ChildSight®
Bringing Education Into Focus™

ChildSight® is an innovative school-based vision screening and eyeglass distribution program designed to improve the vision and the academic potential of students living in poverty. ChildSight® strives to “brings education into focus” by offering vision screenings and providing free prescription eyeglasses for students who need them. ChildSight® provides this essential service directly to students within the school setting and eliminates two barriers that often prevent children from receiving the vision care services they need: prohibitive cost and limited access.

ChildSight® has documented the positive effect of clear vision on student learning. Teacher and student surveys have shown that a majority of children who received ChildSight® eyeglasses exhibited a significant increase in class participation, a reduction in disruptive behavior and a dramatic improvement in self-confidence. Most students felt that their new eyeglasses helped them to complete their schoolwork more effectively.

ChildSight®'s trained teams go directly into public schools in our poorest communities. Upon request by a school district, a project team travels to the selected sites to provide vision screening, bringing the necessary equipment and the inventory of frames and lenses. The team tests the students, and those who fail the vision screening are examined by the on-site ChildSight® optometrist, who assesses their vision to determine their prescription. Students choose their frames and receive their glasses at their school that same day or within a week, at no expense to them.

Most students are served on-site, but those with other potential vision problems may be referred to local hospitals and ophthalmologists who have partnered (and made financial arrangements) with ChildSight®. As part of its educational outreach, ChildSight® also sends information to parents in its target schools.

ChildSight® is distinguished by its high clinical standards and by a concerted effort to address the vision health needs of the most disadvantaged students. ChildSight® also strives to educate children and their families about the importance of corrected vision and the availability of related healthcare resources in their community.

To read an article by Voice of America about how ChildSight® improves learning, please click here.

In the United States, ChildSight® has screened over 1,168,154 students and has provided free eyeglasses to over 135,522 of the nation’s most vulnerable children since its inception in 1994. ChildSight® currently provides services to children in seven states including California, Connecticut, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Ohio and Texas. Please visit our United States country page for more details about these sites.

ChildSight® in the United States has concentrated on offering its services to adolescent children, ages 10-15. We recognized that the vision care needs of younger children, particularly in poor communities, were not being met. Treatment for eye conditions such as amblyopia ("lazy eye") and strabismus (misaligned eyes) require early detection, usually well before age 5, otherwise irreversible visual defects, including blindness, may occur.

To address this problem, ChildSight® has adapted its methods to screen pre-school children and enable those who suffer from these conditions to get the help they need. Our pilot program for the Pre-School Vision Screening Initiative launched in Fall 2005 in New York City. The program, which addresses all vision problems the children may have, is currently active in almost 80 Head Starts and child or day care centers.