45 minutes one way. I drop in the morning and pick him up in the evening. I am driving 3 hours every day.

Kid has a long day and a tough program in a magnet public school. Which makes for a very long day (even if we were 5 minutes away). I drive him so that he can sleep and eat in the car and as far as he is concerned he is living 5 minutes away.

I would drive as far as required if the school and program was worth it and if my kid wanted to be in the program.

I find you can cast a wider net in ES, particularly lower ES, as parents take kids everywhere anyway. However, the older they get (MS/HS) distance becomes a much bigger factor with 30 mins or less being ideal.

We have an excellent local elementary school, so I was only willing to drive 20-25 minutes max for a private elementary.

10 min walk. Kids now get themselves there and back.