No, I haven't done this personally (although we had them even at my elementary school in the 1980s! I believe we were ahead of the curve. ;-) It was during the first major wave of interest in recycling, which seemed to die down later on but has revived with the new "green" movement.) We composted much of the cafeteria waste - students were encouraged to scrape vegetables into one bin, and everything else into another, and then the vegetable bin was emptied into the compost bin outside, and yard waste was also added. (Yes, not a perfect system when relying on children, but it worked decently.) My thinking is that most schools already have dumpsters, which tend to have a wide array of things added to them. The trash smells from these dumpters are almost invariably worse than any smell from a compost pile which does not have meat products added. If this is the case at your school, that's already one point you can make. Until recently, I worked at a private boarding school. I am aware that the "green movement" and "sustainability" is a huge thing in education - followed with almost religious fervor at many places, even without doing adequate research to support the enthusiasm. So, I actually do not expect that you will have many problems, unless your school system is very behind the times.

popi We are Christians and wanted a Christian education for our kids. What I have found out though is that many of kids at this school put themselves on a "I am a better Christian than you are" pedestal and judge very harshly students that don't follow their lead. My son is more outside of the box. He skateboards instead of playing football. Listens to harder rock "Christian" music than most and is does more his own thing. We are far from wealthy and don't run with they parents who are and who have seats on the board or contribute extra money to the school. My older daughter had the same experience and she left the school. She told me that the kids that got up on stage and professed their love for and commitment to Christ were the meanest, most two faced and hardest partying kids at the school. She never fit in either. I have a concern of being able to get him to school when the weather is bad since I will have to be driving SD10 to school if he goes else where. The drive to the school that we have chosen, should he go, is about 20 minutes without snow or ice. That is something that we have to discuss. My DH says that he will find those types of people at the other school and not like it there either. I agree that he will find those types of people there but since the school is much larger he probably won't be with them the entire day nor will the mold that he is expected to fit into be so strict. I want to meet with the principal and see what they have available to address his learning disabilities. I need to speak to his special ed teacher at his current school and get her honest opinion about it. I emailed her today but have not heard back from her. I will also talk to the super at his current school and let him know why my son would be leaving and that he should take a hard look at what is being learned there about being a Christian as apposed to what is being taught. I think it's a shame.

My children attend a very small private school. The upside is I know all the teachers, all the students in their classes and they can't get away with anything (good or bad) without me knowing. The school they attend is not advertised as a religious school. However, they do have morning devotionals, religious based Christmas program if they choose, a bible class for those who choose it. I am not an overly religious person, but I like knowing my kids are exposed on a daily basis. Because it does not pay as well as public school, the majority of the teachers are parents of the children who attend. I find this is good because they really care about the quality of the education. Their kids are my kids friends and they do not hesitate to call if they are concerned about my children. Also, our school requires a certain percentage to be certified. I think we have 3 teachers out of 30+ that are not certified. These three are the best teachers my children have had. They all have college educations, but did not gravitate to the field till they were older. These are people who did not like their chosen fields, but found they had a knack with kids. Much better then getting a teacher with a masters who learns after years of being educated for the job that they hate kids!!!! The bad side is that tuitions increase. Our school's finances are public knowledge for those who ask for it. It may be a good idea to find out how much the tuition has increased each year for the past five years.

A friend of mine has a son with learning disabilities. He went to a special high school and once he graduated he went to a college that has special programs for kids like him. No uniform, though. I don't know the name, I just remember it is in Florida. But there were several schools they looked at. I would think a high school guidance counselor could help you, or even a local organization that helps parents advocate for their kids. Why does it need to have uniforms? If that is really important I think you will be greatly limiting your choices.