WAG any families with a gymnast that works out during school hours?

[e'smum]

and not homeschool?
curious how that works with the public school system and how you approached the schools with working it out. our coach said he knows some families (not at our gym) that make it work but need more info before going into the school and starting with the principal who isn't very unbending (is that even a word?).

TIA

 

[Mom2Chickadee]

My DD trains every Thursday afternoon from 1-5, and this is the second year for this. She's only in grade 3 now and it's never been a problem. We gave the school a letter from the gym outlining why they have their athletes train during school hours (important to balance gym, school and family time) and I've talked to the teachers and explained that we understood school is the priority and my DD was willing to do work at home if/when necessary. The teachers have been very accommodating with her and make sure the work done on Thursday afternoons is review and nothing new is taught. There were a couple of assignments last year where my DD stayed in over lunch or recess to finish something that she missed, but that was few and far between. We're in Canada though, and schools in our area are pretty good with student athletes b/c there are a lot of competitive hockey players that miss a lot of school for tournaments or early morning practices so it's pretty normal. I'm not sure if the US school system has the same type of flexibility.

 

[gymnastmom05]

I really think it just depends on your area, school district and even individual school. Our school will not budge, at all. Not one single minute. Absolutely zero things are excused - training, meets, travel etc. We just have to keep time out of school to a minimum to stay "under the radar". Those that wan more freedom eventually pull and go to private school or homeschool. Really stinks.

 

[raenndrops]

I really think it just depends on your area, school district and even individual school. Our school will not budge, at all. Not one single minute. Absolutely zero things are excused - training, meets, travel etc. We just have to keep time out of school to a minimum to stay "under the radar". Those that wan more freedom eventually pull and go to private school or homeschool. Really stinks.

That's like our school.

(Elementary version … adjust 10 minutes earlier for Middle School and 20 minutes earlier for High School)
Doors open at 7:40am.
School begins at 8:00am.
Students are tardy at 8:01 (3 tardies in one 9 week grading period = 1 full absence). Leaving from 2:30-2:59 also counts as a tardy.
Students will only be counted as attending a 1/2 day if they arrive after 8:30 am or leave before 2:30 pm.
Students are dismissed at 3:00 pm.

So I have determined that they MUST teach 1/3 of all school work in the first minute of school and 1/3 in the last minute of school, with 1/2 of it taught by 8:30 and the other half being taught from 2:30-3:00.

Other schools nearby are not as strict. They allow students to opt out of gym class if they are in a sport that practices more than 5 hours a week as long as their coach fills out the exemption form and the student files a weekly activity log.

 

[marie83]

Are you uk based? (Just going by the user name "mum")

We have a few girls who come out of public school to train during the day. 2 of them twice a week.

They train 7.00-10.00am one morning, so only miss a bit of school in the morning, then 1.00-4.00pm on another day so miss the entire afternoon.

This is not something that is offered to everyone/anyone.
Out of a squad of 28, there are 4 gymnasts who train during school hours. These 4 are on the elite path (in age voluntary and compulsory level 2 upwards and one is an FIG junior competing at the British in March)

Not meaning to blow the club'a trumpet here, just trying to make it clear that the level of the gymnast has to warrant the extra hours! We have a few in age gymnasts who don't train any extra hours yet.

The lead women's coach made contact with the schools first, via a letter and then a follow up phone call.

The gymnasts know that school work comes first and if it starts to suffer, they drop some gym hours.

There is a good, open channel of communication between coach, gymnast, parent and school.

It seems to work well with our gymnasts and they are also learning other life skills such as time management!

 

[notthatmom]

My DD trains every Thursday afternoon from 1-5, and this is the second year for this. She's only in grade 3 now and it's never been a problem. We gave the school a letter from the gym outlining why they have their athletes train during school hours (important to balance gym, school and family time) and I've talked to the teachers and explained that we understood school is the priority and my DD was willing to do work at home if/when necessary. The teachers have been very accommodating with her and make sure the work done on Thursday afternoons is review and nothing new is taught. There were a couple of assignments last year where my DD stayed in over lunch or recess to finish something that she missed, but that was few and far between. We're in Canada though, and schools in our area are pretty good with student athletes b/c there are a lot of competitive hockey players that miss a lot of school for tournaments or early morning practices so it's pretty normal. I'm not sure if the US school system has the same type of flexibility.

We have an ice rink here that has a high school built inside it for their hockey players it's pretty awesome
(And no I'm not in Canada)

 

[wallinbl]

A few classes on campus, and a few through virtual school. Virtual school is part of the county, so classes appear as if taken on campus.

 

[beachgirl]

My daughter leaves school 40 minutes early 4 days a week. I approached the principal first and said all work would be completed at home and could we please have a teacher that would work with us. I also let her know that if my daughter had less than an A in any subject that we would reconsider this as school is more important. We are in the second year of this and it has been no problem. The problem arises next year when my daughter goes to middle school and the only school in our district without a rotating schedule is on the opposite side of town from us and will increase the drive time to gym by 15 minutes ( which means leaving even earlier). A lot of girls at my daughter's gym have had to change schools to find schools that will accommodate.

 

[e'smum]

Are you uk based? (Just going by the user name "mum")

We have a few girls who come out of public school to train during the day. 2 of them twice a week.

They train 7.00-10.00am one morning, so only miss a bit of school in the morning, then 1.00-4.00pm on another day so miss the entire afternoon.

This is not something that is offered to everyone/anyone.
Out of a squad of 28, there are 4 gymnasts who train during school hours. These 4 are on the elite path (in age voluntary and compulsory level 2 upwards and one is an FIG junior competing at the British in March)

Not meaning to blow the club'a trumpet here, just trying to make it clear that the level of the gymnast has to warrant the extra hours! We have a few in age gymnasts who don't train any extra hours yet.

The lead women's coach made contact with the schools first, via a letter and then a follow up phone call.

The gymnasts know that school work comes first and if it starts to suffer, they drop some gym hours.

There is a good, open channel of communication between coach, gymnast, parent and school.

It seems to work well with our gymnasts and they are also learning other life skills such as time management!

nope - in the US! i just liked how e'smum sounded. lol

she is actually in a small group hand picked by the lead coach. right now there are 4 of them. they started it up 2 seasons ago just doing 1.5 hours extra/week but not during the summer - she started in this group at the end of her lvl 3 year. this year it will be 2 hours prior to one of her nights of full practice. next year he wants to have them come in 2-3 days/wk from 12-3. i believe he is wanting them to go the elite path. my dd is very on top of her school work and organized. i think she could make it work quite easily. my preference would be 2 days, of course, so she doesn't miss out of the "fun" of school. she loves school and her friends there.

i am unsure how our school district will respond. i believe he has already spoken with someone in our town (the other 3 gymnasts affected are in other towns) and they weren't very receptive. however, it wasn't with any gymnast in mind. just inquiring. we are in MA.

 

[e'smum]

My daughter leaves school 40 minutes early 4 days a week. I approached the principal first and said all work would be completed at home and could we please have a teacher that would work with us. I also let her know that if my daughter had less than an A in any subject that we would reconsider this as school is more important. We are in the second year of this and it has been no problem. The problem arises next year when my daughter goes to middle school and the only school in our district without a rotating schedule is on the opposite side of town from us and will increase the drive time to gym by 15 minutes ( which means leaving even earlier). A lot of girls at my daughter's gym have had to change schools to find schools that will accommodate.

this year i think she will need to leave 10 mins early 1 day to make the 3 pm start time of this group. our school gets out at 2:50 and we are only 1 mile from the gym but the traffic is horrible. it can take me 15-20 mins to get out of the parking lot and to the gym. if she leaves at 2:40 it will take me 5 mins. crazy. i think she starts this coming tuesday so we'll see how it goes w/her getting out at her normal time. so far, one of the parents can make it at 3. not sure about the other 2.

 

[e'smum]

I really think it just depends on your area, school district and even individual school. Our school will not budge, at all. Not one single minute. Absolutely zero things are excused - training, meets, travel etc. We just have to keep time out of school to a minimum to stay "under the radar". Those that wan more freedom eventually pull and go to private school or homeschool. Really stinks.

my dd has missed time for the last two years for away meets. i have not been quiet about what we are doing. only a day each time though. i don't know why public schools aren't more flexible. it's ridiculous. parents pull their kids out of school for a full week to go to disney. i know two families that are in disney right now (although it's not the best time due to the hurricane!). what's the difference?

 

[Gymdad2]

DD's school worked with us to schedule study halls at the end of the day so she could leave early for gym practice when necessary. For out -of-town travel the school had what they called an ALE program which stood for Alternative Learning Experience. The meets qualified for this, but sometimes we would schedule an extra day to visit a museum or historical site as well. You might ask about this in your district. Good luck.

 

[Madden3]

this year i think she will need to leave 10 mins early 1 day to make the 3 pm start time of this group.

One year I took my older son out of school 15 minutes early once or twice a week for practice. Actually the early pickup was needed in order for us to get to his brother's practice in time, but since they both needed to get to the gym I did split hairs about that.

It was no problem, I just came to the office and signed him out and for the reason I put "appointment" on the sign out sheet. I think I told his teacher the real reason and gave her a heads up as she was the one who had to deal with the disruption of being called to send my son to the office for early pickup. I did not love doing this, but no one at the school said I couldn't. The boys also occasionally missed school for meets or "recovery days" after a long travel meet weekend. On those days I just called them in sick.

In our state, the school district (or school itself if it is a charter school) loses funding for every day a child is absent. So you can see why "unnecessary" absences are discouraged. But leaving just a little early should not pose any serious problem.

 

[Mish]

This was all discussed on another thread recently. Absolutely will not fly here in NY. Missing here and there for a meet, etc. is no problem, but on a regular basis would never be allowed. No PE exemptions either.

 

[e'smum]

This was all discussed on another thread recently. Absolutely will not fly here in NY. Missing here and there for a meet, etc. is no problem, but on a regular basis would never be allowed. No PE exemptions either.

i looked but couldn't find anything. do you know how long ago? would love to read it.

 

[Mish]

i looked but couldn't find anything. do you know how long ago? would love to read it.

On the parent forum in a thread called "Any advice"

 

[CameraShy]

We do this a couple of times a week. School is out at 3:15pm each day and DD leaves early MWF at 1:30pm. We work it out with her individual teacher each year (she is currently in 4th and has been leaving early since 2nd) and the principal is aware but is fine with it because she's keeping up and even excelling still in school. If she wasn't, I think we would get some push back. We did have to sign a paper that basically says we understand that this could negatively impact her schooling and that I, as her mother, am taking responsibility for all subjects. Basically this is the same kind of form you would fill out if you were to pull your child from public school and homeschool, however she is still getting all her schooling from the public schools. I'm not supplementing any subjects at home. The school district is just covering themselves so I can't come back and blame them if she has issues getting a high school diploma someday.

 

[gymmom39]

and not homeschool?
curious how that works with the public school system and how you approached the schools with working it out. our coach said he knows some families (not at our gym) that make it work but need more info before going into the school and starting with the principal who isn't very unbending (is that even a word?).

TIA

We did it starting 3rd grade. Our daughter started practice at 1 and was dismissed at 1235 so we could get there on time. The key for us was to read her manual. All schools/states have a minimum hours in order for it to be considered a full day of school. For us, it was 4 hours which worked perfectly. Once we had that established the principal helped us push it through the super to get board approval. One of her stipulations was that she do 3 hrs of tutoring a week given she was missing a core curriculum that was scheduled in the afternoon. She also wanted the tutor to be her teacher for continuity and yo add credibility to her report card. We agreed and it worked out wonderfully.

Hope this helps. Main thing, know what the rules are and hopefully you can leverage that to negotiate what you desire.

 

[e'smum]

that helps a lot! thanks gymmom!

 

[vbdb]

My grade 6 DD is out of school two afternoons a week. This is her second year doing so and was out 1 afternoon the year before that.
It has not been a problem at all for her and she's learned some valuable lessons about time management and her coach has always impressed upon them that a missed afternoon from school is something they must work hard for.
Her classmates think she's lucky but they have no idea what she's up to all afternoon there lol.
Our teachers leave her work that she misses in a folder and she catches up the next day. Her home room teacher runs homework club over the lunch hour once a week and she can do extra work there. To be honest, her marks have never suffered for it or we would pull her in a heartbeat and she knows it.
Our school has very little homework and these hours are better for her. At 21 hours a week she'd be gone every night during the week until after 9pm and I like our family time in the evenings.
Our gym provides a letter explaining her participation in their training program and the school takes it without a problem. It's fairly common for kids where we live to miss school for sports activities, swimming, hockey etc.