School-Based Vision Centers

According to the American Optometric Association (AOA), 1 in 4 school-aged children has a vision problem that can affect their ability to learn. With 80% of what a child learns in school being presented visually, students with uncorrected vision problems can suffer from poor academic performance, behavioral issues, diminished athletic ability, and social alienation. If not addressed, these issues can have serious long-term ramifications for a child’s future. This is why in early 2017, ACE partnered with OneSight EssilorLuxottica Foundation, an independent nonprofit committed to eradicating the global vision care crisis, and the Bakersfield City School District (BCSD), to establish California’s first three self-sustaining School-Based Vision Centers. At these centers, ACE and its partners make comprehensive eye exams and glasses accessible and affordable to over 30,000 BCSD students, many of whom come from socioeconomically disadvantaged families and might otherwise not have access to vision care. These centers proved so successful that in May of 2018, ACE and OneSight EssilorLuxottica Foundation joined forces with the Delano Union Elementary School District (DUESD) to establish a School-Based Vision Center to serve the over 7,000 elementary and middle school students of Delano. By getting the glasses they need, BCSD and DUESD kids with vision problems now have a chance to be on even footing with their classmates, allowing them realize their full potential.