5/29/08

Columbus Dispatch

Nicquel Terry

As Hamilton Elementary teacher Ritchie Harris conducts daily reading activities for his fourth-grade class, a few students find it hard to participate.

It’s not because they can’t read, but because they struggle to see the words on their textbook pages.

“I’m not going to be able to read this,” one student said after glancing at the words for yesterday’s reading.

Harris said many students sit through classes every day with undiagnosed vision problems.

About 86 percent of children nationwide don’t receive an eye exam before they are 12 years old, according to the Journal of Behavioral Optometry. And less than half the children identified as needing eye care receive that care, the American Optometric Association says.

Teachers and physicians say vision problems prevent the students from keeping up with their classmates. So Columbus City Schools teamed with Eyeglass World to provide free eye-screening tests yesterday for 87 students at Hamilton Elementary School in South Linden.

The 21 students who didn’t pass will have the opportunity to see a local optometrist for further examination, and if they still don’t pass, they will get a complimentary pair of glasses.

Hamilton Elementary nurse Julie Fire said it was the first time professionals came from outside the district to offer free eye exams.

“I just think this is wonderful,” Fire said. “The kids here could really use it.”

Nurses in Columbus schools routinely do vision screening for students in kindergarten, first, third and fifth grades each year. They refer students who need help to local professionals for more extensive eye exams.

In some cases, the schools work with vision programs at the Lions Club, LensCrafters and Ohio State University that help pay for eye exams and supply glasses to students from low-income families.

“We try to do what we can to help them progress,” Fire said. “We really try to keep abreast of what’s out there and tap into those resources for the benefit of our children.”

Harris said students sometimes don’t realize they have a vision problem or parents don’t have the health insurance to fix the problem.

“There are so many students that aren’t getting the attention they need for their eyes,” Harris said.

Jerri Grove said she could not afford to buy her daughter, a fourth-grader at Hamilton, a new pair of glasses.

“This program being in this school is truly a blessing,” Grove said.

Grove said the Columbus schools should do more to tell parents about the resources available if their children have vision problems.

Leonard Press, an optometrist from Fair Lawn, N.J., said the standard eye screenings from school nurses and pediatricians aren’t intensive enough to fully determine whether a student has a vision problem.

“It’s a false sense of security,” he said.

Press said a child could pass a screening but have a difficult time focusing on words and sentences in textbooks. Only a full eye exam would detect that, he said.