Kindergarten Attendance

[BeckyB]

Ok I admit I am a real people watcher and Macie fills me in daily. I have noticed some of the kids in Macie's JK class have already missed 2-3 days and they at school for only a month. I am thinking oh my that is alot of time to be off already. Am I being silly for worrying about attendance in JK?

Whats your thoughts?

[Jayne]

We don't have JK we have K and there is an attendance policy. I am conserned that Alyssa had already missed one day of Preschool. I am one who believes kids should be in school. IF nothing else for the fact that they love it and they are learning something!

[sheila]

I think it is alot of time off.

Maggie has missed 1 day of PreK because of a funeral, and we do actually have plans to make her miss 2 days just before xmas because we saved about $200 on tickets to CT that way.

[TtownAnne]

Depends on what they are off for. If Susie is sick with a raging headcold I'd rather her be at home than at school infecting all her little friends to make the moms talk about what an awful parent I am. :lol: Of course, I have no room to talk, Caroline has already missed one day due to illness, and will miss four more next month when we go on vacation.

[Cami]

I think families should avoid having their kids miss school if possible. (I remember a thread about this a while back!) But a day here and there isn't a big deal, imo.

In Addison's class, one girl has been out a day for a family wedding and another girl was sick for a couple of days. Addison's missing school on Monday because we're going out of town for the weekend. The school has a policy where they're allowed to miss 10 days for family stuff. We have to fill out a request form and get the days off approved.

[Kara]

For preschool or JK I wouldn't be as strict about it...
I would rather he be home if he is ill, then miserable at school AND infecting others..If they are keeping them home to watch tv or whatveer, than yes, thats a problem LOL.

[bunybomb]

Alex has missed a lot of days of Pre-K. He was out two days last week due to strep and I paid $157 for one day of pre-K. Two weeks before that, he was out all week due to vacation. He normally goes 3 days a week. If he is sick for two days but is better for one, I'm still not sending him. I can claim a vacation week in those cases and only pay half the tuition. When he starts Kindergarten next year and we aren't paying big bucks for school, he won't miss any days unless he's sick.

[Brandi]

You know, I don't really see why it's such a big deal to miss preschool. Pre-school isn't required; there's no law saying you have to go. So, why would it be a big deal if you miss a little here and there? We have taken our son out maybe 2 times already because we have gone on long weekend trips where he had to miss school on Friday. But, I think that visiting a grandmother who we don't get to see very often who has a reoccurance of stage 3 ovarian cancer is WAY more important than pre-school! Heck, there's going to be a lot of catch up going on once kids get to Kindergarten - the ones who haven't gone to pre-school and/or had no training at home.

Once kids get into elementary school, I think it's more important that they not miss school. And I know that most skills have rules about attendance. BUT, school is not the be all/end all. Family time is so important. I think it depends on a family and what they all believe is best for the children.

When I was younger, my mom and dad would take us out of school once a year to go and watch the pro/am day of a golf tournament where we lived. I had a cousin who was a professional golfer (now a commentator for NBC I believe) and he travelled all over the country. This was our one and only chance to see him golf, so we felt it was important to miss a day of school for it. But, is it right to let your kids out of school so they can travel out of town for a rock concert? Hmmmmm.......I don't think it would be right for MY family. But, I'm sure someone would disagree. As long as the child is getting their work made up and not falling behind in classes, I guess I don't see a huge problem with it.

[Bev]

Brandi, JK in Ontario is elementary school. Since school has only been in 6 weeks I think it is a lot unless they've been sick.