Cleveland Browns Foundation Tackled Chronic Absenteeism

The foundation hosted a roundtable to discuss strategies for improving attendance in Ohio school districts.

Updated on Sept. 24, 2026 in Secondary Education

Bold vector editorial illustration of two school chairs facing a single football, symbolizing athletic-based support for student attendance. — The Cleveland Browns Foundation is collaborating with Ohio educators to implement new strategies aimed at cutting chronic student absenteeism in half by 2029. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

Live Poll

Do you believe community-led initiatives help improve student attendance in your local schools?

The Cleveland Browns Foundation recently gathered educators to address chronic student absenteeism across the state. Chronic absenteeism, defined as missing at least 10% or roughly 18 days of school, affects 23.9% of students in Ohio.

Why it matters

Reducing chronic absenteeism is critical because missing significant instructional time is directly linked to lower academic achievement in math and reading. The state aims to cut these rates in half by the end of the 2028-2029 school year.

The Stay in the Game! Attendance Network currently operates across 195 Ohio school districts, with the Cleveland Browns Foundation providing support to 123 of those locations. Chronic absenteeism occurs when a student misses 10% of the school year.

The players

Cleveland Browns Foundation

The charitable arm of the professional football team focuses on education and youth development initiatives across Ohio.

Battelle

This applied science and technology organization manages the Stay in the Game! Attendance Network.

The details

The program leverages team players and mascot appearances to incentivize attendance while collaborating with partners to mitigate barriers like food insecurity and transportation issues. Educators from Akron, Lorain, and Euclid school districts participated in the event to share insights on these interventions.

September 23, 2026: The Euclid City School District celebrated intervention specialists.
September 24, 2026: The Cleveland Browns Foundation hosted the roundtable on student absenteeism.

Culture Shift

This initiative represents a broader movement toward utilizing private-public partnerships to address systemic educational barriers like student absenteeism. By aligning professional sports influence with school policy, the project mirrors wider trends in community-based social intervention.

Families in participating districts may see increased school-led incentives and support services designed to keep students in the classroom. These changes are intended to help improve individual student performance in reading and math by ensuring more consistent instructional time.

The takeaway

Consistent school attendance remains one of the strongest predictors of long-term academic success for students. Families can support these efforts by identifying and removing specific barriers, such as transit issues, that prevent students from reaching the classroom daily.