Hello, 

I wanted to clarify things based on some things I'm hearing from people. Number one, this is not meant to be an attack on Wooster and painting it as a "trashy" school. Many teachers at Wooster care deeply for their students and the school does have good programs. I think it is important to point to facts, such as Wooster reporting more than double the amount of violent disciplinary complaints compared to Damonte... as well as this rezoning change meaning that it would mix rival gangs at Wooster and what that would mean for the school culture there. We can also focus on other educational quality metrics if we want, as well as Damonte's dual credit programs, capacity limits, and the facts relating to that too. However, we need to take the emotions out of it and stop attacking Wooster as much. I think that is disrespectful to the teachers there. I am going to adjust my language in the petition later today to be more tone-neutral going forward. If to anyone it seems as if I intended to paint Wooster as a worse school, I apologize for giving off that interpretation. We will still advocate on facts relating to safety and academics, and we can all have our personal opinions, but To be clear, this NEEDS to be more of a message and advocacy on why Damonte Ranch needs the Smithridge community, as well as how Smithridge benefits from Damonte Ranch. Years back, Galena High School used to be around 40% Hispanic... After zoning changes, the school is currently 70% white and 17% Hispanic. This movement should be an effort on why we need diversity in our schools, and moving 300 Smithridge kids (an estimated 75% Hispanic population), would lead to widening racial and socioeconomic gaps within schools. The data show that people thrive in more diverse environments, and personally, I can say that I've learned a lot from my Neil Road/Smithridge friends as well as my Damonte Ranch friends. 

In other news, the Reno Gazette-Journal interviewed me yesterday and they will be releasing a story on this later. I think it is GOOD to keep more eyes on this.

In the meantime, spread the word. If you haven't, PLEASE email zoning@washoeschools.net and BoardMembers@washoeschools.net and voice your thoughts. Be careful on language attacking Wooster, as that is not our intent. I can tell you that kids in the Smithridge area love the Damonte Ranch community, parents here want their kids to go to Damonte, and it's just what is best to promote a more diverse environment within our community as a whole.