- Vision To Learn, which serves students in more than 500 low-income communities across the country, begins helping children in Washington, DC public schools.
- Vision To Learn effort in DC schools is in collaboration with DC Public Schools, DC Health and Warby Parker, and supported by Deerbrook Charitable Trust and The Studio @ Blue Meridian.
- Randi Weingarten, President of the American Federation of Teachers, joins launch event at Stanton Elementary School.
- A recent study by Johns Hopkins on the impact of providing glasses to children at schools shows dramatic gains in learning.
Children at Stanton Elementary School put on their new eyeglasses this morning and their world changed for the better when they received the glasses they needed to succeed in school and in life.
An estimated 15,000 children attending DC Public Schools go to school every day without the glasses they need to see the board, read a book, or participate in class. A new effort will ensure that every student in DCPS will be provided a vision screening, eye exam, and – if needed – a pair of prescription glasses, free of charge.
Austin Beutner, Founder and Chairman of Vision To Learn said, “At a time when our country is struggling to figure out what a just and equitable future should look like, this effort provides a good start.” He added, “Our mission is to make sure every child has the glasses they need to succeed in school and in life.”
Randi Weingarten, President of the American Federation of Teachers, participated in the event at Stanton Elementary. Classroom teachers who are part of this effort know first-hand what a difference glasses make for students who struggle to see the board, read books, and concentrate in class. The American Federation of Teachers works alongside Vision To Learn in many cities including Los Angeles, Detroit, Philadelphia and Jackson, Mississippi.
“Unfortunately, in underserved communities, most children who need glasses can’t get them because of financial constraints, language barriers, unresponsive health bureaucracies or the simple fact there are no eye care professionals in their neighborhood. Vision To Learn solves the problem by bringing the glasses to the kids where they are almost every day — their local neighborhood school,” said Randi Weingarten.
“DC Public Schools is committed to ensuring that every student has the supports they need as we prepare them to positively influence society and thrive in college, career, and life,” said Chancellor Ferebee. “We are grateful to Vision to Learn and Warby Parker for supporting our students through this partnership that will enrich the lives of our students in and out of the classroom.”
Several partners, including Warby Parker, Deerbrook Charitable Trust, and The Studio @ Blue Meridian, are helping in the effort in DC Schools. Warby Parker is committed to providing new prescription glasses to District of Columbia students as part of their ongoing school-based vision program, Pupils Project, which operates in New York, Baltimore, and now DC.
“We are thrilled to bring Pupils Project to Washington DC, a community that we’ve grown to know and love since opening our first store there 6 years ago. Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the need for vision care has increased significantly–especially among children–and we’ve seen how a single pair of glasses can unlock greater potential for learning and success in school. With our partners at Vision To Learn, DCPS, and DC Health, we are incredibly proud to help thousands of DC students.” – Neil Blumenthal, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Warby Parker
Stanton Elementary School is the first school in DCPS to be served by Vision To Learn and its partners. In November 235 students were screened at the school, 61 were provided with eye exams and 39 were prescribed provided with glasses today.
This project is made possible through the generous support of philanthropic leaders Deerbrook Charitable Trust and The Studio @ Blue Meridian. Deerbrook Charitable Trust supports selected local, regional, and national organizations in the United States serving children, youth, and families. The Trust also supports work of selected organizations that improves or increases their effectiveness in delivering services, including efforts to alleviate critical shortages of healthcare providers, non-profit management, and other areas of need identified by the trustees.
“Deerbrook Charitable Trust is dedicated to helping children and youth have brighter futures. Vision To Learn’s program is a simple but hugely impactful intervention for kids at need in schools and community organizations like Boys and Girls Clubs. Deerbrook has been dedicated to bringing a Vision To Learn program to DC Public Schools for several years now – we are delighted to see it come to fruition,” said Arthur Sundstrom, Executive Director of Deerbrook Charitable Trust.
The Studio @ Blue Meridian embraces experimentation and provides flexible resources to help organizations accelerate their readiness for significant scaling.
A groundbreaking study recently published in The Journal for the American Medical Association Ophthalmology by researchers from the Center for Research and Reform in Education and the Wilmer Eye Institute at Johns Hopkins University shows the impact of providing glasses to children at schools. The researchers conducted the largest and most rigorous study in the U.S. to measure the impact of providing eyeglasses to students directly in their schools. Thousands of children from more than 100 schools in Baltimore participated in the study. Guess what? The children who received glasses did better in school and the impacts were greater than more costly measures such as lengthening the school day, providing computers, or creating charter schools. The children who showed the biggest gains, the equivalent of an additional four to six months of learning, are those who are often the hardest to help—students in the bottom quarter of their class academically and students with learning differences and disabilities.
The problem is not a new one. About one in four children, whether from a family with means or a family struggling to get by, will naturally need glasses. Children who need glasses and don’t have them are more likely to be misdiagnosed with behavioral issues in kindergarten, be considered “slow” learners by 5th grade, and to drop out of high school. Unfortunately, in low-income urban and rural communities, most children who need glasses don’t have them due to financial constraints, language barriers, unresponsive health bureaucracies or the simple fact there are no eye care professionals in their neighborhood. This program solves the problem by bringing the glasses to the kids where they are almost every day—their local neighborhood school.
Here’s how it works. Vision To Learn visits schools, where their staff teams up with classroom educators, school nurses and public health departments to make sure every child receives a vision screening. For children who don’t pass the screening, Vision To Learn vans, staffed with trained eye care professionals, visit schools to provide eye exams and glasses. All free of charge to the child and their family.
COVID-19 has had a disproportionate impact on communities of color and recovery efforts must address the disparities that have been exposed. In most cases, the best place to provide services to families who are struggling to get by is at their local, neighborhood school.
“This study, grounded in thorough and rigorous research, has proven our most fundamental assumption… that providing kids glasses in their schools will significantly improve academic success,” Johns Hopkins University President Ron Daniels said. “
JHU study senior author Dr. Megan Collins, pediatric ophthalmologist from the Wilmer Eye Institute said, “The Hopkins research study demonstrates how school-based vision care improves vision and learning for students in need. School-based vision care is a simple, yet effective way to help children see more clearly and achieve more academically.”
“This is how you close achievement gaps,” added study lead author Amanda J. Neitzel, deputy director of evidence research at the Johns Hopkins Center for Research and Reform in Education.
About Vision To Learn
Vision To Learn, a non-profit charity, was founded in Los Angeles in 2012 by the Beutner Family Foundation. The program has helped kids in over 500 underserved communities in 14 states. Vision To Learn serves the needs of the hardest-to-reach children; about 90% of kids served by Vision To Learn live in poverty and about 85% are kids of color. Since its founding, Vision To Learn has helped provide more than 1.2 million children with vision screenings, almost 320,000 with eye exams and more than 255,000 with glasses – all free of charge to children and their families. This year another 100,000 children will receive glasses from Vision To Learn despite the challenge COVID-19 continues to present at schools. For more information on Vision To Learn, please visit www.visiontolearn.org.
About DC Public Schools
DC Public Schools provides rigorous and joyful learning experiences to nearly 50,000 students in Washington, DC. Together, DC Public Schools teachers, leaders, and families work to make every student feel loved, challenged, and prepared to positively influence society and thrive in life.
About Warby Parker
Warby Parker was founded with a mission: to inspire and impact the world with vision, purpose, and style. Warby Parker accomplishes this by reimagining everything that a company and industry can be and proving that a business can scale, become profitable, and do good in the world—without charging a premium for it. And Warby Parker has learned that it takes creativity, empathy and innovation to consistently surpass customer expectations.
Since the day Warby Parker launched in 2010, they’ve pioneered ideas, designed products, and developed technologies that help people see. Warby Parker offers everything you need for happier eyes at a price that leaves you with money in your pocket, from designer-quality glasses and contacts to eye exams and vision tests, and you can meet Warby Parker online, at stores, or even in your home. Wherever and whenever you need it, Warby Parker is there to make exceptional vision care simple and accessible. (Delightful, too.) Ultimately, Warby Parker believes in vision for all, which is why for every pair of glasses or sunglasses Warby Parker sells, a pair of glasses is distributed to someone in need through our Buy a Pair, Give a Pair program. To date, over eight million pairs have been distributed.
In 2015, Warby Parker created Pupils Project, its program with organizations and local government agencies in New York, Baltimore, and Philadelphia, which provides free vision screenings, eye exams, and glasses to schoolchildren, for many of whom this is their first pair. This model eliminates barriers to access by providing free prescription glasses and meeting children at school, where teachers are often the first to spot vision issues. To date, over 120,000 pairs of glasses have been distributed through Pupils Project. For more information, please visit warbyparker.com.
About The Deerbrook Charitable Trust
The Deerbrook Charitable Trust is a private foundation that was funded in 2006 by the late Hays Clark. Mr. Clark had a keen interest in assisting others, especially children and youth so that they might have opportunities for more secure futures.
The Trust supports selected local, regional, and national organizations in the United States serving children, youth, and families. The Trust also supports work of selected organizations that improves or increases their effectiveness in delivering services, including efforts to alleviate critical shortages of healthcare providers, non-profit management, and other areas of need identified by the trustees. The Trust is particularly interested in supporting work that intentionally utilizes persons fifty years old and above who wish to use their expertise and life experience to assist organizations and individuals in fulfilling their goals.
Recent activities of the Trust include support for capacity building, mentoring activities, research, education, and health initiatives that in various ways support the broad interests of the Trust. The Trust has developed partnerships with organizations exploring new ideas and efforts; supported established service providers that are ready to move to a higher level of engagement; assisted educational institutions seeking to meet specific societal needs, and supported community-based organizations responding to local issues. The Trust has provided funding for capital needs that enhance the efforts of growing organizations.
About The Studio at Blue Meridian
The Studio @ Blue Meridian aims to fill clear gaps in the social sector market to accelerate more organizations’ readiness to significantly scale their reach, impact, and influence. These investments provide visionary leaders who desire to think big and prepare for transformational growth with the flexible capital and tailored coaching required to innovate, test, and enhance their existing approach to solving complex or emerging social challenges. In our investing, The Studio considers the historical racial inequities in funding, and believes it is important to support leaders who share lived experiences with the people they serve. The Studio is also prepared to address pressing needs, such as inequalities exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
