Night Elf Posted March 4, 2016 Share Posted March 4, 2016 Dd17 is getting out of public school today to go on a college visit. In order for it to be excused, she has to have a form signed by all of her teachers, the principal, and the college who has to also notarize it. Well, she got all the teacher's signatures but she forgot the principal's signature! She and DH left the house this morning at 6:00am so she couldn't get it before going. I can totally see the school not accepting the form without that principal's signature just because schools do stupid stuff like that. I emailed her counselor asking her opinion. I'm hoping she'll ease my mind and say it will be okay. Dd already has several unexcused absences. I think the district allows for up to 10 before there is a problem so she should be okay, but still, I don't like it. She said I could write a sick note, but by then she'll have already let the front office know she was at college and not home sick, so I don't see how we can get away with that. I just don't understand how she could have forgotten that signature. Good grief! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cinder Posted March 4, 2016 Share Posted March 4, 2016 :grouphug: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JFSinIL Posted March 4, 2016 Share Posted March 4, 2016 Teens can be airheads. Breathe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 4, 2016 Share Posted March 4, 2016 That's a lot of signatures for one day off! 27 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OneStepAtATime Posted March 4, 2016 Share Posted March 4, 2016 (edited) That IS a lot of sigs for one day off! Honestly, with all the teacher sigs and school work and classes and life in general as a teen, i think I could have easily forgotten the principal too. I hardly saw the guy in 4 years. He just wasn't on my radar. Hopefully, with all the other signatures, they will say it is excused. If she hasn't exceeded her unexcused absences it should be o.k. even if they decide to play hardball and count it as unexcused. Edited March 4, 2016 by OneStepAtATime 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DesertBlossom Posted March 4, 2016 Share Posted March 4, 2016 This a a little pet peeve of mine. No, it's a giant pet peeve of mine. IMO, an "unexcused absence" means the kid skipped school without the parents' permission. An excuse absence means the parent knows about it and "excused" them. It's none of the school's business where she went or why. It's excused because the parebt said so. She is your child. She doesn't belong to the school. You don't need their permission for your daughter to be anywhere. End rant. I am sorry you're in this mess though. 41 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparklyUnicorn Posted March 4, 2016 Share Posted March 4, 2016 I think the requirement is freaking over the top. I hope they ultimately don't give her a hard time. 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparklyUnicorn Posted March 4, 2016 Share Posted March 4, 2016 If you think that's bad, they explicitly do not excuse college visits in my district. Way to go with being encouraging stupid district! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annie G Posted March 4, 2016 Share Posted March 4, 2016 (edited) I can see getting the teacher's signatures because there will be work to make up and it's courteous to let the teachers know. But the principal doesn't really play any part in it -it's just a formality. So I'd expect them to just have the principal sign it when she returns. Of course that's me using logic and reason... Edited March 4, 2016 by Annie G 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparklyUnicorn Posted March 4, 2016 Share Posted March 4, 2016 I can see getting the teacher's signatures because there will be work to make up and it's courteous to let the teachers know. But the principal doesn't really play any part in it it's just a formality. So I'd expect them to just have the principal sign it when she returns. Of course that's me using logic and reason... That sounds reasonable to me. Why would the principle care that deeply? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MEmama Posted March 4, 2016 Share Posted March 4, 2016 If you think that's bad, they explicitly do not excuse college visits in my district. Way to go with being encouraging stupid district! Um, seriously?! Gah!!!!! :( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MEmama Posted March 4, 2016 Share Posted March 4, 2016 I hope they don't give her a hard time but honestly, YOU excused your (almost adult) child. They would get an earful from me if that wasn't "enough". I have no patience for this kind of crap, I really don't. I think I'm in a bad mood today. 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Night Elf Posted March 4, 2016 Author Share Posted March 4, 2016 I disagree with the whole unexcused absence thing too. I'm not sure why she has them anyway because I usually write a sick note for her. Even when she has a doctor's appointment and we forget to get an excuse from them. And the notes I write only say she was home sick. They don't ask for details. It's stupid. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creekland Posted March 4, 2016 Share Posted March 4, 2016 That seems really crazy "letter of the law" ish with the school! Ours requires signatures - nothing notarized - and if there's a little goof up it's just fixed later, esp when everyone knows what's going on! I definitely prefer common sense! :grouphug: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DesertBlossom Posted March 4, 2016 Share Posted March 4, 2016 (edited) I disagree with the whole unexcused absence thing too. I'm not sure why she has them anyway because I usually write a sick note for her. Even when she has a doctor's appointment and we forget to get an excuse from them. And the notes I write only say she was home sick. They don't ask for details. It's stupid. I generally shy away from picking a fight, but this would be something worth getting my panties in a wad over. I would probably call the school and tell them you excused her and that she doesn't need all those dang signatures. They aren't going to do anything about it anyway unless she reaches their limit. And then at that point I'd start making a real fuss. Edited March 4, 2016 by DesertBlossom 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Posted March 4, 2016 Share Posted March 4, 2016 Requiring a college visitor to have a form notarized by the college seems way over the top. Wasting college visit time by wandering around looking for a notary seems rather punitive. If they really don't trust that she's actually going on a visit, she could always bring back a map (or for the more modern, an on-campus selfie). 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murphy101 Posted March 4, 2016 Share Posted March 4, 2016 Well she did more than I would have and more than I'd deal with for my kids. I'd call the school and say she won't be in bc we are going to a college. The end. What with her being MY child, I don't really feel the need to ask permission for anything. I wouldn't care if it was excused or not either. Presuming she doesn't have enough unexcused events to cause graduation problem, we'd just take the hit with an eyeroll and keep on doing what we need to do. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted March 4, 2016 Share Posted March 4, 2016 That sounds bizarre to me. I emailed the school and told them that Calvin would be absent because he was visiting X University. That was it. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Entropymama Posted March 4, 2016 Share Posted March 4, 2016 Geez, notarized?! I'd just call and tell them she's sick. But I'm a rebel like that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Night Elf Posted March 4, 2016 Author Share Posted March 4, 2016 Well, the university included a school excuse in the packet of information they handed to each student at check-in. It's on letterhead. I'm positive her high school has seen such excuses from this university before because it's a popular college. If her high school won't accept it, I'll contact her school counselor and issue a complaint. That is who the excuses must be turned in to anyway. But she had a good visit. She's so excited to be going there in the Fall. I don't know how I'll do without my baby! :) 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lolly Posted March 5, 2016 Share Posted March 5, 2016 I disagree with the whole unexcused absence thing too. I'm not sure why she has them anyway because I usually write a sick note for her. Even when she has a doctor's appointment and we forget to get an excuse from them. And the notes I write only say she was home sick. They don't ask for details. It's stupid. Most places I know do not count Mommy excuses for sickness, the note has to be from a doctor's office in order for it to be counted as officially excused on record. I have known a couple of families who had to report to court because they didn't understand the policy and their child accumulated too many absences because their parents could tell if they were running a fever or tossing their cookies. Ridiculous, but you can't trust a parent's word on stuff like this. They just might be taking their kid to Disney instead or something. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eternalsummer Posted March 5, 2016 Share Posted March 5, 2016 When I was in school the rule was a 1% deduction from overall grade for every unexcused absence. They didn't need doctors' notes, though; my dad called me in as needing a sick day whenever I needed a "sick" day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hikin' Mama Posted March 5, 2016 Share Posted March 5, 2016 Things like this make me SO thankful for the public high school my sons went to. My kids were excused if I called the school and said they wouldn't be there. End of story. I took my middle son out of school for 6 days during his senior year to go on a trip to Hawaii. I did go in to the school and talk to the principal, who was awesome, to let him know well in advance. He was 100% in favor of us taking our son out. My son got all his work done in advance of going and still managed to graduate at the top of his class. Every time I've read posts on this board about public school issues, I want to go kiss the teachers and admins of our local high school. Ours was a very good experience. Night Elf, I'm excited for your daughter! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hikin' Mama Posted March 5, 2016 Share Posted March 5, 2016 Most places I know do not count Mommy excuses for sickness, the note has to be from a doctor's office in order for it to be counted as officially excused on record. I have known a couple of families who had to report to court because they didn't understand the policy and their child accumulated too many absences because their parents could tell if they were running a fever or tossing their cookies. Ridiculous, but you can't trust a parent's word on stuff like this. They just might be taking their kid to Disney instead or something. So what if they are taking their kid to Disney? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NotSoObvious Posted March 5, 2016 Share Posted March 5, 2016 So what if they are taking their kid to Disney? One of the regrets I have from being a first grade teacher is just that. A mom emailed me asking if she should take her child (my student) out for a week to go to Disney with their extended family. I of course emailed her back telling her how many hours of instruction and tutoring he would be missing (he struggled) and she decided not to go. I want to go back in time and tell her GO TO DISNEY!!!!!! It's *incredibly* obnoxious when kids miss a lot of school, especially young kids. They get lost, they feel bad when they've missed things and don't understand, it's chaotic for the teacher, etc. There are valid concerns. But honestly, the vast majority of absences are fine for the vast majority of kids. And experiences should always trump school! Just don't ask me to prepare work for your child to do. If you want to do work, come to school. If you want to road school, do it yourself. If you want a vacation, just take a dang vacation! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wheres Toto Posted March 5, 2016 Share Posted March 5, 2016 A notarized letter is definitely WAY over the top. Notifying teachers seems fair. The principal seems a bit much. My oldest's high school counted all college visits as excused absences for juniors and seniors. They just had to bring something from the school. Teachers were expected to work with the kids on covering requirements. This was a school where 95% of graduates went on to four-year colleges including Ivies, West Point, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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