I have been part of the Doral Saddle community since 2014, when my nephews first began attending, and now as a parent myself. In all of those years, I have never felt strongly enough about a school decision to leave a negative review. Unfortunately, only three weeks into this school year, I am extremely disappointed and concerned by some of the changes being made. Over summer break, the school replaced the carpet, and we have now been told that students in grades 1-8 can no longer have snack time. I genuinely do not understand how removing an opportunity for children to have a small snack during a long school day is in their best interest. Adults working an eight-hour shift are given breaks and a lunch period because we understand that people need time to eat, reset, and refocus. Why would we expect children to function differently? Hungry students are not going to be more focused or productive in the classroom. What makes this even more frustrating is that the new carpet policy appears to affect more than snack time. Classroom birthday and holiday celebrations are also being taken away or significantly limited. Lunch has been suggested as an alternative for birthday celebrations, but students already have a very short lunch period. That is hardly enough time to eat their meal, let alone pass out treats or goody bags, sing Happy Birthday, or participate in a small classroom activity. Not every family wants to simply send a goody bag home. Part of what makes elementary school special is being able to celebrate those little moments with classmates. I understand wanting to protect an investment in new carpet, but when protecting flooring begins taking priority over experiences and routines that benefit students, I think it is reasonable for parents to question whether the right decision was made. Flooring should serve the school not dictate the student experience. This is particularly disappointing because I truly love the staff at this school. I love this school enough that I am involved with the PTSO and willingly give a good amount of my free time volunteering, not only for my own children's classrooms, but for the school and its students as a whole. I would not invest that time if I did not genuinely care about this community. I have also noticed a difference in the overall atmosphere this year. Staff members seem more rushed and overwhelmed, and some of the warmth and happiness that has always made this school feel special seems to be missing. I obviously cannot speak for individual staff members or say exactly what is causing that change, but as a longtime member of this school community, the difference has been noticeable and honestly very sad to see. Meanwhile, there are areas where changes would be incredibly valuable particularly the car loop, drop-off, and pickup process. I wish the same level of attention being given to restricting snacks and classroom celebrations were being directed toward issues that have a much greater impact on families every single day. For years, I have happily supported and voted for this school as one of the best. This will be the first year that I cannot do that without hesitation. I sincerely hope the administration listens to parent feedback and reconsiders some of these decisions. I am writing this because I care about this school, its staff, and its students. After being part of this community for more than a decade, it is incredibly disappointing that this is the first time I have felt compelled to publicly express this level of concern. I truly hope this school year moves in a more positive direction and that decisions going forward prioritize what is best for the students and the people who make this school what it is. read more

This is a wonderful school with a truly nurturing and supportive environment. The staff create a space where students feel safe, encouraged, and excited to learn, and the overall atmosphere is incredibly welcoming for both kids and families. One small piece of feedback from our personal experience is that we wish the higher-level students were challenged a bit more academically. That said, everything else about the school has been positive, and it's clear how much care goes into building such a strong, inclusive community. read more

Mr. Stumbo now... he is good at teaching math but its how he treats the students. i was in his class in 7th grade and he has favorites and its quite obvious. he throws markers at us, makes fun of us if we get a wrong answer and is overall rude. She makes the class boo anyone that has gotten a wrong answer and that is straight up rude he makes us feel embarrassed to even get an answer wrong he goes and tells Mr. Martinez something that someone messed up and then they laugh about it and make fun of us. He yells at us any time we have fun for having free time. He almost hit someone in the face with a marker because he was throwing it all around and he thinks it's so funny. He took someone's property and throw it away and nothing happened. He makes us believe that we're not good enough in math. He also used someone's trauma against this girl and threatening her that he would bring out the animal that attacked her and scare her with it, which is unacceptable behavior. he makes fun of the other classes and students which is unexpectable to our learning. he makes us feel bad about ourselves and also, he makes fun of our bodies, weight, hair, everything. and he makes inappropriate remarks about students he "likes". he makes it his priority to show who he likes and dislikes. take action Doral saddle. oh and Mrs Doane she is unacceptable. She makes weird remarks about the kids. She's friends with all the boys so they get good grades she lets mostly the boys do anything. Put the girls on the other hand. We're just chopped meat. She loses our papers and things that we did something with them. And she gives us tests every single month every week just because we're bad even though it's one guy doing it. And she doesn't hear when students are causing trouble, but she hears the students that are not causing any trouble, but they get blamed, which is horrible. She is rude and disgusting to our faces and and wants us to get gifts for her because it was her birthday like no, TAKE ACTION AGAINST THESE PEOPLE read more

best decision I've made for educat for my kiddos. my kid has adhd and he's supported. phones r a distraction , my daughter had multiple problems using it in class or the halls. but they both know how to use school phones to call me. many school calls from them. his teacher allowed him to call me when he was having a bad day, trouble concentrating.... helped alot. I don't love all their teachers but overall 10/10 read more

We've had a beautiful experience here. From the moment you walk in, you can feel how warm and welcoming the community is. The staff are incredibly friendly and genuinely care--my child is greeted with a smile every single day, which means so much to us as parents. What really stands out is the culture. It's positive, supportive, and uplifting for both the kids and families. You can tell there's a strong sense of connection and pride in what they do. We feel so lucky to be part of such a special place--highly recommend! read more

I had to leave a review after seeing the comment about ms.sahakyan. My child had a traumatizing experience with her and she wasn't even his teacher. My child who likes just about anyone was terribly humiliated by her. He was distraught just seeing her photo in the yearbook and fears that his sibling will get her when she enters first grade. This teacher would probably laugh at this review as she bragged to my child "she's not nice like his teacher" and takes pride being cruel. I feel guilt I didn't take the issue to administration, but it sounds like they wouldn't have cared. I also heard complaints from several other parents with students in her class that she wasn't good. Also love how your child can consistently score well on their obnoxious testing, but the kids who started with low scores and had some Sort of "jump" in score gets a pizza party while Your child who has been scoring well the whole time gets none and is convinced they're dumb. what a fantastic reward system /s Gotta love the hypocrisy in preaching healthy lunches and snacks, unless they can make a profit off of it with their snack shack and donut vendors read more

Well, I have to give credit where credit is due--this school is truly one of a kind. Where else can you find a private charter school tucked away in a location so poorly planned, even Google Maps feels sorry for the parents trying to navigate it? The surrounding businesses are so thrilled with the chaos that they've built barricades just to keep the school traffic out. And despite countless emails and reminders from the school, many parents continue to treat parking rules as optional--because clearly, reading emails and respecting boundaries is asking way too much from grown adults. Then there's the drop-off and pick-up experience, which could easily double as an obstacle course. You'd think safety and traffic flow might be a priority at a school entrusted with children, but apparently, that memo got lost somewhere along the line. There is certainly no consequences for those who ignore the rules. It's a thrilling daily adventure--provided no one gets hurt. Now, let's talk about student accountability and administrative brilliance. When a student uses another child's device to search inappropriate content repeatedly, you'd expect a calm, reasoned investigation, right? Maybe a thoughtful conversation with parents? Nope. The assistant principal opts to put my son--the victim--on the phone with me, mid-school day, with zero context. Professionalism at its finest. But don't worry--once the actual student confessed, the school still issued a warning to my child. Why let facts get in the way of paperwork? As someone with a background in law enforcement, I assumed basic investigative steps--like speaking to witnesses, reviewing footage, or involving teachers--might be second nature in a school setting. Turns out I was asking for too much. Thankfully, the principal apologized (credit where due), though I'm still unclear how an "oops" fixes a mishandled situation. And while we're on the topic of excellence: classroom discipline? Optional. Foul language around younger kids? Totally fine. Academic struggles? Don't worry, you'll find out--if you randomly check the grade portal. Communication with parents and real academic support? Apparently a myth. All that said, if you're looking for a school that truly redefines the meaning of "hands-off" leadership, "creative" traffic design, and "innovative" communication strategies... look no further. But hey, at least we won the lottery to get in. read more

Horrible school, the staff, counselor, principals there are very unfair to certain students and lie about other students. They also always over exaggerate everything even though its the tiniest thing, pretty much sums it up to a grown adult to be acting very childish. read more

Love this school! This is my daughter's second year. Everyone else is correct - pick up/drop off is rough because of the location. Pro Tip: get there on time, not early. You will spend much less time waiting, because things are already moving when you arrive. This school is highly ranked, and my daughter's homework has been manageable and consistent. The extra curriculars are different than CCSD's - at first I was concerned they don't have library once a week. That went away when one week she was telling me about them working on Hamlet, another week on Midsummer Nights Dream. She's in 4th grade. These photos are from her field trip last week to the Illuminarium. Last year they saw a musical at the Smith Center. It's an arts focus school, which means they use different art mediums in the teaching methods - so these field trips are on point. The kids outside are not rough housing at pick up like my nephew's nearby school - Doral Saddle's vibe is overall a calm environment. Good luck in your search! read more

Doral Academy - Saddle - My daughter, being immersed IN the light show. - Elementary Schools Near Me - Las Vegas, Nevada

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I used to be a student in this school and there are many problematic teachers who don't make student safe which is why I'm stating my reason that you guys should do BETTER. Ms. Fitts is saying some unnecessary comments for example, "do you guys want me to wear a bikini just so you guys can pay attention?" which is weird asf and whenever students do something that they're not supposed to do she always tries to scold them with insults which is IDIOTIC. For example, "you're too overweight to ____" or, "that lipliner is not your shade." like excuse me? no one ASKED about your opinion. Its ridiculous. Theres also this one teacher, he's really rude to the students and offended many people i don't know how people even bare to stand him. His name is Mr. Stumbo and whenever we are working sometimes he tells us to shut it, and whenever he randomly calls on a person and they don't know how to answer it, he points that person out and tells the class to boo them. which happened to me but I was working on it and he was telling me to hurry up. He calls kids stupid, idiots, and a fool. Not in a scarcastic manner btw because he doesn't know how to keep his mouth shut and have boundaries for other people. He makes people uncomfortable and students that have him as a teacher don't feel safe to enter his classroom because of that reason. i'm so disappointed because in this school none of the principals take action vastly and don't take it seriously or in a responible way. screw every teacher in this school who treated me wrong. read more

This is my son's first year here and we love it so far. I did read all the reviews before deciding to accept his spot but we chose to give the school a chance. Yes, the school's location is not the best. The surrounding business's do not allow parking for school pick up or drop off but I found that if I left home 5 minutes earlier, I could park on Saddle Road and still walk my son to the campus. If you get to Saddle Road by 7:55am, you won't have to "hike" to the campus to drop off your kiddo. We have not had any issues with any staff members either. Ms. Cox is a wonderful teacher and truly cares about her students and even though my son only sees Ms. Reinozo and Mr. Dallas at drop off in the morning they are always so warm and welcoming that he looks forward to going to school every day. read more

My son goes to school here, let me start off with how INCONVENIENT this school is the school is placed in a very awkward location. There's only a one-way street and unfortunately you are not able to park in nearby areas to pick up your kid or kids. My first week of school experience was terrible they have a system where when you drop off your kids they go up to your cars to grab the kids for my first bad experience it was when I was in line waiting for my son to get out the car in front of me in the kindergarten drop off, There was at least three or four cars in front of me their kids had gone out of their car, but they did not move so I figured I would take My Son out since it would've only taken me, about five seconds to 15 seconds and when we passed the gate where My Son had entered, the lady had yelled at us and instead of being nice, especially since it was the first week of school, she could have went about the situation in a different way by saying "hey I know it's the first week of school but just so you know this is how we do our system so that way it' flows easier next time I'll have you stay in the car and just move forward when you're able too" and it would've been fine but she wanted to yell at us in a rude way, we went to the office and complained and heard there was MULTIPLE complaints about this individual after that she provided a rude encounter every single time seeing her. Now TODAY 09-12-24 im picking up my son and they have a system where you have to go through this one way street and you have to wrap around these cones to go to specific pick up areas. I personally walk up because it takes about an hour to an hour and a half just to pick up your kid I walk up, and there's a lady with long blonde hair in a black dress talking to the kindergartners in a very rude way, she said "earth to kindergartners why are you guys playing and not watching for your cars all these cars are coming and you're not even paying attention, get up and move" (meanwhile they were all facing the street to where the cars were pulling up and she's saying this in a rude way towards 5-6 year old kids including my son and I'm standing behind her). I see she's getting frustrated and she walks away doesn't even try to guide them to the area they're supposed to relocate at and just stands behind the gate doing whatever. I tried to say excuse me to a fellow staff member to see what that lady's name was and was completely ignored. Personally this will be my sons FIRST AND LAST YEAR experience with this school, I personally am no longer comfortable with the way they talk to their students, if they can talk to them like that and see a PARENT walk up and still talk like that I can only imagine how they talk to their students during school time. read more

**Worst Experience - Unprofessional and Unsafe!** I am beyond frustrated with the assistant principal, Mrs.Lerix, at this school. At the start of the year, she acted like she was so friendly and approachable, but that quickly changed. Over time, her attitude became meaner, dismissive, and downright hostile. The worst part is that my child felt **extremely unsafe** under her leadership. She made my child so scared and anxious that they dreaded going to school every single day. It's heartbreaking to see your child afraid to learn because of how they're treated by someone in a position of authority. I've had enough of this place and Mrs. Lerix's behavior. No parent should have to deal with this, and I strongly advise anyone to reconsider sending their children here. It's a toxic environment, and no one deserves to feel unsafe at school. read more

Terrible school. The things I hear from my kid on the drive home is absurd. The amount of students there saying racial slurs is a cause for concern. My sons claim was validated when some student did a Nazi salute while walking next to my car. The administration does absolutely nothing about this too. They are too busy punishing kids who break their bs "15 minute" car loop thing. They also offer no help to my son. He's on an IEP and they do not abide by any of its rules. He already has a hard enough time focusing in class due to the amount of disruptive students. This place needs to be investigated by the state. Do not send your kid here. read more

I am in 4th grade and this school is ... something else the uniforms are ugly and expensive and DONT get me started on Mrs O'Brien true story I was in the bathroom and I dropped toilet paper on the floor I forgot to pick it up and Mrs O'Brien came into my classroom and took me to the bathroom and asked if I dropped the toilet paper and I forgot I did and I said no and then she said oh really let's check the stall cameras so I remembered I did so I said oh yea I did drop it and she said pick it up or I will dunk your hand in the toilet and I said no so I picked it up and she said if it happened again I would go to the principal and call my mom I'm traumatized read more

If I could give this school a zero I would. Mrs. Sahakyan is a monster. I pray for all students and parents who have to have her as their first grade teacher. My daughter needed therapy because of this worm. Crazy to think a 1st grade teacher could be so cruel. Ms. Gilligan should be ashamed as a principal to have someone like this teaching in her school. Thank god we don't go here anymore. It's so sad to come online and see that Mrs. Sahakyan is still teaching. We had to pray for her the whole year cause the principal told us we couldn't change teachers. Said it wasn't allowed. We're at the doral cactus location now. We have had such a wonderful experience at this location. It's the way a school and teachers should be. They pour love into the students. Absolutely so sad and disappointing that this women is still allowed to teach. Get your kids as far away from this location as you can. They simply can't stand parents who actually care about their children. May god be with Mrs Sahakyan and pour love into her heart. read more

Fire school, but you have to pay $4.50 for the lunch there, and some staff there is rude or even straight up mean. I know that they have good teachers here and some good students so this school is drippy and blingy read more

Be honest I wish I could leave 0 star.We are so disappointed in this school . My child has been physically assaulted by another student, which has resulted in distress and fear for my child's safety. As a parent, my primary expectation is that my child will be provided with a safe and secure learning environment. However, the repeated attacks on my child demonstrate a clear failure on the part of the school's security measures and disciplinary actions. It is disheartening to witness the lack of concern and inaction displayed by the school administration in providing a safe space for students. Moreover, as parents, we have a right to know about any incidents involving our children's safety and well-being. I kindly ask that the school promptly inform the parents of the aggressor about their child's behavior and take appropriate measures to address the situation. We tried to contact them again and again, their answers is they have to protect another kid information. Why they only know protect other kid information other than protecting my kid ? They even don't suspend the kid. We feel so sad about it . If your kids in this school better teach them self defense, just in case anything happens!!!!! read more

This is the Saddle campus of Doral Academy, and the school is amazing. I am currently completing my student teaching at this location and everyone from the administrative team, the teachers, the students and the parents are astonishing. It feels good to come into an amazing learning environment that supports the community, the students, and the teachers. Keep up the awesome work Saddle Campus!! read more

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I am in 5 grade and ms.O'Brienis the worst teacher ever. Y wish I could give 0 stars but I come home crying every day because she is so mean and I am going to leave the school because the school lunch is soooooooooo bad read more

I wish I could give them 0 stars. Very disappointed with their new administration, they don't do anything to keep kids in a safe environment. My daughter was aggressively grabbed by the shoulder and touched on her breast by a male teacher. Teachers aren't supposed to touch kids for any reason! They downplayed the whole matter and we never received a formal apology or any support to help us with this situation. Why did he grab her? Because there were 3-4 kids like 4 feet away from her playing with water so he thought it was a good idea to grab my daughter and touched her breast, when she wasn't part of the group, she was just walking by. The assistant principal showed me a video where there is proof that he did touch her, but her attitude in front of my daughter was like trying to downplay the video, when my daughter was crying her lungs out and telling them what happened. The principal said to me that "she had done her math, and that his hand can't be that big to grab my daughters chest," when we can see in the video there was a physical contact - we're talking about a male hand and a little 12yo girl. They only showed me a video from her back; how convenient for this teacher that they don't have a different angle. But contact is very clear, even from this angle. They told me that witnesses/students wrote down statements where they're saying that he didn't touch her breast or he wasn't aggressive. Now we have 3 adults, the principal, her assistant and counselor in a room downplaying the whole situation instead of helping my daughter. That day my daughter's counselor pulled her out of her class before dismissal to ask her "are you sure?" and that her friends said "she's exaggerating!" My daughter repeated again what happened and didn't let this lady get in her mind. The Counselor did try to persuade a 12 year old girl to change her story. We came back to the school the next day to get answers, to see if they spoke with the teacher, to see if there was any help/support for my daughter after all this. Their answer, "we can't tell you what's gonna happen," and "you can't have a copy of the video." They were so rude and I don't understand why they can't help a student with something like this. They seem to be more concerned about their "Best Charter School" banner they get from sending daily emails for votes than they do for their students. We asked for the witnesses statements and we got them, and it turns out these kids wrote everything my daughter was saying, that he was aggressive and he DID touch her breast. That day was my kids' last day in this school. I can't keep sending my kids to a school where they are not the #1 priority. I spoke with a few parents after this assault and they did tell me that the teacher in question has an aggressive background, asking kids to slap him in the face, or throwing basketballs to middle schoolers in their faces. Parents need to be very careful, and always believe their kids, and ask them questions! My daughter is a very brave girl and spoke up right away. Usually at this age kids don't talk, specially girls. read more

School is not that bad but Mrs O'brien is not human to say the least. My kids still traumatized by her, and after so many years of complaints the school does nothing to fix the problem and excuses her behavior. Unfortunately she's a rotten apple read more

Would rate 4 star but there are a couple of disrespectful teachers on staff. Ms. O'Brien takes it for not only being disrespect and downright nasty to all the students (this is a widely shared option among MANY students) but she is was rude and and confrontational with me, as a parent as well! This will not be tolerated and I know she has many complaints thus far. Why with all the complaints, is she still she still running around bullying the students? I will be contacting the school board in regards to her behavior. read more

Honestly I wish I could give 0 stars. The administration acts like baby's and don't deal with your problems that they need to pay attention to. The principal has such an attitude it's not even funny. I had to remove a substitute from my class because the were physically touching the students.( slamming hands on desk when raised hands ) yet they made the sub and ACTUAL teacher. They turned my mom away but when my dad came in ONLY THEN did they bring out the principal. I do not recommend this school at all. Ms. O'Brien has had a lot of bad reviews already. She gets you In trouble even if you do slightest mistake. read more

My daughter was at this school for 3 years. From 6th grade to 8th grade. She would come home crying on some days because teachers would were so disrespectful to her. A teacher by the name of Ms. O'brien was always rude to almost every student she came into contact with. I would not recommend this school to ANYONE. If you want a good education for your child, your best bet is your zones public school. read more

I seriously wish there was a 0 star option, I personally have never felt less safe every day when I go to this school I went to this school for 7 years (k-7) and left at year 7 because of how unbelievably bad this school is. To start off there have been very disrespectful teachers that are completely bias and rude, Mrs. O'Brien would always make sure to watch my every move and punish me for the slightest wrong move. This went on for years on end until middle school. 6th grade I have too many complaints with, Students getting RPC/suspended for things that aren't their fault whatsoever, me and my friends being a victim of this yet the principle who does practically nothing with these scenarios don't listen to us or "never has enough time" to make a meeting with us to deal with it, Her assistant does all the work. I was in Doral for a couple weeks during year 7 and it was atrocious, Absolutely terrible. My English language arts teacher was the worst of it. Any time someone laughed or even giggled she would get so upset about this and discipline them terribly. I giggled in class because my friend was doing something funny and it was while the entire class was talking so I figured it would be okay, Fast forward about 30 seconds she walks up to me and DRAGS me by my arm as if I was a dog on a leash. If i ever shook her arm off she would grab me again to the point where I was crying but she didn't seem to care and kept going for another about 5-10 minutes till she stopped. I report this to the Assistant principle because the principle would never make time to schedule a meeting, only believed what the teacher said instead of checking cameras or even launching an investigation. I had 30+ witnesses which was the ENTIRE Class and they didn't care nor did they fire her or give a single repercussion. I walked into the bathroom in 5th period and my friend was there, I said "Hey what's up" he said "nothin much I'm in Mrs. Fitts' class and she's really out to get me" I said "Yeah right she's always super disrespectful", he continues to state "Yeah she said she was going to fail me if I'm not back to the class room in 2 minutes, (its a 1 minute walk just to get to the bathroom from her class) I already did all of my work and everything but she doesn't seem to care at all. This isn't the first time "Mrs. Fitts" has done these types of actions. Treats her daughter who is in that class like an absolute queen, giving her all types of rewards for doing the bare minimum compared to being rude to every other student. Deserves to be fired but they silence all reports like this because they care too much about their "best charter school" banner. Along with all of this, Doral is such a sexist school, if there is a boy and girl involved in a situation regardless of what they did the boy will ALWAYS get the worst case scenario and the girl gets out with no scratch. Regardless how much proof there is that they aren't in the wrong, the boy always gets the worst case scenario. Going to Doral is just hell, rude teachers, disrespectful coaches, unfair rules, punishing the VICTIM in any situation, I hope nobody enrolls their kid into this school anymore. read more

I'm a student (8th grade) as well as my sister (6th grade) and it's our second year attending this school. We are really happy here, all of our teachers are great. read more

My daughter was in Doral Academy last year for kindergarten in the fire Mesa Campus. We put in for a transfer because Saddle Campus was a lot closer to home. I have got to say that I am extremely happy we made the switch. Apart from it being closer to home, I have seen a dramatic improvement in my daughter. She wakes up everyday excited to go to school. She is getting excellent grades, and she loves her teacher Mr Revere. She can't stop raving about all the new things she learns everyday, and how her teacher teaches her how to face her fears and so much more. The staff is super friendly & helpful. The pick up & drop off is a breeze & a lot more structured than I imagined it to be. Overall I am extremely satisfied with this school so far and I cannot wait until my son is able to join in on the Doral Academy fun next year. read more

Love the school and principal there a few issues nothing like ccsd Glad my son goes there

I love everything about this school... the teachers , students, and everything. I think the principal is bomb and loves all the kids and I recommend you all to take your kid/kids there !! read more

I currently have 2 kids enrolled in this school for the 2017-2018 school year and they are in 8th grade. Overall, the school is very clean and my kids are getting a good education, however, I am having a hard time trying to understand why Ms. Catherine Ferry is still an educator at this school. She is an English teacher and seems to be teaching everything but English. One day, both of my kids came home and told me that the discussion that they had in class that day was about prostitution. They both seemed very uncomfortable about the situation. On other days, my kids have come home in tears because she called them stupid. She has also announced to the whole class that "she doesn't care if they pass or fail her class." Recently, I had a discussion with the principle about the teacher and I wasn't able to attend a meeting because they scheduled it at a time I couldn't be there. My kids wanted me to let the situation go because they were afraid that they would be treated even more poorly if I decided to talk to the principal with the teacher there. I decided to take my review here because I have had enough of this. A couple of days ago my daughter received a 20% on an assignment for "minor punctuation errors." I cannot let this happen any longer. I don't believe my kids are being treated fairly by this teacher. Many parents have switched their kids out of this class for the same reasons we are currently experiencing. There has to be something done about this. read more