Ohioโค Schools Receive Boost in Attendance Efforts as “Stay in the Game!”โข Network Impacts 61 Districts
COLUMBUS, OH – A statewide initiative aimed at improving student attendanceโ reached 61 school districts across Northeast Ohio during September’s Attendance Awareness Month, the stay in the Game! Attendance Network (SITG!) announced today. The program, aโค collaboration between the Cleveland Browns Foundation, the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce, โคand Harvard’s Proving Ground (now managed by Battelle), is working towards โขa goal of decreasing chronic absenteeism by 50% over the next five years.
Consistent school attendance โขis a key predictor of academic success. Students with good attendance are 3.9 times more likely โขtoo read โat grade level by third grade โคand three times more likely to graduate high school on โฃtime.Though,data from the 2023-24 school year revealed thatโ 25.1% of โขOhio โขstudents โขwere chronically absent – a statistic SITG! isโข actively working to change.
Throughout September, SITG! hosted a series of events to โhighlight the importanceโฃ of regular schoolโข attendance. These included back-to-school visits โfrom Cleveland Browns players S Grant Delpit andโ G Joel Bitonio, a “Principal for a Day” appearance by Browns DT Shelby Harris,โข and specialโฃ guest appearancesโ at Browns home games and practices. Weekly contests also recognized schools and students demonstrating a commitment to improved attendance.
Launched in 2019, SITG! now partnersโ with the Columbus Crew and FC Cincinnati to extend its reach across the state,โข impacting over 580,000 students in 218 schools. The network recently welcomed three new “Stay in the Game!” Ambassadors โ- Bitonio, Delpit, and Harris – joining WR โCedric Tillman in supporting educational initiatives statewide.
“Every day in school matters, and we โคknow thatโค attendance in the frist month of school can predict poor attendance throughout the school year,” said Renee Harvey, Vice president of Community Impact and Foundation. “So,โค while we โขsupport schools โyear-round, Attendance Awareness Month gives us the prospect to partner with school districts, recognize students and start the school year strong.”
Harvey added, “With the help of our ambassadors, we’re able to connect withโข students โin meaningful ways that keep them motivated toโ show up and โฃsucceed throughout โคthe whole school year.”
Theโค initiative aligns with a pledge โmade by Governor Mike DeWine and Ohio โDepartmentโ of Education and Workforce Director Stephen Dackin to prioritize improved student attendance across Ohio.