When TE Blake Whiteheart walked into Thoreau Park Elementary School's gymnasium, he was welcomed by students cheering and jumping up and down at the school assembly.

Whiteheart was at the school for a Gym Class Takeover presented by Meijer, the second of four that will take place during the 2025 fall semester. He told the students about the need to come to school and how it will help prepare them for life. The Browns tight end shared his own story of how his parents emphasized being in class every day and how it has assisted him in his NFL career.

He then fielded questions from the students about his favorite foods, what it's like being a football player and what his go-to touchdown celebration is. Then, just before the assembly wrapped up, Whiteheart presented a $2,500 check to the Parma City School District on behalf of the Cleveland Browns Foundation and Meijer to support the district's efforts to combat chronic absenteeism.

"I can honestly say, being an elementary school kid was hard for me," Whiteheart said. "I had ADHD, and I was dyslexic, so school was not the easiest thing for me growing up. But it was something that my parents made me go to school every single day, regardless of if I wanted to or not. I think that's part of the reason why I've had success."

After the assembly, 40 third grade students selected for good or increased attendance participated in a variety of football and non-contact games alongside Whiteheart, Chomps and volunteers from local Meijer stores.

Kyle Collins, an assistant floor director at the Seven Hills Meijer, led a drill where students ran routes and caught a pass from Collins. This was Collins' second Gym Class Takeover after volunteering at the takeover at Stephanie Tubbs Jones School in October 2024.

"We've been doing these now since I've been in the Cleveland market, which is coming up on three years with Meijer and they're always a lot of fun," Collins said. "It's a great partnership we have. It's one thing to have a banner up at a stadium, but to really be able to engage in the communities with the Browns really just takes that partnership to the next level."

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 227 districts and impacts more than 595,000 students throughout Ohio.

The Parma City School District joined the network in the 2023-24 school year, and since, the district has continued its strong efforts to encourage students to come to school each day.

"It's really great because we talk about Stay! In The Game, so for us as a school, that means getting students into school and avoiding chronic absenteeism," Principal of Thoreau Park Elementary School Ted Bickley said. "That's a huge problem nationwide and a huge problem here. Really anything we can do to motivate students to get to school is an awesome thing."

Bickley said that the games the third graders participated in were more than just about having fun in the gymnasium and being rewarded for coming to school. He noted that it not only helped them build muscles and fine motor skills but also strengthened their character and teamwork.

He hopes that the Gym Class Takeover resonates with the students and that they remember the afternoon when it comes to how they approach school.

"Not only is school a fun place, but like Blake Whiteheart talked about, it's important to be in school, it's important to learn," Bickley said. "That's really where you can get your community and your friends and where you build that sense of team to really help you get to the benchmark."

Bickley's message about the importance of showing up and building relationships through school echoed what Whiteheart shared with the students. For Whiteheart, the afternoon was about more than just promoting the importance of attending school.

"I think it's really important representing the Browns, that we're in the community," Whiteheart said. "I feel like we can get caught up in what we have going on and think what we're doing for the city when it comes to winning football games is the most important thing. But truthfully, this is more important than all of that because as players, we have a platform and how we use that is super important."