Lorain Schools assistant superintendent attends Super Bowl 60

A Lorain Schools assistant superintendent briefly traded Ohio's winter weather for a weekend in the Bay Area to attend Super Bowl LX. The Browns chose Michael Scott for the trip to Levi Stadium in Santa Clara in recognition of his work to improve attendance across Lorain Schools. Lorain Schools is part of the Browns' Stay in the Game network, which promotes school attendance in districts across Ohio. The Cleveland Browns Foundation and American Airlines provided the trip at no cost to Scott or the district. The initial recognition came as a surprise at the Browns' Dec. 7 home game against the Tennessee Titans, when Scott attended under the presumption he would just be walking onto the field with a group of other school staff from the Stay in the Game network. Instead, he found himself receiving tickets to the Super Bowl, in front of the crowd at Huntington Bank Field. Two months later, Scott and his wife were on a flight for a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. "I never thought in a million years I'd be at the Super Bowl," he said in a phone call Monday from his California hotel room. "Just to take in the culture, the enormous nature of the Super Bowl … A body of people, of humanity, just getting together and celebrating so many different things." His section included honorees from Chicago, Cincinnati and elsewhere, he said – with Scott wearing his Browns jersey and the Cincinnati local repping the Bengals. Scott said he and his wife tried to remain neutral, but ended up rooting for the Seahawks in the end. "It's pretty cool that the NFL takes time to recognize those in the local communities that are trying to make a difference in kids' lives," he said. "I graciously got the opportunity to go, but I think I represent a lot of people doing the hard work to make school a priority for our kids." Beyond just the football game, Scott had a bird's-eye view of a historic halftime performance. Puerto Rican singer Bad Bunny performed as the first Latino man to headline the halftime show, with the vast majority of the set in Spanish. The show celebrated Puerto Rican culture, featuring a sugar cane field, his pink "La Casita" home, New York-style street with a bodega and a parade of flags representing every country in North and South America. Scott said he tried to soak in every aspect of the show, from the performers wearing the sugar cane to move it across the field, to the live wedding ceremony. The show itself, Scott said, sent a strong message about love, with the quote "The only thing more powerful than hate is love," shown on the Jumbotron as dancers paraded flags from countries in the Americas across the field. Coming from Lorain — nicknamed the International City — Scott felt the halftime show was a reflection of who the city is and strives to be. "One of my best friends reached out to me, he's Puerto Rican, and the pride he shared with me, it caused you to pause and really think about who we're trying to be as a community," Scott said. "And he said, 'If anyone askes what it looks like to be Puerto Rican or to visit Puerto Rico, point them to this performance.' That was profound." Scott, a 1996 graduate of Lorain Admiral King High School, recognized a lot is going on in the district now – including the uncertainty as Lorain Schools faces an $18 million budget shortfall next year. Reflecting on his experience this weekend was a reminder of the good things that can happen in a city that often gets a "bad rap." "No excuses, school is a priority and it has to be for our community if we're going to continue to grow and set our kids up to be as successful as we can but sometimes it is necessary to pause and think about each individual student and what it takes for them to come to school," he said. "When we all roll up our sleeves and help, great things can happen. Great things happen for students in Lorain when we can help support them throughout and they have the village behind them … we have to help create that." Contact Carissa Woytach at (440) 329-7245 or cwoytach@chroniclet.com.