As WR Jamari Thrash walked into the gymnasium at Carylwood Intermediate School, he was greeted by the excited screams and cheers of the students in attendance.

Thrash spoke to the students about the importance of coming to school each day and congratulated them on their dedication to attendance. He shared some of his story about being a professional athlete and how he reached this point. Students then asked Thrash a variety of football-related questions, including his favorite youth football memory and his daily routine as an NFL player.

"Today was actually my first Gym Class Takeover, I came here today to show the kids appreciation for their commitment to coming to school every day," Thrash said. "It feels surreal because like I told them earlier, it's hit me, but it hasn't really hit me that I'm in the NFL. So, I wake up every morning blessed for the opportunity, and blessed for the opportunity to come here, show out for the kids and show them we care."

As the school assembly wrapped up, Thrash presented the Bedford City School District, which Carylwood Intermediate School is a part of, with a check for $2,500 on behalf of the Cleveland Browns Foundation and Meijer to support the district's attendance efforts. The Gym Class Takeover at Carylwood Intermediate School, presented by Meijer, kicked off the first of four over the course of the 2025 fall semester.

Following the assembly, 50 students selected for good or increased attendance participated in a variety of flag football drills and non-contact games with Thrash.

"I think it's important as a player because I know when I was younger, NFL players would come back to the community and those are certain guys that we look up to," Thrash said. "So, I feel like this is not only good for me, but for them to show them that they have somebody who's in their corner, somebody who is excited for them and willing to show them those steps you have to take to be where you want to be in life."

Launched in 2019 by the Cleveland Browns Foundation, Ohio Department of Education and Workforce and Harvard's Proving Ground, the Stay in the Game! Attendance Network, now managed by Battelle, works together to reduce chronic absenteeism by bringing together experts, partners and communities. Together, the Network partners with 212 districts and impacts more than 566,000 students throughout Ohio.

The Bedford City School District has been a member of the Network since the 2023-24 school year. For the past two school years, the district has decreased their chronic absenteeism rate.

"For us, we are really trying to incentivize attendance, but also just engagement and joy around learning. So, it was great to see the kids actively engaged. We had lots of smiling faces, and lots of joy," Principal of Carylwood Intermediate School Jennifer Speight said. "Some of our students who we know are very athletically motivated worked really hard to get to school each day, to make sure they were making good choices so they could participate in those stations. And so, for us, it's just about increasing opportunities for our kids. They can't see things that they don't know exists, that they don't participate in actively, so that was a great experience for us."

Speight said as a district, their concerted efforts to encourage improved attendance stems from the work of their social and emotional learning teams. They focus on eliminating barriers that could prevent students from coming to school, such as transportation or clothing needs. They also work closely with individual students and families to develop individualized plans to provide incentivization to come to school. The students chosen for the Gym Class Takeover had reached certain levels of attendance.

All of their efforts stem from the importance of being in school plays in the learning process, as Speight said students will not grasp concepts they need to grasp if not in school.

"Day 1 for education starts with getting the kids to school on time every day so they can be exposed to the content that they need. For our kids especially, and for many schools with the population similar to ours, attendance is going to be crucial. The systems, the routines, the exposure to content and really just expanding the breadth of opportunity available to our kids," Speight said. "I went to a school similar to Bedford when I was a kid, you don't know what is out there until you are able to see it. You don't know what ladders or what rungs you have to climb up the ladder until the next one is in front of you. So, for us, getting them here every day is really crucial to improve reading scores and math scores, which we know later on ends up with scholarship dollars and everything else for our kids to tackle what they need to tackle."

While the Browns are committed to improving attendance across the state of Ohio, they are also dedicated to advancing the game of youth and high school football throughout Northeast Ohio with year-round programming for players, coaches, officials and parents. Through camps, clinics and other in-school initiatives, the Browns' goal is to promote the healthy, social, emotional, intellectual and physical development of youth by enhancing opportunities for youth football participation and education opportunities.

Browns Flag In-Schools is an initiative that is live in 218 elementary schools across Northeast and Central Ohio. Browns Flag-In Schools is focused on developing a turn-key flag football implementation model for elementary physical education teachers and their classes, aiming to prioritize flag football as an in-school physical activity that also builds and maintains a foundation of healthy, lifelong physical activity for students.

The program works in tandem with the Stay in the Game! Attendance Network by providing school-based activities to further engage students and increase school attendance. Gym Class Takeovers, presented by Meijer, are one of those experiences for schools activating Browns Flag In-Schools, in partnership with the Stay in the Game! Attendance Network. During the takeover, students engage in hands-on instruction, skill-building football stations and non-contact games. The clinic is designed to provide high-energy fun while promoting teamwork, community and the joy of staying active.

"Volunteering at today's Gym Class Takeover was an inspiring reminder of the difference Meijer is making in our community," Browns Vice President of Corporate Partnerships Sean Othen said. "Seeing kids light up with excitement as they engaged in physical activity and connected with Jamari Thrash showed how powerful this partnership really is. Meijer as the presenting partner isn't just a title—it's a commitment. Their continued collaboration with the Browns brings real, lasting impact to schools across Northeast Ohio, creating opportunities for fun, fitness, and community connection that kids will remember for years."