Jan. 22, 2017
Karen H., Eye See Eye Learn; Trustee Joy Bowen-Eyre; Josh H., student; and Jennifer H., parent
Having an eye exam early in life can detect health and vision problems that would go undiagnosed, drastically affecting a student’s opportunity to learn. A child who is having vision or eye health problems will likely experience struggles with reading, writing and overall learning at school. They will perform below their potential abilities and are often misdiagnosed as having a learning or behavioural disability.
The Eye See…Eye Learn program provides students with a comprehensive eye health exam from a doctor of optometry, and if required, students will also receive a free pair of eyeglasses. The program is available to all kindergarten students in Alberta. In 2015-2016 the Eye See…Eye Learn program delivered over 65,000 parent packages throughout Alberta through their local public school resulting in 24,588 Alberta five year olds having a completed eye exam before starting Grade 1. In the CBE this means over 3000 Kindergarten students could have received eye exams as a result of this program.
The Eye See… Eye Learn program is not just about evaluations and glasses for our students; it also builds professional capital of our CBE teaching staff. This eye health and vision awareness program provides teachers with online videos and webinars to build their knowledge of anatomy, eye sight development, and signs and symptoms of good or poor vision. It also includes activity kits they can use in their classroom.
As teachers and parents, we all know how important vision is to a child’s learning process and overall development. Thanks to the ongoing effort of Eye See… Eye Learn, potential vision problems are identified at a very young age. On behalf of the entire CBE, congratulations to the Alberta Association of Optometrists and the Eye See…. Eye Learn Program on their Lighthouse Award.
“The Eye See Eye Learn program helped me get off to a good start by encouraging My Mom to book an eye appointment and then by providing me with my first pair of glasses. I hope many other students can take advantage of this amazing program just as I did.”
Josh H. | Grade 7 student
