HomeMy WebLinkAboutStaff Report 12308
CITY OF PALO ALTO OFFICE OF THE CITY CLERK
June 1, 2021
The Honorable City Council
Palo Alto, California
Proclamation Honoring Gunn High School Football Coach Jason Miller
ATTACHMENTS:
• Attachment A: Proclamation Honoring Gunn High School Coach Jason Miller (DOCX)
Department Head: Beth Minor, City Clerk
Page 2
Proclamation
__________________________
Tom DuBois
Mayor
HONORING COACH JASON M. MILLER
WHEREAS, Coach Jason Miller, as a 21 year-old offensive coordinator, broke the state rushing record at
7,309 yards at Inglewood High School; at Compton High School, Coach Miller took a winless program to the
playoffs the next year in Southern California’s toughest division, as well as won the San Gabriel Valley League
championship in 2015; and
WHEREAS, as a Special Education teacher in the Therapeutic Support Program at Greene Middle School,
Mr. Miller was lauded for turning around the class, helping students transition to the general education setting;
upon his hiring at Gunn High School in 2018 as football coach and Social Studies teacher, Mr. Miller was honored
by Santa Clara County as Civic Engagement Teacher of the Year. He was a finalist for Gunn High School’s
Teacher of the Year and was voted by SCVAL peers as Coach of the Year in 2019; in January of 2020, he was
selected as head coach in the prestigious Charlie Wiedermeyer All-Star Game; and
WHEREAS, Coach Miller instituted a mandatory study hall and behavior standards which eliminated grade
and behavior issues in the team; prior to his arrival, Gunn had won two league games in five years and averaged
losing by 18 points per game in the 2019 league; with Mr. Miller, the team won five league games in 2021 and
the Gunn Titans average margin of victory was 36 points in the El Camino Division of the SCVAL in Spring
2021; Gunn football in 2021 dominated the competition, going undefeated for the first time in fifty years (1971)
and dominating the Central Coast Section statistics; and
WHEREAS, Jason Miller is the lead teacher in the Social Justice Pathway program and his work in the
classroom has spilled onto the field; the Gunn football team participated in political and civil rights
demonstrations during the summer and the “Stop Asian Hate” campaign as the season unfolded; and
WHEREAS, Coach Miller has reformed the Gunn Titan football program and transformed the reputation of
the athletics program in the San Francisco Bay Area by infusing social consciousness into the constitution of his
football program. The impact he has on the lives of Palo Alto’s youth and adults is immeasurable.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, Tom DuBois, Mayor of the City of Palo Alto on behalf of the entire City Council do
hereby recognize and applaud Jason Miller for excellence in leadership, coaching ethic, commitment, and
character.
PRESENTED: June 1, 2021