What's the longest you would commute for a good school?

[Anonymous]

We're apply to OOB and charters not in our immediate neighborhood. If the commute is much longer to a better school, should we still do it? This in prek.

[Anonymous]

I don't know. Should you?

Without supplying any details about your educational goals and priorities, your default inbounds school, or even the length of your commute, how do you expect anyone to offer you anything useful?

[Anonymous]

It all depends, OP, can you give more details?

Distance does seem to impact out of school socializing, we go OOB. We aren't super far, but most families walk and there are a lot of spontaneous playdates that we miss out on.

[Anonymous]

What is the max amount of time you and your child should spend in a car? A 30 minute drive each way for pick up and drop off means that you are spending 2 hours a day in the car and DC is spending 1 hour a day in the car. That, in my book, is wasted time. Why bother living in the district if you are spending 2 hours a day on the road?

[Anonymous]

are you considering moving to be in-bounds for said school? what is lacking in your in-bounds school that you are looking OOB? Only you can put a time value on that. Or are you only looking at OOB b/c DC doesn't have enough PK spots and you are trying to increase your chances of getting any spot?

is it on your way to work (or errands/gym/whatever if you SAH)?

We did DCPS lottery for in-bounds and OOB. In our case, OOB was closer than in-bounds school and would have been walking distance. Didn't win the lottery for either school.

We also applied to private schools and only looked at those within three miles of home and not too far off our commuting routes. Our days are complicated enough without making them more so.

We had a safety option of keeping DC in full time daycare (which has a pretty good PK curriculum) though, so we could be a little picky on PKs.

[Anonymous]

We commute 25-30 mins in rush hour to a private school. It really isn't that bad. The only time i get frustrated is when there is some unexpected traffic foul up and it takes 45-60 mins to get home (mornings are almost always smooth). My office is also only 10 mins from the school so I am not doing an hour round trip each time. It has a slight impact on social activities but hasn't been a hindrance to developing good friendships. I don't think I'd go much farther than 30 minutes.

[Anonymous]

It's all about the deltas. If my in-bounds school were horrific, I'd be willing to travel pretty far for an amazing school. If my in-bounds school were decent, I wouldn't go that far (maybe not at all, depending on social factors) for a good one.

But I think you're asking a tougher question -- horrific in-bounds school, how far do you go for a decent, good, or amazing out-of-bounds school? That's going to depend on personal circumstances and the concrete options on the table. So apply everywhere you have interest (for DCPS and charters, it's free and practically painless), and then assess the options you actually have.

Good luck.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What is the max amount of time you and your child should spend in a car? A 30 minute drive each way for pick up and drop off means that you are spending 2 hours a day in the car and DC is spending 1 hour a day in the car. That, in my book, is wasted time. Why bother living in the district if you are spending 2 hours a day on the road?

On the other hand, if it is a charter school where practically everybody is driving from somewhere, she might be able to arrange carpooling with someone else near where she lives.

[Anonymous]

30 min's max. that's an hour a day for your child and more for you. I would move before traveling more time. Just not worth it.

[Anonymous]

We currently commute 30 minutes for a private. It's no big deal, esp. with carpools. I enjoy the time in the car with the kids, and there are always audio books for the part I drive alone. There is a different private that my son would prefer for high school that seems tailor made for him, but it is closer to an hour drive. Not sure I can get my arms around this one. I can stand the commute for myself (I'm a SAHM, so I feel it's part of the job), but I'm not sure teenagers should spend so much time in the car when their free time is limited, anyway. Son says the school is worth it to him, and other people from our neck of the woods make the trip, so he's not alone. Any advice?