As part of its commitment to education, the Browns and Lorain City School District officially launched the "Titan Pride Uniform Program," benefitting youth who may not attend class due to a lack of access to suitable clothing.
The first step to a successful educational pathway starts with being in school, on time, every day.
That is why the Lorain City School District and the Cleveland Browns organization have partnered to make this pertinent goal a reality for many of the district's scholars.
As part of Browns Give Back's commitment to education, the Cleveland Browns Foundation and Lorain City School District officially launched the "Titan Pride Uniform" program at Toni Morrison Elementary School on Dec. 4.
During the visit, representatives from the Cleveland Browns organization and Browns players T.J. Carrie, Greg Joseph Terrance Mitchell and Chad Thomas presented a grant check, totaling $70,000, to the district and distributed "Titan Pride Packages" to students in support of the uniform program's mission to enhance students' school attendance.
Each scholar in attendance, in Mrs. Milde's fourth grade class, received a package which included two pair of pants, a belt, three short-sleeved polo shirts and a Titan Pride T-shirt—all emblazoned with the district's shield and sword logo.
Toni Morrison Elementary school was selected as the recipient of the visit as recognition for being the school with the highest building attendance amongst the 14 buildings within the district. The school's 95 percent attendance rate for the 2018-19 school year, thus far, merited a visit to the school and Mrs. Milde's 4th grade class.
Elementary scholars throughout the building lined the hallways, greeting and hi-fiving players—and Browns mascot "Chomps" –as they entered and exited the building.
Browns Give Back is excited to collaborate with Lorain City School District as it continues its work to close the attendance gap. At the beginning of the school year, data pulled identified 1176 scholars, across the district, who missed 10 percent or more of school during the 2017-18 school year.
The "Titan Pride Uniform" program will help to reverse that number by distributing some 10,500 garments to at-risk scholars, helping to remove a common barrier to school attendance, for many of the district's scholars in kindergarten through ninth grade.
Lorain City Schools CEO David Hardy Jr. expressed his gratitude to not only the Cleveland Browns organization, but to the Haslam family as well, during the announcement of this culture-changing partnership.
"We are humbled to receive this level of support from the Browns Organization," Hardy said. "It is clear that Dee and Jimmy Haslam not only care about athletics, but the importance of education as well. The excitement they have created for our community and our school district is remarkable.
And because of their support, we are seeing more and more supporters, locally and nationally, who are finding ways to support our district's transformation. There is a path towards success and we are clearly on it."
The Cleveland Browns are dedicated to improving the quality of education for students in Northeast Ohio by making investments that keep kids in school every day so they can succeed. The team engages local schools and promotes education in various capacities throughout the year to help identify and remove attendance barriers and support engagement opportunities for students to thrive by monitoring attendance patterns to help understand how best to support students and schools.
