Do you think it's cruel to ask a kid to do a daily bus ride that's more than an hour?

[Anonymous]

I do and I don't know how I could ask my young (elementary school age) kid to do more than that. He already complains about the bus and he attends a school that's reasonably close to home but I see that a placement change is on the horizon for us and I know that there are few options nearby for his needs. I can't imagine sending him across the Potomac (I'm being purposefully vague here). There are already so few opportunities for him to make friends in his current school--no social life on the weekends among families, few parties, attempts to arrange this by email are sometimes not even answered. Plus there's no time for private therapies if the whole afternoon is spent on a long bus ride home. If you made this choice for your kid what was the result? Was a better school worth it? I can't even imagine moving because a few years ago we thought the current school was the "one" that was going to fix everything, (And it's not us being unhappy with the current school it's that the programs he needs simply don't exist there).

[Anonymous]

If it won’t work for your kid it won’t work. We ruled it out too.

[Anonymous]

What are your options.

[Anonymous]

My child is on the bus for an hour each way. It sucks He hates it... but we don't have a lot of choices. You talk as if you have choices. If your child actually *needs* a placement out of your homeschool, then you suck it up and do what you have to do.

We have offered our child a cheap music player (nothing valuable in case it's lost/broken/stolen), books, etc... We also pick him up when we can to break up all the bus riding. But on the upside, he likes the kids on his bus and uses it as a chance to socialize.

We needed the placement we got. We aren't able to sell our home and move closer. It is what it is.

[Anonymous]

We tried to make it work at a nearby school and it really hurt our kid emotionally and we are so happy we finally left even though its been harder for commuting. We now commute 45 minutes each way for a private school, but child is so.much.happier. Has friends, less stress, etc. And the school is used to kids having to leave sometimes for therapy and such, plus there isn't a stigma because almost everyone is or has received therapies.

[Anonymous]

No, in less it was the only option. I would drive my child.

[Anonymous]

It's not ideal but can he use the time productively? Get homework done?

[Anonymous]

Are there other viable options?

[Anonymous]

I drive my kid one way so he only has to deal with the bus one way, and not both ways. Lots of kids get driven to school and take the bus home. If it’s a SN school, your child may not need as many private therapies as they do now.

[Anonymous]

OP here. Kid is not at home school already and there are no other public options. At this point if we change schools all the options are quite far--starting at 75 minutes. Are there people who do that?

[Anonymous]

I would drive or move.

[Anonymous]

My child has been in several special ed/private placements and they have all had long bus rides-more than an hour one way in most cases. It is common in these private placement schools.
The only way to make it bearable for a child is to have unlimited bus screen time (Ipad, DS, kindle etc).

It sucks and if you are at the point where you are considering a distant private placement, you are already in a place where you don't have any good choices. The schools are very antisocial--there are NO opportunities to meet other families, there are NO events at school where parents are invited, there are no PTAs, there are no school directories, it is very difficult to invite children to parties (you have to send in paper invitations and hope for the best because you don't have any contact info for the families). Children move in and out of the schools/classrooms. There is insane staff/teacher/aide turnover.

You don't really know anything going on at the school, because it is so far away.

If you are willing to share more about the schools you are considering, I could probably give more detailed feedback.

If I could travel back in time I would have homeschooled my ds for a year and done intensive therapy to try to get him back in public school. I have a very very low opinion on these private special ed schools that take public money.

[Anonymous]

It was too long a drive for my kid - we drive them now but know that’s not an option for everyone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My child has been in several special ed/private placements and they have all had long bus rides-more than an hour one way in most cases. It is common in these private placement schools.
The only way to make it bearable for a child is to have unlimited bus screen time (Ipad, DS, kindle etc).

It sucks and if you are at the point where you are considering a distant private placement, you are already in a place where you don't have any good choices. The schools are very antisocial--there are NO opportunities to meet other families, there are NO events at school where parents are invited, there are no PTAs, there are no school directories, it is very difficult to invite children to parties (you have to send in paper invitations and hope for the best because you don't have any contact info for the families). Children move in and out of the schools/classrooms. There is insane staff/teacher/aide turnover.

You don't really know anything going on at the school, because it is so far away.

If you are willing to share more about the schools you are considering, I could probably give more detailed feedback.

If I could travel back in time I would have homeschooled my ds for a year and done intensive therapy to try to get him back in public school. I have a very very low opinion on these private special ed schools that take public money.

OP here. Thanks for this. So far some names have been floated but we haven't toured anywhere yet. I will certainly ask for opinions on various schools when the time comes. I don't understand how people talk about homeschooling as something they can just do. I am highly educated but not in special education and certainly not in some of the specialized teaching methodologies my kid needs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My child has been in several special ed/private placements and they have all had long bus rides-more than an hour one way in most cases. It is common in these private placement schools.
The only way to make it bearable for a child is to have unlimited bus screen time (Ipad, DS, kindle etc).

It sucks and if you are at the point where you are considering a distant private placement, you are already in a place where you don't have any good choices. The schools are very antisocial--there are NO opportunities to meet other families, there are NO events at school where parents are invited, there are no PTAs, there are no school directories, it is very difficult to invite children to parties (you have to send in paper invitations and hope for the best because you don't have any contact info for the families). Children move in and out of the schools/classrooms. There is insane staff/teacher/aide turnover.

You don't really know anything going on at the school, because it is so far away.

If you are willing to share more about the schools you are considering, I could probably give more detailed feedback.

If I could travel back in time I would have homeschooled my ds for a year and done intensive therapy to try to get him back in public school. I have a very very low opinion on these private special ed schools that take public money.

why not books on tape?