Hello Village 14 readers,
My name is Matthew Miller and I am excited to be running for the open Ward 8 School Committee seat.
I first announced that I was running in late 2016. Since that time, I had a successful launch, have picked up the support of many community leaders and I have attended a full calendar year of School Committee meetings. I have been privileged to have many wonderful conversations with Newton voters while out knocking on doors.
My goal remains the same: To ensure that each child in Newton has equal access to the very best that our schools and community have to offer.
- As the founder of an executive recruiting firm I have years of experience working with budgets, managing contracts, negotiating vendor agreements and leading staff.
- I was PTO President at Memorial-Spaulding and Oak Hill Middle School. During that time, I have developed a deep understanding of the Newton Public School system as well as lasting relationships with the administration, faculty and staff.
- I am the founder of a non-profit creative problem-solving program called Newton Destination Imagination, a first of its kind in our city. I saw a need, partnered with administration and have helped over 350 Newton Public School students learn valuable teamwork and project management skills.
- Lastly, I am an active member of my neighborhood and community. I am the president of the Oak Hill Park Association, a 600-home neighborhood group, as well as the youngest member on the Board of Directors at Temple Beth Avodah.
Thank you to Greg Reibman for providing me with this platform to update the Village 14 audience. On behalf of my team and my supporters, I want to send my well-wishes to the Masters-Ribner family.
It has been a privilege to have conversations with Newton voters about their goals and aspirations for the Newton Public Schools while at many school and community events this year. In the coming months, I will continue to engage with Newton citizens as I to campaign across the city. I respectfully ask for your vote on November 7th.
To learn more about me and my priorities, please go to www.matt4schools.com.
Thank you,
Matthew
Hello Matthew. Congratulations on your candidacy. You’re going to have a very tough race in Ward 8. Your opponent is well liked and highly respected. I asked Gail Spector the following questions here on V-14, but she gave me a rather wishy-washy answer. I’m hoping you’ll be more direct…
How do you feel about tackle football being a school sponsored sport? Appropriate? Not appropriate? If elected, do you plan to do anything to eliminate tackle football as a school sport?
Mike – Matt Miller is also well liked and highly respected. He has been and will continue to be a formidable candidate who’s very well known in the Newton school community and well informed about the issues as well.
Whether you agree with the charter proposal or not, please read the revised Article 4 that outlines the powers and responsibilities of the School Committee. Much of the wording is taken directly from state law. The School Committee should not be involved in the day to day operations of a school system. Your question is valid, especially given the information from recent studies, but it should be directed to the central administration.
This is quite different from your issue with a medical marijuana facility (which I agree with completely). It is the city council’s responsibility to allow/disallow permits for these facilities.
Mike,
I am aware of the dangers related to tackle football. My husband is a a pediatric neurology nurse and works with concussion-related trauma.
Full disclosure: my oldest son plays tackle football for the Oak Hill Panthers. While I am personally not a fan of football, he thrives both physically and mentally in the sport. As a family, we weighed the pros and cons and decided to allow him access to an activity that keeps him calm and centered.
Here is an article I wrote for the New York Times about our experience: https://parenting.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/08/10/if-my-son-loves-football-can-he-still-love-me/
Your demand for a response to this issue is well justified. The research surrounding chronic traumatic encephalopathy and its presence in football players is alarming.
I would advocate for raising awareness, setting safety guidelines and following research as it evolves. Here are some ways we can make sure our players are kept safe:
-Ensure that certified athletic trainers attend games
-Continue community discussion and education about this topic
-Set and enforce strict concussion guidelines
You asked if I would “do something to eliminate football.” My number one priority is to create the best possible experience for our students and families. Should research evolve and/or we fail to make necessary safety changes, I would advocate for elimination of football, as I would with anything that puts our students in harm’s way.
Thank you for your question. I look forward to further discussion.
Best,
Matthew
Thanks for your reply, Matthew. I appreciate the response. I support your right to have your own child participate in tackle football. But as a School Committee member, I would expect you to weigh all of the facts, not just your own personal experience…
I think your answer was incredibly naive, particularly your suggestions about how to make sure teen football players are “kept safe.” How does “community discussion” keep those kids “safe”? One of your suggestions, “set and enforce strict concussion guidelines,” concedes the fact that concussions are part of tackle football. You seem to be suggesting that a certain number of concussions are acceptable. Have I got that right?
Matthew Miller is going to represent all of us with intelligence, financial acumen, and transparency on the School Committee. Matthew has been living in Newton and working hard in our community for several years. He gives 150% to everything. He is a creative problem solver. He recently won a coveted award, of which he does not boast, but I am so pleased to share: Matthew Miller is the recipient of the JUDGE FRANKLIN N. FLASCHNER ADULT AWARD, Newton MA:
Presented to an individual over twenty-five years of age that has exhibited the highest standards of excellence, dedication and accomplishment to benefit the young people of Newton. What better endorsement could one have than that? But, if you want to review the number of amazing endorsements of Matthew, you can do that at his website: http://matt4schools.com/ I have been active in local politics, especially as a speaker and attendee of school committee meetings for the last 20 years. With Matthew, and other first time candidates, I am looking forward to a School Committee that truly represents the diversity of our city. Matthew is thoughtful and open to all perspectives. Matthew Miller is truly the best candidate for our next School Committee. Vote Matthew Miller on November 7th!
Mike,
I hear where you are coming from regarding the concussion problem in football. My 13-year-old son is not at all interested in sports, but if he was I would certainly have major concerns about him playing football. I say this as someone who played football in grades 8-12 and is a big Pats fan. But high school football is indeed dangerous. (So, I might add, is high school driving.)
I’m guessing you were troubled by the recent news revealing that concussions-related disease was discovered in something like 90 percent of the brains studied of deceased former NFL players. We know about Junior Seau’s concussion-related tragedy, Daryl Stingley’s paralysis, or even the depression-related problems Ted Johnson has had.
A couple points: I don’t know whether high school football is as dangerous as the level played in the NFL. NFL players are so big, strong and fast and hit so hard. Some of the tackles appear to have been launched like a guided missile and are frightening. I fear for the long-term well-being of a guy like Julian Edelman.
You can’t compare it to high school football.
Also, if we were to ban high school football, what about soccer? I read some time ago that many young girls were suffering concussions from heading the ball.
The issue of concussions in youth sports is probably worth its own thread. But a couple of points.
First, yes, soccer does produce quite a number of concussion-related injuries. There is a thought that body blows have a role to play in brain injuries as well. BAYS did ban heading for younger girls to help mitigate concussions.
Frankly, other sports, like sailing, can also present risk. During the 2016 season the Newton North Sailing Team had several students suffer concussions from hitting their heads on the boom, including my son. One was particularly serious. This year they wore helmets.
But a larger issue with banning a sport, especially one as popular as football, is less about the danger and more about the cultural backlash. Can you take action without banning? Yes, and I think that’s what most on the school board (including Matt) are suggesting. Eliminating the sport quickly has the potential to create anger and discord among parents and students that can easily overshadow any positives from the move. If the culture shifts away from football then it may slowly fade away over time, or be encouraged to do so more naturally.
Keep in mind, the Newton Mustangs, a very traditional tackle football program aimed at kids much younger than high school, has grown tremendously in the past several years. There is certainly a market for kids to play the sport even at a young age. Banning football (or any popular sport) at the high school level is not likely to end it, but just push students interested in that sport deeper into the private club realm, and that has its own host of issues and problems.
And, if all the above sports present risk, which sports do we ban and which do we keep?
I have deep respect for all that Gail has contributed to Newton, but I was a very early supporter of Matthew’s candidacy and second all the positive things that have been said about his wisdom, character, background and judgment as well as the the independence of thought and action that this free spirit will bring to the School Committee. His unabashed enthusiasm for Newton and its people is genuine and positively contagious. Al Smith and Hubert Humphrey were the only political candidates I can recall who earned the title of “Happy Warrior”; I have no problem adding Matthew Miller to this list.
I’ve known and worked with Gail for many years and I’m excited that she is running for many reasons, none of which detract from Matt Miller’s candidacy.
It’s so helpful when we have contested elections. We have a few sitting School Committee members who were “elected” without ever having to articulate their vision standing next to an opponent. And it’s going to happen this year for two city councilors. That’s really unfortunate.
This particular race is going to be a challenge for some of the Village 14 crew. I’m happy to see a fair minded statement from Greg that sets the campaign on the right track.
@Jane: There are quite a few contests where Village 14 bloggers have endorsed candidates. (I believe two of our regulars have endorsed Miller. As for me, I don’t endorse candidates.)
As a group of bloggers, we hope there’s enough diversity to keep the conversations varied. (Lynne Leblanc, who ran last year as a Newton Villages Alliance candidate, has just agreed to join as a blogger. Julia Malakie and Gail will both step back as bloggers until election day but hopefully will be active participants.)
Mostly what matters here are the voices of our citizen participants (including candidates). I’m looking forward to some fascinating and hopefully respectful discussions.
It’s not a challenge for me as to who to support:).
Just so we’re all dealing with the same set of facts, 20% of the HIGH SCHOOL football players in the recent Boston University School of Medicine study had CTE [Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy]. As Mathew Miller indicated in his response to me, concussions are an integral part of tackle football, even at the high school level. Mathew, along with the current SC members, are willing to accept a certain number of concussions resulting from high school football. I’m not. Unfortunately, I don’t have the power to stop high school football. My only option is to help educate parents, in much the same way as I’ve done for years regarding the health consequences of early morning high school start times. The problem is, we’re dealing with a group of people [the Newton School Committee] who are so oblivious to the genuine health and safety of students that for years they failed to realize children in 13 schools were being poisoned by lead in their drinking water.
@Mike: How do you feel about other sports? I think others have raised a good point that football is getting singled out because it has a well documented CTE problem.
But while there are less comprehensive studies, there is very alarming evidence in baseball, hockey, and soccer too. I am sure other less high profile sports would show similar issues.
Its a tough issue. Kids are getting outside and exercising less than they used to. Team sports are a great way to get kids outside, but nearly all of the most popular ones can lead to these sorts of problems. Are there things we can do to make the sports more safe? Are there best practices that can be developed in terms of length of games, practices, the level of physical contact allowed, etc?
I don’t know the answers, but these are questions I would want to ask before calling for an outright ban. And I would hate to see us single out one popular sport and stop there if this is a more comprehensive problem.
Bob,
Want another happy warrior for our times? Maura Healey.
@Sean. Absolutely.
Key point regarding this recent study:
The study looked at 202 former football players, ranging from those who played pre-high school only to NFL players, and CTE was diagnosed in 177. The breakdown was 0 of 2 pre–high school, 3 of 14 high school (21%), 48 of 53 college (91%), 9 of 14 semiprofessional (64%), 7 of 8 Canadian Football League (88%), and 110 of 111 National Football League (99%) players. As the researchers point out, it is not possible to draw conclusions about prevalence from such a small and self-selected sample size. But even in this study, the incidence and severity of disease increased markedly at the higher levels of play (college and up).
http://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/article-abstract/2645104
The same doctor quoted above, Dr. Ann C. McKee, director of BU’s CTE Center, was also quoted in a recent article about CTE and soccer:
Of course, these studies are concerning, and more research is needed. Professional football, with it’s massive and repetitive head impacts over a period of many years, has a big problem. And yes, concussions are a clear risk of tackle football at any level – along with soccer, hockey, baseball, basketball, rugby, and, apparently, sailing. Where do you draw the line?
@Bryan– You asked about my opinion of other high school sports. I don’t have one. But I do have an opinion of high school football, which I’ve made clear. As you put it, “…football is getting singled out because it has a well documented CTE problem.” That’s exactly my point, Bryan. A sport with a “well documented CTE problem” is an inappropriate school sponsored activity.
@Tricia– You asked “where do you draw the line?” when deciding which sports present too serious of a concussion threat. Rest assured, sailing would not be on my hit list. Here’s an interesting fact for you to consider. Tackle football has a 60% higher concussion rate than the next closest sport. THAT is where I draw the line!