Before the first day of the 2026 NFL Draft kicks off, Executive Vice President of Football Operations and General Manager Andrew Berry, Assistant General Manager and Vice President of Player Personnel Glenn Cook and the scouting and player personnel departments met with the next generation of athletes.
They hosted an assembly and flag football clinic for about 100 students at Brook Park Elementary. Cook kicked off the day by addressing the students, congratulating them on their commitment to attending school.
"We're taking time out before the draft to come celebrate the kids," Cook said. "We talk about how important education is, being at school and working hard. So, we got a couple young people behind us who hit all three of those marks. And we just want to give them some praise and continue to encourage them to keep it up. […] It's really important to the organization, and to us as a group, to give back as much as the community gives to us."
Following the assembly, in which Cook and Brook Park Elementary Assistant Principal Peter Carnabuci emphasized the importance of daily attendance, education, teamwork and leadership, the students participated in numerous football skills and drills, as well as non-contact games. The drills included the students catching and throwing a football to their classmates, working on their communication and teamwork skills. Students also competed in agility ladder relay races to improve ball control and in tic-tac-toe challenges focused on speed and accuracy as well as flag pulling techniques.
"It's unbelievably exciting for those kids sitting there, knowing that they are there for a reason and that we're taking the opportunity to recognize them for their hard work, for good behavior, and also for coming to school. And so, this is big to them," Berea City Schools Superintendent Tracy Wheeler said.
Berea City School District, which Brook Park Elementary is a part of, first joined the Stay in the Game! Attendance Network during the 2023-24 school year.
The Stay in the Game! Attendance Network (SITG!) – launched in 2019 by the Cleveland Browns Foundation, Ohio Department of Education and Workforce and Proving Ground out of Harvard, now managed by Battelle – has worked with education experts for the past seven years with the goal of dramatically improving school attendance and reducing chronic absenteeism for Ohio students.
"It's an incredible partnership," Wheeler said. "When I came into the district seven years ago, I said this is something that we need to tap into. This is something that's really important. It's what Northeast Ohio is, as far as the Cleveland Browns. These kids, that's who they root for. And so, for them to actually see that, to make that connection, and then for the Browns to do everything that they do for us – from T-shirts to yard signs to these takeovers to postcards, to all the other things that they do for us – it makes a difference. Because in their lives, any little thing that we can do to incentivize them and make it important that they come to school, that's what makes a difference."
While the Browns are dedicated to improving attendance, they are also focused on advancing the game of football throughout Northeast Ohio. Browns Flag In-Schools is an initiative that is active in 275 elementary schools across Northeast and Central Ohio. The Browns Flag In-Schools program is a turnkey flag football implementation model designed to help physical education teachers build a foundation of healthy, lifelong physical activity for their students. The program works in tandem with Stay in the Game! by providing school-based activities to further engage students and increase school attendance.
After the students participated in all eight stations, Berry closed out the day reiterating the importance of attending school and congratulating the chosen students on their commitment to attendance. He then held a Q&A session with the students, in which they asked questions to Berry about what makes a great teammate and his favorite part of the job.
"It's really important because it keeps things in perspective," Berry said. "I think that sports teams, they're community assets. And obviously we really care about the results on the field, but also, we should be able to use our platform to do good things for the broader societal good. And this is one of those moments that just causes us to pause, reflect, help out and hopefully make an impact."
