Parents often go to great lengths to make sure their children get a good education. For one great-grandmother, that length spans 30 miles and three boroughs. NY1 Brooklyn reporter Jeanine Ramirez filed the following report: 

It's dark outside when Sandra Green takes her great-granddaughter Lashanique to school. They live in the northwest Bronx and must travel all the way to Coney Island, in southern Brooklyn.

The commute begins with a bus. Then they take the D train from one end of the line to the other. Often, Lashanique gets some sleep along the way. At the last subway stop, their journey still is not over.

"At Stillwell Avenue, Coney Island, we take another bus," Green explains.

They've been doing this two-hour commute each way for three years -- ever since Lashanique Mourning was accepted to the Mark Twain Intermediate School in Coney Island for gifted and talented children.

Lashanique's beautiful voice has been apparent from an early age. Her great grandmother, who has raised her since Lashanique was two years old, did some research and decided Mark Twain had the best middle school program to help Lashanique develop her vocal skills. 

"Whatever it takes," Green says."That's my shining star."  

Lashanique adds, "All that she worried about was me and my education, my future." 

At first, Green didn't know what to do with herself in Coney Island while Lashanique was in school.

"I noticed in September that there was this lady sitting on our front steps," says Assistant Principal Rosanna Connena. So I said, 'Is there something I can help you with?' And she said, 'I make the trip from the Bronx and it's too much to go back and forth so I just sit here.'"

Green was invited in and offered a volunteer position in the Parent's Association office. She accepted, and quickly became adored by students and staff. They affectionately call her, "Momma Green." 

"All of the kids know her. They love her. She volunteers her time every day in the PA office organizing, raising money," says Karen Ditolla, the school's principal. 

"Mark Twain has really made me feel at home. It's like my second home," Green says.

And her sacrifice for Lashanique has paid off. This fall, Lashanique will be a ninth grader at a prestigious school for musically gifted students. 

"I got accepted to Special Music School, which is my first choice," Lashanique says,

Luckily, that school is on Manhattan's Upper West Side, much closer to home.