How far of a drive is worth it to attend private school?

[Anonymous]

We lived EOTP off of Georgia Ave. NW and I attended Bullis. On most days I took the T32 bus. If I remember correctly it was about a 45 minute commute.

[Anonymous]

What's EOTP? Edge of the Primeval?

[Anonymous]

I just checked on WMATA's trip planner. A one-way trip from our house to DD's school timed to arrive by 8 AM would take 1 hr and 43 min., assuming no delays enroute. So leave the house just after 6 AM, walk 3/4 mi to the nearest bus stop, take the bus to the Metro, take the Metro to the next bus, then take said bus to the school. And, the trip planner tells me there is no return trip possible. I'll keep my car, thank you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I just checked on WMATA's trip planner. A one-way trip from our house to DD's school timed to arrive by 8 AM would take 1 hr and 43 min., assuming no delays enroute. So leave the house just after 6 AM, walk 3/4 mi to the nearest bus stop, take the bus to the Metro, take the Metro to the next bus, then take said bus to the school. And, the trip planner tells me there is no return trip possible. I'll keep my car, thank you.

Correction, no return trip possible that would depart after school lets out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I just checked on WMATA's trip planner. A one-way trip from our house to DD's school timed to arrive by 8 AM would take 1 hr and 43 min., assuming no delays enroute. So leave the house just after 6 AM, walk 3/4 mi to the nearest bus stop, take the bus to the Metro, take the Metro to the next bus, then take said bus to the school. And, the trip planner tells me there is no return trip possible. I'll keep my car, thank you.

The choice you are making is to live in a far flung suburb and send your child to a school in NW DC - there are lot of other choices you could be making here including around how she gets to and from school that don't involve you barging through DC neighborhoods in your SUV.

Carpooling, driving your daughter to Metro.

Living closer to where your kids attend private schools by choice.

Or gasp sending your DD to a school, private or public, that is closer to where you live.

But we'll all suffer so you can live in your tacky McMansion off River Road.

[Anonymous]

I think the answer depends on what the school does for your child. I drive 25 minutes to and from Commonwealth Academy. Would I do it for another school? Absolutely not. And I have made long drive for privates in the past. We've also done local public via bus, which was a dream because no driving was involved. But what's right for one child may not be right for another. If you are in the right school and know it and your kid is happy, then the drive, or carpool, just becomes a necessary part of life. Also, I happen to like that private time I have with DD. We get to talk about a lot of *stuff* that we normally wouldn't talk about.

[Anonymous]

"I love God, but He's not communicated any concerns about traffic in your 'hood.

Since Divine intervention is not forthcoming on this matter, perhaps simple common sense might help. Have you considered moving?

As none of the elite schools in DC are new, perhaps you might also consider their location before choosing your next house. Common sense would lead most people to understand that if you live around a school -- public or private -- there will be heavy traffic twice a day."

My living near private schools is not tantamount to giving private school parents permission to drive recklessly through my neighborhood, endangering me and my kids, so that they can school on time. And, yes, this will be you if it isn't already, because there's no way any of us can control traffic on 270, the beltway, the bridges, etc. So, yes, it is self-centered to make the decision to send your kids to a private that is a long commute from your home. It contributes to traffic, pollution, road rage, and dangerous travel conditions.

[Anonymous]

We drive 45 minutes from VA to MD. It is completely worth it and I have never once hesitated. SAHM.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:"

I love God, but He's not communicated any concerns about traffic in your 'hood.

Since Divine intervention is not forthcoming on this matter, perhaps simple common sense might help. Have you considered moving?

As none of the elite schools in DC are new, perhaps you might also consider their location before choosing your next house. Common sense would lead most people to understand that if you live around a school -- public or private -- there will be heavy traffic twice a day."

My living near private schools is not tantamount to giving private school parents permission to drive recklessly through my neighborhood, endangering me and my kids, so that they can school on time. And, yes, this will be you if it isn't already, because there's no way any of us can control traffic on 270, the beltway, the bridges, etc. So, yes, it is self-centered to make the decision to send your kids to a private that is a long commute from your home. It contributes to traffic, pollution, road rage, and dangerous travel conditions.

Well, we can see that you are literate in neither the spiritual nor common English realms.

Many of the people who drive in from the suburbs have to drive in to work in the city. How horribly self-centered of them to commute into the city for employment. Especially self-centered of them not to be able to afford $2-3 million homes to live close to the DC privates.

So typical of a NW DC resident to complain of the hoi polloi streaming into "their" neighborhood every morning and accuse them of being self-centered. Oh, the irony.

[Anonymous]

Must be talking about me, lol. I do try to obey the posted signs every morning in Chevy.....