PARCC needs to be passed before high school graduation but could be taken when offered next year. (For students who do not pass PARCC, they take again next year.) I think there may also be makeup dates for PARCC, though not sure.

I'm with the other posters about trying to keep kids at home while you go, BUT I would say that during PARCC administration time, not much tends to go on in MS because the whole schedule is disrupted by the testing. Wouldn't be that fun to have to take PARCC in high school a year after taking Algebra, but not a huge deal, either. Honestly, if I needed to do this, I'd leave while PARCC is being administered so the kid doesn't lose much real instructional time.

Please just talk to the school.
There is a very good chance that they will work with you. The answer may very well be unenrolling and then re-enrolling, so that he doesn't get 0s on the missing work. Or they may be able to give you an idea of what content is covered and you can keep him relatively up to speed on your own.
Or they'll tell you he'll get all 0s and fail Algebra I and then you know it's worth staying with a friend.

Just talk to the school and get real facts for your actual situation.

Anonymous wrote:Why do you have to go at the same time? Is the impending issue really that close? Plan for one parent to go for 2 weeks, then the other. Or stagger by 1 week so that your son is only out of the country for that one week.

I understand - with immigration issues, they want to stay with their child.

OP, you're just going to have to "homeschool" for two weeks. I don't think you can expect much more than that the teacher gives the hoomework in advance and indicates the materials that will be covered. Good luck with the lawyers. Your son is young and even if this slightly hurts his grade, he'll bounce back.

Why do you have to go at the same time? Is the impending issue really that close? Plan for one parent to go for 2 weeks, then the other. Or stagger by 1 week so that your son is only out of the country for that one week.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Have him stay with the friends and hire a driver to take him to/from school.

What is this emergency that isn't death that would require both spouses? It is something to do with visas/immigration?

Correct. Our lawyer has just flagged an impending issue. I'm thankful it's not a death in the family, but this is a major blow too.

No sympathy

Why? You realize that visa rules and regulations are terrifically complex and that hard-working people find themselves in limbo all the time. It can be devastating for families and should not raise near-xenophobic sentiments like the one you're expressing.

Same for the poster who disparaged a PP whose mother had died and whose son got points taken off for being absent for a week - that actually should not have happened, because there is an attendance code specifically for "death in the close family". Which a grandparent is.

While I agree with you, MCPS does not. They define immediate family as the student's parent or sibling (and I guess, child). Grandparent is not in their definition.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Have him stay with the friends and hire a driver to take him to/from school.

What is this emergency that isn't death that would require both spouses? It is something to do with visas/immigration?

Correct. Our lawyer has just flagged an impending issue. I'm thankful it's not a death in the family, but this is a major blow too.

No sympathy

This is what is wrong with society. No one has empathy anymore. No one cares unless it affects them personally. Sad.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Have him stay with the friends and hire a driver to take him to/from school.

What is this emergency that isn't death that would require both spouses? It is something to do with visas/immigration?

Correct. Our lawyer has just flagged an impending issue. I'm thankful it's not a death in the family, but this is a major blow too.

No sympathy

Why? You realize that visa rules and regulations are terrifically complex and that hard-working people find themselves in limbo all the time. It can be devastating for families and should not raise near-xenophobic sentiments like the one you're expressing.

Same for the poster who disparaged a PP whose mother had died and whose son got points taken off for being absent for a week - that actually should not have happened, because there is an attendance code specifically for "death in the close family". Which a grandparent is.

Anonymous wrote:7:13 has some good advice, but there is no Algebra final coming (since MCPS did away with finals). There will be the progress check some time in May. More importantly, PRACC will be done in May and passing Algebra 1 PARCC is a high school graduation requirement. I don't know if your long term goals for staying in MCPS, but I would still take passing Algebra 1 seriously. The testing window for our MS is May 6-18.

Sorry I meant PARCC not final (so hard to keep track!)

Honestly you need to talk to the school -- no one here can give you an answer.

Sounds like a business issue?

Have your lawyer prepare a Power of Attorney so your husband can sign anything requiring your signature abroad. Then you can stay home.

7:13 has some good advice, but there is no Algebra final coming (since MCPS did away with finals). There will be the progress check some time in May. More importantly, PRACC will be done in May and passing Algebra 1 PARCC is a high school graduation requirement. I don't know if your long term goals for staying in MCPS, but I would still take passing Algebra 1 seriously. The testing window for our MS is May 6-18.

I find that regardless of the policy, most teachers are willing to work with a kid that has been diligent all year. If your kid has been out frequently all year, it is a different story. hat said 2 weeks is a long time and the Algebra final is coming. I would really try to find a way for him to stay. Scour the bus route for your school and find the closest stop to where he might stay. They just have to get him to the bus. Not all the way to school.

Anonymous wrote:My son missed 1 week of MS when my mother died this year and it killed his grades even though we told them before we left. When he got back he ended up getting tested on material he had not learned. Really unfair.

sorry - But the world won't stop for one kid. That's the issue.

Even if a teacher hands out assignments for a child "on leave," chances are they will never match up to what was done in the classroom, as the lessons can often change from period to period. Furthermore, while teachers can plan out the big picture, what teacher has planned out the nuts and bolts of each lesson w/in a week's time? This requires preparing materials and planning activities down to the minute.

to OP - Even if materials are online, many are posted after a lesson has been delivered. And they're just that - materials. The instruction of those materials already happened that day.

Find a way to keep the kids here or if possible, see if one of you can stay home. Can you hire someone's nanny for a week who will stay overnight?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It can’t be over a certain number of days or they will literally unenroll your kid. I have seen it happen.

BS

PP, I would invite you to click on the link provided by the poster at 20:20 on page 1 of this thread regarding MCPS attendance policy and how students are unenrolled after a certain number of days of unexcused absences.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It can’t be over a certain number of days or they will literally unenroll your kid. I have seen it happen.

BS

No, it isn't. I've also seen it happen. I think the trigger period is longer than 10 days but it absolutely does happen after several weeks.

And assembling all these materials and asking for extraordinary treatment specially to accommodate your kid is a lot of extra work for teachers. Telling them to make videos or online tests, are you kidding? Asking that of someone when your kid really should be in school and they're not supposed to have to help you with unexcused absences is pretty brazen. Even if you think you have a really compelling reason. They've got 150 other students.