Megan Dewitt's fourth grade class knew they were going to have a big surprise, but they had no clue what the surprise could be.
When DT Shelby Harris, WR Jamari Thrash and Chomps walked into Dewitt's classroom, the students erupted with cheers, filled with shock and excitement of who just walked through the door.
On Oct. 21, at Eastern Heights Elementary School, Harris, Thrash and Chomps stunned Dewitt's class. Eastern Heights and Dewitt's class was selected for the class visit in recognition of the Elyria School District's progress to reduce chronic absenteeism, hosted by the Stay in the Game! Attendance Network in partnership with Huntington Bank.
"(The visit) brought into perspective that NFL players, celebrities are real. They're alive," Dewitt said. "It was so fun listening to the kids saying, 'Is that really them? Are they really here? Is he alive?'"
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 231 districts and impacts more than 595,000 students throughout Ohio.
Stay in the Game!'s mission was echoed by Harris and Thrash during their visits, as they talked about the importance of attending school and how it can help students achieve their goals. Harris mentioned that attending school can help develop life skills.
"Well, one is developing a routine, even on your worst days. If you have a routine, you'll be able to snap out of any little rut you might be in," Harris said. "Also, it's just good to just be around other kids. I think the biggest thing is just hanging out with your friends and for six, seven, eight hours of your day, whatever your home situation is, you don't have to worry about that while you're in school. You can go and hang out and feel like everybody else just for a small part of the day."
Once the students heard from Harris and Thrash about the importance of attendance, they participated in fun, Halloween-themed activities. One activity was having to guess what spooky item was in a box. Students were then given pumpkins to decorate with paint pens, pom-poms, stickers and other fun adornments.
The biggest treat came when the Browns and Huntington Bank surprised Dewitt with her own personalized jersey, as well as field passes to the Browns' home game against the Ravens on Nov. 16 in recognition of her dedication to supporting student success in the classroom.
"Teachers, as we know, are preparing every single one of our successors, and those successors are sitting in the classrooms, learning from those teachers," Huntington Bank Director of Community Partnerships and Colleague Engagement Christina Brown said. "Every student we come in contact with are the individuals who will ultimately lead and work in our communities. It's so important that we set them up for success and provide a solid educational foundation."
Huntington Bank has a longstanding commitment to supporting educators. Through its Ignite the Classroom initiative, Huntington provides immersive professional development experiences, including scholarships to the Ron Clark Academy, to empower educators in the classroom. This commitment to uplifting teachers aligns seamlessly with the Cleveland Browns Foundation's Stay in the Game! Attendance Network, which aims to reduce chronic absenteeism across Northeast Ohio. Together, Huntington and the Browns celebrate and support educators who are driving attendance improvements, recognizing their impact through school visits, classroom rewards and collaborative programming that fosters a fun and engaging learning environment.
"I love the opportunity to partner with the Cleveland Browns Foundation and the Stay in the Game! program," Brown said. "An event like today gives us the chance to enjoy what all the hard work is about as we're prepping to scale this program across Ohio and beyond."
Harris and Thrash's visit finished with them walking through the halls of the Eastern Heights alongside Chomps, encouraging students to continue to go to school. The hard work paid off in Dewitt's classroom and Eastern Heights' efforts to decrease chronic absenteeism. Dewitt hopes her students remember the message from the day of the power of showing up to school.
"They can achieve anything that they want as long as they put their mind to it and come to school every day," Dewitt said.
