School absences

[GymMomx3]

How do you handle absences for out of state competition? In Texas, most schools will consider it unexcused and require work to be turned in prior to leaving or receive a "0" for the assignment. This is really tough for kids in high school. Is there a way around this other than calling your child in sick?

 

[Tumblequeensmom]

Kids in high school should be turning their work in before a meet that requires them to miss school. It is all part of learning how to manage their time w/their sport. My daughter is now a junior in high school and it has never been an issue w/her making up work or turning it in early. I definitely believe honesty is the best policy.

 

[mayestra12]

Really?

I teach high school. See if the school has approved trips. I have signed countless trip forms for students that are going on vacation, performing with various groups out of state, etc. This counts as excused and all the teachers know about the absence and will often get work ready. Also, if the absence is still considered unexcused I would e-mail all the teachers individually to explain the situation. The teacher can allow your child to turn in the work after the absence if they know the situation. I know I would. I believe in my state it is excused for the child to miss school to participate in a sport that is not offered by the school district. High schools do not have gymnastics teams in my area.

 

[gymgal]

Most districts have a certain number of days that can be used as excused for educational family trips. Our district allows 4, I think - but requires that it be approved before hand and a plan must be in place to show that learning took place. For instance, if you have time to stop at a museum, she can write a simple essay on an exhibit. Or she can analyze the meet scores.

 

[bribri514]

I competed L 10 for 5 years through middle and high school and my mom never called me in sick so I could do homework. She worked at the school and refused to let me do gymnastics, even if it was a meet, if I got behind in school. I got the threat of not going to nationals because I hadn't finished my science fair project in 7th grade lol. You can do it, just communicate with your teachers, see if you can get the week's homework ahead of time, do as much before and during school (like at lunch) as you can. Keep a planner! You also learn great ways to get more work done more quickly, by finding study aids that work. Flashcards helped me lots and I would laminate them and do them in the shower for example. I'm not really academically gifted, school always was a challenge for me, I just worked super hard. So if I can do it a lot of other gymnasts can!

 

[txgymfan]

LOL, Bri flashcards in the shower cracks me up. I always took loooong showers and used all the hot water, if I added studying in the shower my parents would never have gotten me out.

 

[coachmolly]

See if your school district has an educational trip form to fill out in advance. They are usually pretty simple, I know the district I went to accepted them for students going on family trips to places like Disney World, so travel gym meets were definitely acceptable. I think it was more a matter of clearing it in advance than about where you were going or what you were doing.
The process at my school was to fill out the paper and have each teacher sign it. Once each individual teacher knew your plans, they would let you know what to do to keep up in class. Some would have you turn in papers or assignments before, give them to you ahead of time, or tell you to just turn it in when you got back. Usually for tests you would just take it when you got back, it just depended on the teacher and what worked best for them.

 

[Mack_the_Ripper]

It's unexcused here, too, but you have a maximum of 9 unexcused absences per trimester so I don't think I'll ever exceed it, since the season is in parts of two trimesters. As for make-up work, that should be done in advance but that's not always realistic. If I have 6 academic classes, it's going to be very hard for me to make up more than one day's work ahead of time. 12 assignments PLUS in-class work like tests that can't be taken ahead of time for security reasons PLUS daily work in the week leading up to my absence...I don't think so. It makes more sense to do the homework while on break, as long as you're all caught up by the time you get home.

 

[bribri514]

Oops didn't see that you wondered about the absence thing. Same thing really though if you have all your work done in advance it's okay. If I did miss class for a competition it wasn't an issue because I had everything done. Sometimes the teacher would say oh well I'm not quite sure what we're doing yet and then be okay with you submitting the assignment when you got back. But really it was all about communication. If they know you stay on top of assignments and turn things in early and try they're more okay with you having excused absences to miss for gymnastics too.

College gymnastics is the same way. The professors don't cut you slack, they get a list of your meets you'll be missing class for at the beginning of the semester. You turn your work in ahead of time/schedule all tests to be done before hand. They don't let you miss things just because you're on the team. They also have to send your coaches progress reports of how you're doing in class. It's all coordinated through the athletic academic services and the team has a great liason to help with professors but yeah, definitely expected to be ahead not behind with school!

 

[AGM78910]

In Texas, there is a state-wide Off-Campus PE program for middle school and up. Gymnasts have to be at an approved gym and go at least 15 hours a week. They get a their PE grade from the gym. The schools substitute gymnastics for their PE class and have excused absences for meets as long as they are in the program. My DD has been competing through middle and high school and there has never been a problem with the school. I just send a note and she gets any assignments in advance. If you are in Texas, check with your high school's athletic department. (If you can't get any info from them just PM me and I will tell you who to call.)
By the way, we have Lance Armstrong to thank for this program. He wanted to train for bike races when he was a student at Plano East high school and they would not give him any time off to do it. He was instrumental in getting this program started.