COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – September is Attendance Awareness Month, and local school districts are eager to celebrate. The Columbus Crew partnered with Columbus City Schools and other local districts to celebrate with a program called Stay in the Game. The program campaigns against absenteeism through resources, student incentives and messaging. According to SITG, Columbus decreased its chronic absenteeism rate by more than 7% in its first year as a partner.  According to SITG, 30% of students miss 18 days of school per year, which the group says matters a lot in getting a productive education. SITG found students who miss fewer than two days a month are almost 90% more likely to graduate from high school on time.  Westerville school board to appoint first Somali Muslim member SITG Attendance Network began in 2019 as a collaboration between the Cleveland Browns Foundation, the Ohio Department of Education and Harvard’s Proving Ground. The program has three professional sports teams it partners with: the Browns, the Crew and FC Cincinnati. New districts can receive team-branded and autographed materials and can request team mascot, alumni or player attendance for one event. In partnership with CCS, Crew and Crew 2 players visited schools to help raise awareness and have fun. On Sept. 10, Crew 2 midfielder Taha Habroune joined Linden McKinley High School’s soccer team, providing shin guards, cleats, ball bumps and pinnies, and speaking with the team on his journey to professional soccer.  On Sept. 11, forward Max Arfsten and defender Malte Amundsen of the Crew visited Northtowne Elementary along with Crew legend Frankie Hejduk. The event marked the grand opening of a SITG Attendance Network room intended to reward students for consistent or improved attendance, the fourth of its kind across districts partnered with the Crew. The Crew representatives played games with students in the space before all students left for the day through a clap out.  Across the state, the program also invited districts to participate in a four-week challenge to increase attendance and awareness. Each week had a new activity, including an attendance pledge, a bulletin board-decorating contest, a spirit week and an "at-ten-dance" dance party in the 10 a.m. hour. All weeks’ activities were invited to be shared on social media to receive prizes. Which Dublin schools will be affected by new boundaries Since last May, it has been funded by Columbus-based research organization Battelle. The program began with just 13 districts but has grown to 126 this year. Battelle’s communications manager Quentin Cole said this count does not include 92 additional submissions to an interest form that will remain open through the end of October. "Battelle is deeply committed to helping every student receive a quality STEM education,” Wes Hall, senior vice president of philanthropy and education at Battelle, said. “Students can only benefit from this education if they're in school regularly. With the Stay in the Game! Network, districts and schools can boost students' attendance and decrease chronic absenteeism." Cole said SITG serves just over 417,000 students in Ohio, and the program hopes to work with enough districts that at least 50% of Ohio students receive support. SITG said its goal is creating a statewide attendance movement where more than 90% of Ohio’s students attend school more than 90% of the time. Participating districts in and around Columbus and central Ohio: Canal Winchester Local Schools Columbus City Schools Gahanna-Jefferson Public School District Groveport Madison Local Schools Hamilton Local Schools Imagine Columbus Primary Academy Licking Heights Local School District Noble Academy Columbus Ohio State School for the Blind Par Excellence STEM Academy Pickerington Local School District Whitehall Schools