The doors to the newly renovated Stay in the Game! Room at Memorial Junior High School in South Euclid, Ohio, opened and a group of 20 students flooded in, flocking to games and stations throughout the room. Some gathered around a PlayStation 5 and fired up Madden NFL, others competed in heated Jenga and Uno games, laughing as they got a break from the school day.

On Tuesday, Dec. 3, the Cleveland Browns Foundation and Stay in the Game! Attendance Network opened their sixth Stay in the Game! Room, supported by The Arby's Foundation, functioning as a student lounge and incentive for students with favorable attendance. The Foundation has provided similar rooms for the Akron Public Schools, Canton City School District, Cleveland Metropolitan School District, East Cleveland City Schools and Garfield Heights City School District.

"(I had) goosebumps right away," South Euclid-Lyndhurst City Schools superintendent Dominick Kaple said when seeing the room. "Seeing their reactions was why I was here more than anything. It was just very cool to see how excited they were and to hear the 'oohs and the aahs' right when they walked through the room was something I'll never forget."

In addition to the SITG! Room, the Foundation and Arby's Foundation renovated Memorial's sensory room, designed to create a calming and therapeutic environment for students with a wide range of needs who might need to regulate themselves.

The Foundation worked closely with the school to create a place that would directly meet students' needs, tailoring the room to what students would enjoy and benefit from. All 20 students who enjoyed the new room at Memorial on its opening day arrived on time every day during the school's first quarter.

"When I turned to the left, I saw a [PlayStation] and I was amazed," Joshua Grigsby, an eighth-grade student at Memorial, said. "I never thought they would be able to do all this."

The room was the result of a partnership between the Foundation and the Arby’s Foundation and had the support of Shoes and Clothes for Kids, a charitable partner of the Foundation which donated arts and crafts and school supplies for the students at Memorial. Their donation included pencils, glue, paper, books, craft supplies of colored pencils, crayons, clay, yarn/crochet kits, tape and other items.

Joining in on the fun was Browns LB Elerson Smith, who played games, signed autographs and got to know some of the middle school kids in attendance.

"It was really cool. It kind of brought me back to when I was in middle school and thinking about the opportunity to have something like that would've been amazing. It was cool seeing their faces light up and, obviously, they all jumped to play Madden right away, so that was cool to see them play with the Browns," Smith said.

The Stay in the Game! Attendance Network was launched in 2019 with the goal of dramatically improving student attendance across Northeast Ohio. The SITG! Room at Memorial will serve as both a reward for students with good attendance as well as a space for students to regroup and prepare to head back to class so that they are able to stay in school.

"I think this is the perfect spot for kids to celebrate them and show them how much we appreciate them," Memorial Junior High School principal Dr. Larraine Fuller said. "It is hard in middle school to come to school every day with all the pressures and some of the things they go through."

After spending time exploring the room, students sat down with Smith and enjoyed a meal provided by Arby's.

The Arby's Foundation awarded the Foundation $90,000 grant in support of the Stay in the Game! Attendance Network for the sixth consecutive year. The Arby's Foundation has contributed nearly $600,000 to the Stay in the Game! Network and their efforts to decrease chronic absenteeism.

"We have been a longstanding partner with the Foundation because we believe in what they believe in," Region Vice President of Arby's Donna Manwaring said. "We know that it's important for kids to attend school, to learn. That is the way they are going to be able to go out in the real world and make a difference."

School attendance is directly linked with success in the classroom. Students who are not chronically absent are 3.9 times more likely to read on grade level by the end of third grade and are three times more likely to graduate from high school on time.

Kaple spent time playing Jenga with the students, emphasized the importance of attendance and the potential impact of the SITG! Room.

"We have the teachers, we have the staff, we have the resources, we have these unbelievable partners including all of you all, and if our kids are here, we know they're learning, we know they're safe and we want them to meet their goals," Kaple said. "I think [the SITG! Room] is going to be huge. It would have helped me when I was growing up, I mean this place is amazing. This place is another avenue for our kids, and it shows them one, we're supporting them and, two, this is a safe space. You're allowed to come to school and have fun."

The sensory room allows any student a chance to step away so they can be better prepared for learning and interacting with others. It can also improve focus for students and allow them to take a time-out from excess stimulation before returning to the classroom.

The room is a dimly lit space with calming lights, sensory equipment and a massage chair, will be effective in providing a space for students with autism, according to Memorial intervention specialist Chavonne Everette.

"It helps the kids relax when they just need a minute. Autism goes on the spectrum, so some of our kids have different needs," Everette said. "[The room] is totally different than it was before. One of my kids today went in there and the first thing he said was, 'Ooh, look at the wall.' And he was mesmerized by it, and I could just see the calmness come over him as he was looking at the wall."

Both rooms will help students at Memorial Junior High thrive and strive for academic excellence as they prepare for high school. The longstanding support of Stay in the Game! has helped Dr. Fuller and Memorial's mission to elevate its attendance numbers.

"We've used [Stay in the Game!] a lot. It helps the kids. We've rewarded the kids with various incentives, though this tops them all. But it's nice to see the Browns players throughout the building and the kids appreciate and love all of them and I think they're buying into it more and more," Fuller said. "Our attendance has not dropped, which is a good thing. It has increased slightly, but we're still on the incline, which is great. And I'm expecting this room to help with some of that."