How Quentin Cole Is Helping 500,000 Ohio Students Stay in School 

Quentin Cole ’24 studied communication arts at Gordon College. He is now the network communications manager for Battelle, the managing organization of Stay in the Game! (SITG), a school-attendance network in Ohio. His role covers a variety of tasks, from social media to graphic design. We sat down with him to ask about his job and the impact SITG is having across the state.  

What is SITG? 

We’re a nonprofit attendance network, which means our goal is combating chronic student absenteeism, and we hope to one day reach all schools across the state. We engage with regional districts and their educators to help with intervention strategies for chronic absenteeism, attendance tracking and engagement solutions. We also connect with students to build excitement around attendance and set them up for success.  

We were founded by the Ohio Department of Education, the Cleveland Browns Foundation and Harvard Proving Ground. We partner with Columbus Crew and FC Cincinnati to spread the work out across the state. Currently we represent just under half a million students, which is a third of Ohio’s student population. As of September 2024 districts and schools in our network have reduced absences by twice the state average overall.   

What’s a misconception you think people have about student attendance? 

People don’t understand the drastic difference in how students are treated and how many factors go into school absenteeism. A lot of people assume it’s solely the parent’s responsibility to get their child to school on time, or that school isn’t engaging enough for students to want to attend, but the problem is more deeply rooted.  

There’s data from the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce that shows students with ADHD or autism have high absence rates because schools don’t always know how to support them. Students who are economically disadvantaged and students of color often have much higher absence rates as well. SITG is trying to identify all of the issues and help offer solutions instead of pointing fingers.  

What does your role look like with SITG? 

I help make attending school exciting! The professional sports teams we partner with organize and execute mascot visits, giveaways, social media takeovers and other exciting events in schools. My job is to promote our team’s efforts and events online. Since I can’t go to every single event, I have the local teams send me content, and I curate it for them to post. I focus on brand storytelling, testimonials with people who have been impacted by SITG, event highlights and encouraging updates on student performance through increased attendance. 

On the more administrative side, I also create presentations for potential partners, sponsors and stakeholders. I plan our annual conference for hundreds of education leaders across Ohio, and I manage all branding and implementation across the Network, including social media, graphic design and our monthly newsletter. 

What’s an example of a project you’re proud of? 

September is Attendance Awareness Month. Last year we offered a social media giveaway for each week of the month. Because we tapped into the support of professional sports teams, and I was working with multiple schools across the region, I had to constantly be on top of things—reposting schools’ content, keeping track of themes and securing brand approvals from the sports teams. Each week I created social media posts for the SITG social account, content for the schools to share on their social pages, a promotional flyer and an informational one-pager—with specific versions in each regional school’s colors.  

One week there was a competition where teachers could win tickets to a [professional team’s] home game. When you have major sports team logos next to your school’s logo, people get excited! I had to choose top posts from regional teachers and share them with our partners, who ultimately voted on the winning content. We were able to send two teachers to home matches to cheer on their local teams. The hard work paid off; it was one of our most successful social media campaigns. 

How does your faith integrate with your job at SITG?    

One of the primary reasons I took this job was because of the direct impact it has on the lives of students. If a kid isn’t showing up to school in grades K–5, they won’t show up to middle or high school and probably won’t go to college because they don’t see the value of education.  

From SITG’s point of view, good school attendance sets kids up for success for the rest of their lives. I operate under the idea that you can be a witness wherever you’re working. My way of being a witness is showing the love and hope granted to me by helping Ohio kids see a promising future for themselves.