by Haley Barbour and Gayle Wicker

Mississippi is the proud birthplace of many American literary giants from William Faulkner and Eudora Welty to Natasha Trethewey. The state’s public schools are helping nurture the next generation of great minds. Every morning when students go to school, they carry important supplies in their backpack – books, pencils, notepads. But, unfortunately, as many as 50,000 children in Mississippi go to school without something simple that is critical to their success– a pair of glasses.… more

By Mike Duggan and Austin Beutner

A new kind of vehicle can be found on the streets of the Motor City, and it’s helping kids succeed. Since last fall, Vision To Learn’s mobile vision clinics have been visiting schools to provide eye exams and glasses to students, free of charge. The City of Detroit is working with the nonprofit organization to solve a problem of which most are unaware: many children are unable to see the board, read a book or complete their homework because they lack a pair of glasses.… more

By Michael Purzycki and Austin Beutner

Once again, Delaware is first in the nation – this time in finding a solution to help kids do better in school. Since 2014, the state of Delaware has been working with the nonprofit organization, Vision To Learn, to solve a problem of which most are unaware: many children are unable to see the board, read a book, or complete their homework, because they lack a pair of glasses.… more

By Congressman John Conyers, Jr.

Children growing up in low-income communities face many challenges. But there is one that should be simple to fix: making sure every child with vision problems has the glasses necessary to succeed in the classroom.

Seventeen percent of students screened last school year by the Detroit Health Department were identified as needing glasses, but less than 2 percent of those who failed the screening actually got glasses.… more

By Senator Chris Coons and Austin Beutner

Politicians at the local, state and national levels debate what works in education programs designed to improve academic outcomes for America’s children.

And while both sides have our kids’ best interests at heart, most of what they’re debating is theory, spinning off educated guesses about the success or failure of ideas with little short-term application on the blackboard or the blacktop.… more

By Governor Jack Markell and Senator Chris Coons

It’s hard to learn when you can’t read the chalkboard.

Yet for more than 6,000 of Delaware’s students, the biggest challenge they face isn’t just solving a math problem, but also seeing it.

The good news is we have a path forward. … more

by Steve Lopez, Los Angeles Times

In one year, Vision To Learn, a nonprofit mobile eye lab, has given eye exams to 5,000 students and handed out 4,000 pairs of glasses. ‘A $20 pair of glasses can change your life,’ its founder says.… more