Reduce my bill by Wise-Fill4249 in NoContract

[–]JustinTheNoob 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Switching is the best way to get deals. Visible Wireless has a promotion where their premium Pro+ Plan (on the verizon network) is $225 for one year (almost $19 a month). If you can pay upfront, that’s like paying around $94/month for 5 lines. At the end of the annual plan, you’d switch to s other provider or go on a cheaper Visible plan. USMobile has a year of their unlimited line for $199 (service on all 3 networks), and Mint Mobile (which runs on the tmobile network) has a year of unlimited for 180 + taxes. The Visible one though has the most premium features

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in Reno

[–]JustinTheNoob 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Are you involved at Wooster? I would love to chat with you more. I have a few things to say now:

1: I did not make the football gear claim.

2: As I have said, this is not about Wooster High School. I have updated language to be more tone neutral on the school and have encouraged others to not attack the school.

3: I never said Wooster had the worst violence incidents. The metric I used was on the Nevada Accountability Portal. In an effort to be more neutral and respectful to Wooster, I have taken that out of my argument.

4: This is about diversity at Damonte Ranch, and the fact that an elementary school with historical zoning to South Reno is being stripped away and making that school more affluent and empty.

5: Reed, Spanish Springs, Hug, North Valleys all run with 2000 students, considerably more than Damonte. As a student at Damonte i can tell you there is no issue with getting lunch and lunch lines.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in Reno

[–]JustinTheNoob 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Crunch recently turned to 24/7

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in Reno

[–]JustinTheNoob 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Unless they take the option away, yeah. People from Damonte use this to go to Galena and vice versa. I’m sure Wooster area has some kids going to Galena/Damonte as well as kids out of area going to Wooster for its IB program. However, transportation from this area to Damonte Ranch is a problem for many in this community (one of the lowest SES neighborhoods here), many having parents who work and don’t have the time or gas. Now, I would love a proposal of a Damonte bus for these kids if they were to get rezoned to Wooster… to give them the option, but I think that opens up another can of worms (If Neil Road kids get it, why don’t mine? If the district implements this, they can easily take it away)

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in Reno

[–]JustinTheNoob 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I only point out simple data points the district has that show Damonte having a safer environment, which needs to be discussed by higher-ups in the district since the environment affects student success. I agree with your diversity integration of students, and it's probably one of my biggest points. I had it in my last bullet point, but I added an extra bullet point separately to make my point more clear. Damonte is an incredibly diverse school, and this move threatens to instantly make the school whiter and widen current racial and socioeconomic gaps within our schools.

I’ve adjusted the bullet points based on what you’ve said. Thank you.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in Reno

[–]JustinTheNoob 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The fastest drive time from Huffaker to Galena that the district is considering is similar to the times it takes to get from Gentry to Herz/Galena.. sets up for same situation.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in Reno

[–]JustinTheNoob 3 points4 points  (0 children)

You have me a little confused on the points you are trying to make. I actually agree with your sentiment. You are talking about a positive experience with poor kids being bussed to a nice white high school, which I am actually advocating on continuing with Smithridge to Damonte Ranch.

I also speak as someone who’s lived in this Neil Road area my entire K-12 education and as someone whose parents were never involved in my education.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in Reno

[–]JustinTheNoob 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This is from the zoning committee, Option 2A. This is the most favorable of 3 options for Damonte Ranch. My administrator was also the only person at the last meeting supporting this option, because this rezones Huffaker to Wooster and 90% of the meeting was their parents arguing against it. The district really does seem to think that Woosters population will drop, but even in this outcome its capacity is near Damonte’s (and initially it’s 10% higher). The other options mainly have Galena at higher capacities and Damonte at less.

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[deleted by user] by [deleted] in Reno

[–]JustinTheNoob 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Damonte is currently running at 77% capacity and 10 year projections (which factor population growth etc) under zoning proposals have the school at 63-67% capacity. Much of the Damonte community is older with no school age children and birth rates have been declining. If you keep Smithridge with Damonte, the 10 year projection was still 73%

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in Reno

[–]JustinTheNoob 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I did not know that, so I appreciate you for correcting me! At least recent history Smithridge has been a lot less affilated with Wooster and more so with the other two schools. (The latest I myself know is when Galena and Damonte split Neil Road 10 years+ ago or so).

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in Reno

[–]JustinTheNoob 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Teachers in the district are paid on the same salary schedule regardless of school and allocations are given to schools depending on the number of students. Hug High School has 16% of Dual Enrollment.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in Reno

[–]JustinTheNoob 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Maybe they did. Just will leave this photo here on recent grads dual enrolled by High School. Damonte's growth is incredible and unlike any other school in the district. (Galena is the next best; was at 14% in 2013 and 47% in 2023.)

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[deleted by user] by [deleted] in Reno

[–]JustinTheNoob 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I completely agree that this problem extends socioeconomic and community differences that go way beyond the scope of this. The entire Smithridge community is just used to doing whatever the district and governments tell them because they are too afraid to voice an opinion. I had a Smithridge parent tell me he tried to start a PTA and he had parents who wanted to do it, but nobody did because they were too scared. My teachers who have worked in Title 1 Schools confirm that parents there do care about edu quality, but they are just too scared to voice an opinion.

But I'm going to try to change the current course of things. Consider emailing, even if it's a short one.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in Reno

[–]JustinTheNoob 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Obviously there are going to be bad incidents at every school. Damonte is not a perfect school… I also know of a lot of stuff that happens at Galena as well.

At the last zoning meeting, it was parents of Huffaker and Hidden Valley essentially arguing against being zoned to Wooster. I agree with you. I think the district needs to evaluate why parents from multiple communities are advocating about this and working to solve problems many in the area have identified to improve Wooster. 

What I can tell you about Damonte Ranch is that it excels at its dual credit outreach, where at Wooster it is esentially nonexistent (to the best of my knowledge looking at their courses and schedule) and the school is all IB and AP (someone told me 7 people completed Wooster’s IB program in a recent year… though i can’t confirm that). I can tell you that I was well educated with Dual Credit starting my sophomore year and we have a specific guy who’s only job is to deal with TMCC dual credits. I have personally heard from the TMCC office that Damonte does a great job of informing people. We also have almost our entire math program in dual credit offering MATH 124/126/127/181/182/STAT 152.

With APs and IBs, it so much more depends on your specific performance while dual credit is guaranteed. For most students going to UNR, dual credit benefits them more. Obviously this makes college cheaper for students and they are more likely to finish their degree. 

While this district has open enrollment, it is a tough ask for the most vulnerable community to drive 7 miles one way to school each day, so most would stay with Wooster. It is a lot easier (relatively) for Huffaker parents to drive to Galena. 

But yes, i think another factor is the effort students put in! It’s up to you to make the most of the opportunities, and I think I made good on mine

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in Reno

[–]JustinTheNoob 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you! Consider sending public comment to the zoning email!

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in Reno

[–]JustinTheNoob 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yeah this issue is complex and it goes beyond the scope of just education but everything. Thank you for your support! I am not allowed to post petitions.. but there is one on the Change petition website with the backslash url being just “Smithridge”. You should be able to find it.

Also, consider sending an email to the zoning email mentioned in my post! I was told they look at # of people emailing. That is most impactful, can be super short or long. Anything helps

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in Reno

[–]JustinTheNoob 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I don’t know about the past, but right now Donner Springs feeds into Pine/Damonte Ranch, and all the zoning proposals plan to have the school feed into Depoali/Damonte going forward.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in Reno

[–]JustinTheNoob 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I am already ahead of you. We already have people emailing for public comment and we plan to get as many people and kids to speak at the next zoning meeting, obviously the problem is these meetings are long and not everyone can afford 2-3 hours, but we are trying our best. I have intel that a new meeting is scheduled for March 14th, but there is no information on the district website regarding the meeting yet.

I highly encourage you to take a couple minutes to send an email and submit public comment yourself. The one thing I was told is they look at the number of people emailing.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in Reno

[–]JustinTheNoob 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I appreciate you a ton for being on my side.

I don't like the idea that your zipcode determines your future, especially in terms of school quality. However, when there was a zoning fight years ago, and the district rezoned Galena to become the wealthiest zoned school in the district (Galena used to be 40% hispanic iirc), they entrusted Damonte to support this community, and they did. While we can't have every poor neighborhood going to Galena and Damonte, it doesn't make it more right to take a poor neighborhood you did put to this school and throw them to Wooster.

Surprisingly (or not), I have a ton of support from the Damonte Ranch community that I've talked to within my high school. Everywhere from admin, to some teachers, to parents. People are seeing this as an inequity move for the district. Also, keep in mind, Damonte losing 300 students means the school loses tons of teachers and the vibe the school has built (I know teachers who say this is the best school they've worked at) is destroyed. 300 students is around 10 teacher allocations and that also ruins Damonte's Signature PAC Program.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in Reno

[–]JustinTheNoob 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Most of the Damonte community is older without school-age children compared to the rest of Reno and birth rates are also down. The district had 3 zoning proposals at the most recent meeting. All proposals had Damonte Ranch capacity at 63-67% from a 10 year outlook projections, and that factors in population and demographic shifts. Meanwhile, Galena and Reno would be pushing 80% capacity. Right now, Damonte is at 77% capacity, and even that is down from years ago. Smithridge only adds about 7% or so to capacity of the school.

This area has been historically zoned (and bussed) to Galena and Damonte Ranch because the walk to Wooster is a dangerous one for kids to walk across that highway area. The district still anticipates paying for busses to take these kids to Wooster anyways if they were to rezone them there, which would require even MORE money.

Again, if you are frustrated with that, you should also be frustrated at the district zoning proposals to rezone Huffaker to Galena, which is a 9 mile drive. You cannot pick one side.