i also wonder if competitive high schools like school without walls etc. have a look at the unexcused absences and draw their own conclusions about the commitment of the parents to a school environment.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have kids in two different charter middle schools in DC. One kid easily missed a week of school. The other kid had a harder time catching up. Neither had any consequences.

Chronic absenteeism is a huge problem. If you have no trouble getting your kids to school outside your one-week vacation, I think it's OK (though of course not ideal). I think it does depend on both the kid and the particular school.

Many kids end up missing at least a week of school because of illness like the flu.

LOL. "This is bad, but is not bad when I do it."

No. I actually have a kid who struggles with chronic absenteeism. it's not the same thing.

DCPS will send letters and e-mails sure but they don’t actually do anything about absenteeism. It is also really easy to get absences excused. Kids miss 30, 40, 50 days and nothing happens.

The calls, emails, letters and texts from DCPS for excused absences have really stepped up this year due to the post-pandemic absenteeism that has become such a huge problem both in DC and nationally. So prepare yourself to receive a lot of notices.

My kid missed a week for an illness this year and had a horrible time catching up, and this was with teacher support and sympathy for his illness. This impacted his grades for the third term, which caused increased anxiety as he put more pressure on himself. So it's been a really fun few months.

So that's our experience and it was all for excused absences.

Anonymous wrote:I have kids in two different charter middle schools in DC. One kid easily missed a week of school. The other kid had a harder time catching up. Neither had any consequences.

Chronic absenteeism is a huge problem. If you have no trouble getting your kids to school outside your one-week vacation, I think it's OK (though of course not ideal). I think it does depend on both the kid and the particular school.

Many kids end up missing at least a week of school because of illness like the flu.

LOL. "This is bad, but is not bad when I do it."

I have kids in two different charter middle schools in DC. One kid easily missed a week of school. The other kid had a harder time catching up. Neither had any consequences.

Chronic absenteeism is a huge problem. If you have no trouble getting your kids to school outside your one-week vacation, I think it's OK (though of course not ideal). I think it does depend on both the kid and the particular school.

Many kids end up missing at least a week of school because of illness like the flu.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It was a big deal in elementary. Maybe your child wasn't affected but other children and the teachers were.

You can go on vacation when school is on break.

You sound like a bitter sad person. How would it affect any other kids?

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2024/03/29/us/chronic-absences.html

It affects teachers, then the classroom community, and the culture. You all are obviously not alone .. almost everyone is starting to view school as optional. But, it's a vicious cycle because parents skip school, thinking school quality and culture suck anyway, and school quality and culture suffer when school is treated as optional.

I'm neither bitter, nor sad. I don't even think I'm a tool. It's just a real crisis that won't change anytime soon and that DOES seem sad to me.

lol. You think after they closed elementary schools for 18 months in DC, I worried a single second about pulling my elementary school kid for a trip? lolololol. Covid closures taught me that yes, being in school in functionally optional for elementary. MS is different in that keeping up with classwork is more important, but I sure did pull my 6th grader for 2 days for a Disney trip with zero qualms!

ES parents: pull your kids for that cruise or Disney fall trip! Seriously just do it.

By middle you are doing your kid a disservice.

I thought kids were resilient.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It was a big deal in elementary. Maybe your child wasn't affected but other children and the teachers were.

You can go on vacation when school is on break.

You sound like a bitter sad person. How would it affect any other kids?

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2024/03/29/us/chronic-absences.html

It affects teachers, then the classroom community, and the culture. You all are obviously not alone .. almost everyone is starting to view school as optional. But, it's a vicious cycle because parents skip school, thinking school quality and culture suck anyway, and school quality and culture suffer when school is treated as optional.

I'm neither bitter, nor sad. I don't even think I'm a tool. It's just a real crisis that won't change anytime soon and that DOES seem sad to me.

lol. You think after they closed elementary schools for 18 months in DC, I worried a single second about pulling my elementary school kid for a trip? lolololol. Covid closures taught me that yes, being in school in functionally optional for elementary. MS is different in that keeping up with classwork is more important, but I sure did pull my 6th grader for 2 days for a Disney trip with zero qualms!

ES parents: pull your kids for that cruise or Disney fall trip! Seriously just do it.

By middle you are doing your kid a disservice.