Good evening, school board members. As the head coach of Lincoln Middle School's basketball program for fifteen years and a former student-athlete myself, I've witnessed the transformative power of school sports. Tonight, I urge you to reconsider the proposed budget cuts to our athletic programs.
What happens when we cut sports? We cut opportunity. We cut community. We cut futures.
Consider Marcus, a shy seventh-grader who struggled academically. Through basketball, he learned discipline, time management, and teamwork. His grades improved from Cs to As. Today, he's on a full scholarship at Florida State. Can you tell his younger brother that this path is now closed?
The numbers speak clearly. Students who participate in athletics have a graduation rate of 94%, compared to 72% for non-athletes. They score an average of 15% higher on standardized tests. A study by the CDC found that physical activity directly correlates with improved cognitive function and academic performance.
This isn't about games. This is about building citizens. This is about building futures. This is about building the leaders our community needs.
I ask you: What message do we send our children if we tell them their development doesn't matter? That their health doesn't matter? That their futures don't matter?
Every generation fears new technology. Parents in the 1950s worried that television would rot children's brains. In the 1980s, video games were supposedly creating violent youth. Now, screens are the villain. But history shows us that panic about technology often misses the bigger picture.
Are screens sometimes misused? Of course. But here's what the data actually shows: a Stanford University study found that students who used educational technology for learning showed 23% greater improvement in reading comprehension than those using traditional methods alone. The key isn't screen time - it's HOW screens are used.
I spend three hours daily on screens for school. I code programs that solve real problems. I collaborate with students in Japan on climate research. I access virtual tours of museums I could never visit in person. Is this the "mindless screen time" adults worry about?
Technology is a tool - like a hammer. You can build a house with it, or you can hurt yourself. Banning hammers doesn't teach carpentry; teaching proper use does. The same applies to screens. We don't need fewer devices. We need better digital literacy.
Let's stop fighting the future and start preparing for it.
Every minute, one garbage truck of plastic is dumped into our oceans. Every hour, 60 trucks. Every day, over 14 million pounds.
Marine biologists have found plastic in the stomachs of 90% of seabirds tested. Sea turtles mistake plastic bags for jellyfish. Whales wash ashore with stomachs full of trash - our trash.
You have the power to change this. One person using a reusable water bottle saves 167 plastic bottles per year. One family saying "no" to plastic bags saves 500 bags annually.
Small choices. Big impact. Your ocean. Your future. Your choice.