How far would you drive your kids to school?

[PrincessFiona]

I just found out about a new montessori school opening up. It is a charter school and as such is TUITION FREE! As luck will have it, they will be starting with grades k-6! They are currently full, but I put my kids on the waiting list just to give us another option.

The problem? The school would be about an hour drive from our house. Of course, if they took the school bus home they drive 30 minutes and the school is only a few miles from our house. The issue, of course, would be 1. gas (which is killing us) and 2. driving back and forth like that...which would be a huge pain.

How far would you guys be willing to drive for a bettter school choice for your kids?

I said 30 minutes at most. Our neighborhood school is about 5 minutes driving time (getting everyone in and out of the car is a different matter!!!!!). Another public school that I was considering open enrolling at would be about 10 minutes.

I think it also depends on what is on the way there and back for you. Would you turn around and come all the way home only to leave again in a few hours? Or would you be able to stay in that town while they are in school at least a day or two a week (or go somewhere in-between). Are there any families you could carpool with?

Sounds like a great find. Too bad it isn't closer, huh?

[Sheherezade]

I drove one child 30 minutes back and forth for a year. It really cut into the day. An hour.....well....you were thinking of moving, weren't you? I would consider the carpool option if there are other parents who might be interested. That could make a huge difference.

[mommax3]

Realistically, I would say that 15 minutes would be my limit......I wouldn't want to be a half hour away if someone got sick or forgot something. I also like to be closer in order to be able to be involved in the school.

I'm with goofy (something you have all known for awhile, right? ) about this being another reason you should move! Is that issue dead or what?

Sounds like a great school....keep us posted.

Sally

[PrincessFiona]

The issue of moving isn't dead...but Thomas is soo....hard to get moving on this issue. I could almost start a whole new thread just about this topic...maybe I will.....

hmmmm...It boils down to having a lot of repairs to do on the house and his fear of 1. change and 2. losing money on the house.

New thread starting in grand rounds because I have some legitimate questions on this.

I know you guys are sooo right about the drive.

An hour one way? I don't think I could do it. That would mean at least two hours of driving every day, or if you went home in between, four hours? I said 15 minutes max. I completely agree that more than 30 would be too far if I had to pick up a kid in an emergency.

Also, I grew up in the boonies and spent an hour on the bus in the morning, and an hour in the afternoon. I hated it. I didn't get home from school until 4:30pm. It left no time for play. In the winter, I left when it was dark and got home when it was dark. As soon as I got my license I (and my brother) never rode the bus again. :>

[fluffhead]

An hour sounds like too much. We're currently struggling with this issue - if we decide to remain where we are after residency, schools here are not satisfactory. It would be a 25 min. drive with no traffic (more likely 40 min.), but there are carpools and a bus home.
But the issue of the adults having to drive is the minor point - do you want to take a small kid and make them sit in a car/bus/van for that long everyday?
I also commuted an hour each way for a year in high school, and it was mostly a huge waste of time (at best).

[Vanquisher]

I'm with Shella on this. There is no way I would drive that far. The schools in my area aren't that great either (read: pretty dang bad), but they are the best in the state. How's that for a paradox? We can't afford private school, and all the private schools around here are religiously affiliated anyway (which we don't want). If there was an awesome school an hour drive away, I still couldn't do it. As much as I think it would be great for my son to go to a great school, it would also be bad to drive that much and take away from a lot of play time and family time.

Right now I drive him to school in the morning (approximately 5 minutes, depending on traffic, it is about 1 mile away) and he is bussed home. He could ride the bus to school as well, but this way we get an extra 30-60 minutes in the morning, which is definitely worth my drive.

I wouldn't drive him more than 15 minutes away, and that would be pushing it.

[Rapunzel]

Well, that's a difficult question. I honestly cannot answer the poll but here are my thoughts:

1) If it is truly an outstanding environment for your children to be in five days a week, seven hours a day for most of the year then I think it somewhat justifies such a long commute to it.

2) On the other hand, such a long drive does cut into family time (ie dinner, family activities, etc), possible extra-curricular activities (such as music lessons or sports), and can affect sleep (if the kids have to get up that much earlier to make the commute).

3) The first thing that popped into my mind, though, was potential friends for the kids at the new school. If those friends live, let's say, 1/2 hour from the same school in the OPPOSITE direction from your house then that would make getting together for playdates VERY difficult - if not impossible. It's nice for kids to have friends to play with that are within a relatively short drive from your house IMO.

Difficult dilemma.

Jennifer

[houseelf]

Kris,

You know that I love Montessori, but I have to say that an hour is too much, especially considering that you will be driving on a major artery towards the Twin Cities in inclement weather for about 6 months of the year.

Move your butt closer to town.

Kelly

[Meenah]

I'm with Kelly, MOVE. I think 15 to 20 minutes would have been the max for me. My kids would never have been able to be in the car two hours every day.
Luanne

[twinsmom]

Kris -
MOVE!! This is a GREAT argument for moving. Since you hate where you live, this is a good reason to bring up to Thomas about why you should move (SOON!!). I am a huge Montessori fan, in fact, DH and I were just talking about it today - about our wanting to find a Montessori school for the kids right after we move. That hour commute would be a KILLER, but I agree - it is a huge dilema and I would certainly entertain the thought for such a great quality school, but it would be hard to think about being on the road for that long every day...
Let us know what you decide! Hey, come June, I could even come and help you pack up the house! (after 4 moves in about 5 years, I'm getting pretty good at the whole packing thing ).

Jen B.