I just received the school curriculum for my son, he is going to a catholic school this fall, I notice beside regular school holidays, there are many days off without any reason, at least one or two days a month, I wonder if it is the same for other schools? Can't imagine working parents will need to take those days off or need to have an arrangement, should I even bother to ask the principal? or this is just a normal school policy.
It's normal...all schools do the same thing. Some public schools are even worse than private ones. Schools give teachers days off when there are workshops to attend or when they have put in extra hours around report cards and parent/teacher conferences. Private schools also take some days to close the school down for fund raisers and such to set up and take down.
Hi CJ,
Welcome to Catholic education! If you're worried about missing work those days, check with the school they might have a program for those days, ours has after school care. Or they might put you in contact with one of the moms who could help you out. Catholic school families are tight, you'll quickly make friends and be able to swap days and know your kids are safe & having fun. Our school has mentor moms who help you know what to find out, don't hesitate to call the office if you have questions.
What I love about our school is that the student body is small enough that when you call they know you and will do what they can to help you. My daughter had to have tubes put in her ears, the class prayed for her when she went in & when she was finished I called to tell them she was okay and the school secritary as soon as I spit out who I was on the phone asked how my daughter was, by name! Very big difference from our local public school!!
Have fun!
D.
I bet several of those days are 'institute days' or days where students don't attend but teachers do for the purpose of staff development, workshops, etc.
Trust me, I bet most teachers would rather have your kids in school those days too instead of having 'institute'!
Yup, there's always lots of Mondays off too! I remember one year I signed up to help at lunch on Mondays for that reason.
With the bad weather last year, the Catholic school did work to make up the days before the end of the year because they have more flexibility. So you have that going for you if there are many days off due to cold/snow.
The thing I did like about the Catholic school's days off was that many were on days that the public school did not have off. So there was lots of opportunity to have a special outing or birthday party without a big crowd.
Yes, the same in public schools. Many are teacher institute days, or end of quarter parent/teacher conference days. I have to say that I like that our school rolled in some of the days to an entire week( the Thanksgiving week). It is an extra chance for a family vacation. Our park district has an afterschool program, where you can also just sign up for the off school days.
Hi,
It is for teacher improvement most likely or a secular holiday. I have taught at one and my daughter has attended for the past two years. Most of the Catholic schools adhere to the 180 day state requirement. However I would check. The school may make up the time in the number of minutes the children are in school total for the school year. Private schools are not mandated in Illinois to the same requirements as public school, but many belong to private school organizations.
L.
L.
I thought most schools were mandated to have school for 180 days - unfortunately, a "day" can even be considered 1 hour. Many of the days off are institute days/or workshop days for teachers, however, schools have become smarter as to when they plan those days because many families take them off anyway because they extend vacations around Memorial Day, Columbus Day, and Veterans Day. This year, our kids get off the entire week of Thanksgiving because of the holiday and Parent/Teacher conferences. A couple years ago, our kids had off the ENTIRE Veterans day/week of November. They had 10 days IN A ROW, including the 2 weekends and a 1/2 day the previous Friday - PLUS they had off the two days for Thanksgiving, just two weeks later. I think many parents went ballistic and it has since been changed.
Usually, on those days off or weeks off, your community park district should have camps or programs, available to children and for parents who need to make sure their child has supervised, fun activities during the week.
