Don't feel bad in any way. I take one kid out of school for violin rehearsals and concerts, and since their private activities unaffiliated with the school, never thought to have them excused. But it's always best to ask! |
since they are private (not their, sigh) |
Except it's not. The kid is in elem school. They have no idea what I call in to the admin office. Again, it really doesn't matter in elem school what it's classified as but you do you. |
In my experience -- excused or unexcused only seems to matter if there is a custody issue. Looks bad if you are the custodial parent and the kid has a lot of unexcused absences.
Beyond that -- doesn't matter. |
We report the reasons for all absences and just let the school decide how to classify them (MCPS). It has not affected anything in any way at all, and we've been in the system for 7 years so far. Custody being a factor was noted by PP: perhaps it also matters more if you cross the district's chronic-absence threshold.
Every family has their own ways of dealing with this. We'll inconvenience ourselves to move medical and dental appointments so DCs don't miss school for those, but we'll add a travel day if we need it here or there for a holiday or a wedding. |
Until their teacher says...Larlo, lets get you caught up on your math from last week when you were sick. Oh no I was not in sick. I was in FL! Just leave it unexcused. |
It doesn't matter. It's elementary school. They don't even get grades. Who cares if it's excused/unexcused. No one cares |
This is dumb. Of course to check in with the teacher. The teacher knows where the kid is going. It’s the admin who don’t need to know where your kid is. |
Our MCPS public has always excused my HS swimmer for meets. The person who responded in bold above knows nothing. |
Our kids have done several out of state swim meets during the school year that were excused absences (private). We notify the dean in advance, the kids tell their teachers and have them sign a form, the teachers give the kids work in advance and so far so good. One is elementary and one is middle school. For sure there are other kids missing school for other sports, music commitments, etc. |
Kids need strong extracurriculars to get into top colleges. Schools know this and excuse them. It's no big deal. |
+1 Been going to NCSA with one kid or another MCPS and private, 5th -12th grades, 5 different schools, always honest, always excused. |