All-Star Proactive Or Reactive With School Missed For Cheer?

[lisarenee]

CP is starting middle school next year and I know their attendance policies are tighter than for elementary. We don't have our comp schedule yet but there a good chance we'll go over the maximum number of days allowed for absences.

In the past, have you met with the principal and/or teachers at the beginning of the school year and explained the situation. OR, do you wait for the dreaded "nastygrams" to start coming in then address it? If you met ahead of time, were the teachers/principal receptive? Were they willing to provide work to your cp?

I know responses will vary by school, just curious what others have experienced. I'm a total rule follower so when the school rules clash with the cheer "rules" (expectations) it drives me crazy.

 

[FierceIsTheName]

My highschool's policy is you cannot have more than 12 Excused absences per semester. I missed like 6-8 days 1st semester (sickness, doctor appointments) then second semester I missed like 18. So second semester I lost credit for all my classes. My school just requires you to fill out a credit appeal form, and if they approve it you get your credit back. I shouldn't have gone over 12 absences (only 6 for Summit, 4 for Anaheim Competition), the rest were sicknesses, or me flat out not going to school...

I always talked to my teachers before I left about what I was missing and what work I need to do. Most of my teachers were very nice and gave me all my work. 1 of my teachers (English) gave an essay assignment while I was gone (and did not tell me) and didn't let me get full credit for it. Also, I was in PE second semester, and my PE class grades on attendance, so I got a C- in that class strictly because I was missing a lot of school, so check with all your teachers!

Last year they mailed me a letter EVERY TIME I missed a day telling me I was close to losing credit. This year they didn't even mention it once, but I knew I was getting close.

You just have to plan very carefully and communicate with every teacher!


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[Boughetto]

CP is starting middle school next year and I know their attendance policies are tighter than for elementary. We don't have our comp schedule yet but there a good chance we'll go over the maximum number of days allowed for absences.

In the past, have you met with the principal and/or teachers at the beginning of the school year and explained the situation. OR, do you wait for the dreaded "nastygrams" to start coming in then address it? If you met ahead of time, were the teachers/principal receptive? Were they willing to provide work to your cp?

I know responses will vary by school, just curious what others have experienced. I'm a total rule follower so when the school rules clash with the cheer "rules" (expectations) it drives me crazy.

My CP has never missed a day of school due to cheer and she's on a level 4 team this season. I've always scheduled travel so she was able to attend school on Friday until noon so she could get credit for the day and then we would drive/fly to the competition. We were always home by Sunday night so school on Monday morning was a must!! I couldn't imagine ever having my CP miss the maximum number of days of school just to attend cheer competitions. I would have to reevaluate the program we were with if it interfered with her education.

I would suggest you meet with your CP teachers/school counselor if you believe your CP will miss school in excess of what the school dictates.

 

[FlexyTumblerMom]

Cheer will force you to miss more than the what the school allows? How many missed days are you allowed?

My CP did a lot of out of town comps last year, many where she was in the very last session w/ awards late on a Sunday night, and I'd say she missed a total of 4-5 days of school between January and April because she absolutely needed to. It was way under her school's limit - which I think is 15 (w/ warnings starting at 12),

However, there were girls on her teams that seemed to take off days from school that really weren't necessary. Like we wouldn't be warming up until 4:00pm on a Saturday somewhere that's a 3 hour drive away and they'd take off school on the Friday? I would think - why wouldn't you just leave after school? Maybe they wanted to spend time in the hotel and have fun, but I wouldn't have my CP miss a day of school over that.

If cheer would cause my CP to miss so much school that it would have negative consequences on her school records, I would probably find another gym that did comps that didn't cause as many missed school days.

 

[CheerBank]

CP is starting middle school next year and I know their attendance policies are tighter than for elementary. We don't have our comp schedule yet but there a good chance we'll go over the maximum number of days allowed for absences.

In the past, have you met with the principal and/or teachers at the beginning of the school year and explained the situation. OR, do you wait for the dreaded "nastygrams" to start coming in then address it? If you met ahead of time, were the teachers/principal receptive? Were they willing to provide work to your cp?

I know responses will vary by school, just curious what others have experienced. I'm a total rule follower so when the school rules clash with the cheer "rules" (expectations) it drives me crazy.

Cp is going into 10th grade and has been doing allstar since kindergarten. We always try to minimize the number of days cp missed the best we can. She goes to school as much as she can the Friday before the competition and typically makes it to school on Monday no matter what time we get home on Sunday night.
I really think it depends on the relationship you and your child have with the teachers as well as what each teacher is willing to do in terms of work in advance. Some teachers will be more than happy to give you the work, others may be unwilling and still others may not be prepared enough themselves to physically hand you the work in advance. I know when cp has a test scheduled for a travel day she speaks to the teacher in advance and tries to take it before the weekend.
It gets harder and harder for them to miss school and to still be successful the older they get. Not impossible but it requires a lot of work and advanced planning on their part and the ability to really stay on top of things. We have spent many a competition Saturday night in the room doing homework.

Also - I've called her in sick some times and other times told the school she would be away for an out-of-state athletic competition.

 

[omgitssydthekid]

We were allowed 10 per semester per class. The most I ever had was 8 (my Junior year) and that was the semester I had Jamfest SuperNationals, NCA Nationals, and UCA Nationals. Plus I was in the process of getting my braces off so that was a couple of absences too.

I'm a coach now and I coach a "travel" team this season but I can't travel with them due to college. It's my senior year, I'm an editor for the campus newspaper, and spring (nationals season) is my internship semester so it's just not realistic for me to travel. I hate missing class and it's hard to truly be successful when you don't go, especially in college.

I would try and arrange travel so that she misses the minimal amount as possible, but since it's middle school her teachers/principals might be more understanding. However, when she gets to high school they might say she's SOL. Which isn't fair (in my opinion) if the student is still able to get a good grade in the class, but it is what it is.


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[cheerKT]

We were allowed 10 per semester per class. The most I ever had was 8 (my Junior year) and that was the semester I had Jamfest SuperNationals, NCA Nationals, and UCA Nationals. Plus I was in the process of getting my braces off so that was a couple of absences too.

I'm a coach now and I coach a "travel" team this season but I can't travel with them due to college. It's my senior year, I'm an editor for the campus newspaper, and spring (nationals season) is my internship semester so it's just not realistic for me to travel. I hate missing class and it's hard to truly be successful when you don't go, especially in college.

I would try and arrange travel so that she misses the minimal amount as possible, but since it's middle school her teachers/principals might be more understanding. However, when she gets to high school they might say she's SOL. Which isn't fair (in my opinion) if the student is still able to get a good grade in the class, but it is what it is.


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Definitely a possibility. I've discussed this many times and heard many different stories, but my high school allowed 8 absences per class no matter what. Excused/unexcused/whatever. So it's definitely something to delve into further when the time comes.

I always say being proactive is better. They may not take any action on it at the time, but at least it could cover your butt if the school comes back asking why they didn't know about it ahead of time.

 

[omgitssydthekid]

Definitely a possibility. I've discussed this many times and heard many different stories, but my high school allowed 8 absences per class no matter what. Excused/unexcused/whatever. So it's definitely something to delve into further when the time comes.

I always say being proactive is better. They may not take any action on it at the time, but at least it could cover your butt if the school comes back asking why they didn't know about it ahead of time.

Oh absolutely. Our allotted number of days also included days for being sick so that wouldn't have worked as an excuse for us to avoid going over either.

Upfront is usually the best option if her CP does have to miss, because hopefully she'll be able to get the class work/homework before she leaves. Plus that way, she can hopefully arrange to get notes from someone in the class so she isn't missing the material.


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[WinstonsGirl]

Be proactive. That said, as a teacher, I really hate when kids come in and say something to the effect of "I'm gone for the next x days. Can you tell me what we're doing and give me work to do??" I can't, cos 1. I don't plan that far in advance and 2. it never gets done anyway.

Let the teacher know, but don't expect them to have work ready to go. She'll probably have to make it up after. Also, this depends a lot on the kid. Some, I have no issues with them missing classes cos I know they'll make up the work and stay caught up. Others, usually the ones who take the most days off need to be there.

What does happen if CP misses over the allotted days?? There's really nothing that can be done here.

 

[lisarenee]

Be proactive. That said, as a teacher, I really hate when kids come in and say something to the effect of "I'm gone for the next x days. Can you tell me what we're doing and give me work to do??" I can't, cos 1. I don't plan that far in advance and 2. it never gets done anyway.

Let the teacher know, but don't expect them to have work ready to go. She'll probably have to make it up after. Also, this depends a lot on the kid. Some, I have no issues with them missing classes cos I know they'll make up the work and stay caught up. Others, usually the ones who take the most days off need to be there.

What does happen if CP misses over the allotted days?? There's really nothing that can be done here.

CP spent many car rides last year doing school work or studying on the way home from a comp. Despite the travel schedule and days missed last year she still made A/B honor roll. I know it will be harder to maintain that as she gets higher up in levels but, for now, it is working for us.

I'm not sure how far the school pursues action. The letter mentions truancy court after a certain point, though I can't imagine they would go that far for a child that gets all of her work turned in and manages to keep her grades up.

 

[lisarenee]

However, there were girls on her teams that seemed to take off days from school that really weren't necessary. Like we wouldn't be warming up until 4:00pm on a Saturday somewhere that's a 3 hour drive away and they'd take off school on the Friday? I would think - why wouldn't you just leave after school? Maybe they wanted to spend time in the hotel and have fun, but I wouldn't have my CP miss a day of school over that.

This definitely is not the case with us. We are typically required to check in Friday evening for practice. A few of our comps were 6-8 hours away so going to school to get credit for the day wasn't an option. Most comps we were there until 9-10-ish on Sunday night and I didn't feel comfortable driving through the night to get her back in time for school.

Between Summit and those 4 day weekends I think she ended up with 8-10 absences.

 

[C*A-Shelby K]

I missed all the time for cheer throughout my years. I always pushed the max days and sometimes went over. I was always upfront at the beginning of the year and told all my teachers about cheer and told them my travel schedule and asked if it would be a problem. Then I always let them know at least a day or 2 in advance if I would be missing a few days. I was the kid who would leave almost every Friday at 12:30 the weekend of travel comps (even 2 hours away we usually left by 2:00 to be at hotel by check in time) I always made sure I at least get credit for the day if I left early, and I always skipped the Monday after if it was after 9PM when I got home from the competition. My mom had no problem with it as long as I didn't get in trouble with the school. The worst 2 years were my junior and senior year when I was on worlds team and double teaming on a summit team because it involved more travel.
My junior year: I missed a week and a half due to randomly getting chicken pox... Missed a lot of other days for travel, and then another week for summit. I was at about 15-16 days I talked to my principal to make sure I wouldn't get in trouble and he said as long as my grades didn't suffer he would back me up if need be with the district.
My senior year: I did school at a local college. Luckily I had no Friday classes and my Monday classes were not until 11 either semester. So I rarely had to miss until it came to worlds/summit right before finals but all my professors worked with me and let me take exams late and make up my work.
It helps if your a good student, had I not been I would not been able to do that. I still graduated with a 4.1 and 11th in my class of about 300 kids. The teachers in my school pretty much all knew I missed a lot of school but didn't really care because I was still one of their top students and so they didn't have to worry about me I always got everything done that I needed to. I would say being up front is the best thing to do I think the student gains a lot more respect from the teachers by doing this, it shows that they still care and aren't skipping and blowing things off.

 

[Keep_Believing]

For our district, middle and high school absences go by each class period. If you leave at 1:20 pm and still have 5th & 6th period left then you get an absence in those classes. It is tough. I wish I had a good answer for you, but it will vary based on your school policies.

 

[Twinklestars]

Our school is on block schedule. If you miss six days, you owe time for time on Saturday morning starting at 7:00.

I don't really know what would happen if you didn't make it up.

 

[oncecoolcoachnowmom]

If your child has an exam or test while they are out, make arrangements for that.

It always surprises me when people take a trip to Disney the week that a high school senior has an AP Calc exam, a Stats midterm and 2 papers due.