BY JENNIFER MARINO WALTERS
L More and more
families are traveling
during the school
year. Here’s how
to minimize the
impact—and maximize the
benefits—of school-
year vacations.

16 Washington FAMILY AUGUST 2022
Eliza Weeks, a Burke, Virginia mom who’s
pulled her second-grader out of school for
short trips to Disney World and Universal
Studios. “We save money, we’re less stressed
and we have fun.”
Many teachers and administrators also
acknowledge the benefits of school-year
vacations. Amy Goodwill, principal of Rocky
Run Middle School in Chantilly, Virginia,
says, “Travel can provide some outstand-
ing learning opportunities that complement
the child’s studies. Plus, sometimes families
just need a break.”
Others are more concerned about longer
school-year trips than shorter ones. “Try to
plan the vacation so your child only misses
one day,” says Kyria Joseph, executive direc-
tor of secondary schools for Baltimore County
Public Schools. “More vacation days unin-
tentionally impact school achievement data,
leading administrators to spend additional
time writing school improvement plans.”
There are plenty of benefits to vacationing
Here are some expert tips on what to
during the school year. Flights, accommoda- consider when planning a family vacation
tions, and even rental cars are often much during the school year and how to minimize
cheaper during off-peak times than over the the negative impacts—and maximize the
summer or during school breaks. For many benefits—of the trip.

families, that means school-year trips are
the only vacations they can afford.

Crowds are also much thinner during off-
peak times. Families can relax on emptier
• Know that vacation days are considered
beaches, enjoy theme park attractions with-
unexcused absences and will go on your
out waiting in two-hour lines and take road
child’s record as such. If a child is absent
trips without sitting in crazy traffic (and
for a certain number of consecutive days,
therefore save money on gas), etc.

that child will be disenrolled from school
It’s no surprise, then, that more and
and will have to re-enroll. (The exact
more families are pulling kids out of
number of days varies by school district.)
school to go on vacations. In an April 2022
• Time it right. It’s tempting to squeeze in
survey of more than 3,000 parents by Family
one last summer trip after school starts—
Destinations Guide, two thirds of respon-
when it’s still hot but beach rentals and
dents said they believe the benefits of family
hotels have gone way down in price—but
travel far outweigh the missed school days.

Goodwill cautions against it. “It’s hard
Parents also said they’d be willing to pay
on kids to miss the very beginning of the
an average of $883 to take their kids on
school year,” she says. “Kids need to settle
vacation during the school year in response
in and acclimate.”
to a California school district charging
Joseph says to also avoid traveling
parents daily fines for unexcused absences.

during testing and assessments such
“For my family, traveling during the
as the SAT or ACT and to consider the
school year is the only way to travel,” says
ast January, my family took an epic
11-day vacation to Oahu, Hawaii. We
swam, snorkeled, hiked and—most
importantly—bonded. The best part? Our kids, twin boys in fifth
grade and a daughter who was in second grade
at the time, only missed three and a half days of
school. That’s because we traveled on a week
when Fairfax County Public Schools were
closed on Monday for Martin Luther King,
Jr. Day, had an early release that Thursday,
and were closed again on Friday and the
following Monday for teacher workdays.

When we returned, the kids were able to jump
right back into school without having missed
much at all.

Not everyone thinks of taking school-
year vacations. Here’s why they are not only
possible, but worth it.

Benefits of School-Year Vacations
Planning a School-Year Vacation



child’s extracurricular activities. “Avoid planning a vacation
during performances for drama students or playoff season for
student athletes.”
And of course, do as my family did—review the school-year
calendar and plan a vacation around teacher workdays and
student holidays.

• Consider the child’s age and grade level. Elementary-school
students will be less affected by absences than middle-school
students. Once kids are in high school, Goodwill warns, “They
can miss a significant amount of curriculum in only a few days.”
• Think about the student’s personality and grades. “If the child’s
academic record is not satisfactory or he or she does not have
good organizational skills, parents should reconsider placing
additional stress on the child to make up work,” Joseph says.

• Discuss travel plans with older kids. Goodwill herself is a mother
of three, including two teenagers. “The idea of missing several
days of school is a source of anxiety for the teens,” she says. So,
if you can, involve older kids in trip planning and talk with them
about whether they’d even want to miss school.

• Give teachers as much notice as possible. That way, they’ll be
able to get your child any materials they’ll need in advance. If
you want to be proactive, check to see if their teachers post
classwork on a website such as Schoology. The more work your
child can do ahead of time, the less behind he or she will fall
during the trip. But be realistic about asking teachers for extra
work. Sometimes, they just don’t have time to prepare extra
assignments for your child to complete before or during the trip.

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• Allow kids to help plan the trip. This can be a great opportunity
to teach children about organization, time management
and budgeting.

• Make connections to your child’s curriculum. Museums, historic
sites, and national parks are all great places to visit. During our
Hawaii trip, we visited Pearl Harbor, learned how pineapples
and other fruits grow at the Dole Plantation and observed rock
formations on a mountain hike—all things my kids had learned
about in school and could now see in real life.

• Find learning opportunities wherever you can. Traveling
mishaps such as delayed flights, lost luggage, language barriers
and more can teach kids flexibility, patience and resilience.

Seeing how other cultures live can increase empathy and
tolerance. Even a trip to the beach can teach kids about topics
such as sea life, ecology and conservation.

Most of all, remember to have fun. The biggest travel benefit of
all is the opportunity to spend time together as a family, de-stress
and recharge your batteries. School—and work—will be there
waiting when you return! T
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