to spend on that, they are strictly enforcing this 18 days absence rule. Turns out when push came to shove..the district actually they owed this kid ..in the way of a teaching time. Needless to say..he did graduate.
As the kids got older and the district became more anal..albiet warranted or not..we became more creative in our ways to get around policy and still have a family vacation during the school year. One was to pick a week where the younger kids had a day off to begin with. This way..they were not missing more than four consecutive days..and we didn't have to bribe any doctors for notes so they could return to school.
I tell ya..I'll be glad to be done with it after this year.
Edited to add:....
Umm...any dr.'s out there want to give me a note for my son missing school this May '10?...(I heard the district is taking back giving the kids off the Friday before Memorial Day..which we've found a great week to visit Disney. Damn...apparently they are smarter than I thought. I guess we weren't the only ones taking that week.