PK3 absences

[Anonymous]

OP, if you lottery into PK and you do not receive in bounds preference, you are considered by DCPS an OOB student. This is true in PK3 and 3rd grade and 12th grade.

I have not heard of an early childhood student being admitted OOB and then losing their space due to excessive absences, but I suspect that if DCPS wanted to do that, they would have justification. I do know of OOB kids in older grades who have been told that they cannot return the following year as a result of excessive absences. It does happen.

As for your reasons, you obviously know what is best for your family. I would strongly advise against the Labor Day trip, though. The week after Labor Day is the kids' first week together, and the teachers make an effort to orient everyone the same - learning names, learning classroom rules, etc. If you want to take mini-trips in the year, I would try to sync them up with DCPS professional development days (there are many) or focus on the breaks (which are substantial).

[Anonymous]

We got a letter just for taking 3 days in October (the Monday and Friday were not school days) to visit my parents in Calif. The flights were much more affordable.

[Anonymous]

Considered an unexcused absence. As someone with over 50 tardies I can tell you it takes a lot to get kicked out. They would have to have another reason to really want you out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Considered an unexcused absence. As someone with over 50 tardies I can tell you it takes a lot to get kicked out. They would have to have another reason to really want you out.

Er, I swear I'm not judging, but how did that happen?!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, you need to check you entitlement at the door. It's wonderful that your Florida jaunts are so beneficial to your entire family. But don't expect DCPS or DCPC schools to just accept that. If they start the process to push your DC out of the school for poor attendance, well that is just the consequence.

+1 I have to agree with this. Coming back on here to post and brag about Florida is more than off-putting to say the least.

[Anonymous]

It is selfish to use other people's tax dollars to pay for teachers and staff to be present to educate your kid and you are not there. It is also wrong to take that slot away from a family who would fully take advantage of it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Considered an unexcused absence. As someone with over 50 tardies I can tell you it takes a lot to get kicked out. They would have to have another reason to really want you out.

Er, I swear I'm not judging, but how did that happen?!

Yeah get your ass to school on time

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Considered an unexcused absence. As someone with over 50 tardies I can tell you it takes a lot to get kicked out. They would have to have another reason to really want you out.

I think this is far more disruptive that taking a week off here and there. Every time your child comes in late and it sets off the routine for the whole class, particularly in the younger grades.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, I'm not sure why you don't think IB/OOB don't apply to PK3/PK4--although they are not mandatory grades and you have to lottery in, they are still distinctions, and IB students have more rights than OOB students with respect to unexcused absences.

Here is the absence policy for the DCPS parent handbook:

"Attendance
Regular school attendance is required by DC law for children ages 5 to 18. Although not required by law, it is just as important for children ages 3 and 4 to have regular attendance as well. Attending school every day and on-time is critically important and has a huge impact on learning from kindergarten through high school. Even as children grow older and become more independent, families play a key role in making sure regular attendance is a priority.

Some absences are unavoidable but when a student misses too much school—excused or unexcused—they
can fall behind academically. Students are much less likely to succeed when they are chronically absent and/or miss 18 or more days in a school year. Students who miss more than 20% of their scheduled periods in a school day will, by law, be considered absent for the entire day.

If your child received a seat through the out-of-boundary lottery and has 10 unexcused absences or 20 unexcused tardies, they may be asked to return to their neighborhood school at the end of the school year."

See http://dcps.dc.gov/DCPS/Files/downloads/COMMUNITY/Parents/DCPS%20Parent%20HandbookEnglishweb.pdf

So my read of this is that there is no rule governing PK kids, but they prefer you make an effort for your kids to be there. There is no "out of boundary lottery" for PK. All PK kids lottery in, and those in bound receive a preference at the school. I plan to check with his DCPS in any event.

To those who get snippy about us traveling to Florida, the kid freaking loves it and it's amazing for our family time. Spending a week of solid time with his dad (who travels for work a lot), with grandma and granddad etc etc.... is a million times more positive for his development at age 3 than one more week of the public school curriculum. Sorry the rest of you are jealous.

OP you asked for opinions, you got them. If you want to gamble with OOB status (if you are OOB) and want to make a choice believing your OOB status is irrelevant for PS/PK, go for it. Play at your own risk. I'm sure there are plenty of people on the waiting list if it's a popular school happy to switch from wherever they are if you lost your spot. Not sure what else you are going on about, your family values this, ok, you may be taking some risks that have been covered, so what else is there to talk about?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Considered an unexcused absence. As someone with over 50 tardies I can tell you it takes a lot to get kicked out. They would have to have another reason to really want you out.

Yes, but what school are you at and how many others are dying for your spot? Pressure both from current parents and wanna be parents, and sometimes just individual school Principal styles, can mean how strict enforcement is can vary from school to school. The rules only vary between DCPS and among charters, but within DCPS the rules are the same, but level of enforcement can vary.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It is selfish to use other people's tax dollars to pay for teachers and staff to be present to educate your kid and you are not there. It is also wrong to take that slot away from a family who would fully take advantage of it.

Oh, please it's her tax dollars also and the classrooms are so overcrowded anyway that just means more attention for the kids that are in class that week.

jealous much people?

[Anonymous]

Yeah, really jealous we don't get to spend more time in suburban Orlando in September. Please.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yeah, really jealous we don't get to spend more time in suburban Orlando in September. Please.

+1 move to Florida OP if it's that wonderful for your family time.