CLEVELAND HEIGHTS, Ohio — Students at Oxford Elementary School in Cleveland Heights were paid a visit by the governor and first lady as they were provided prescription glasses through the Vision to Learn program.

What You Need To Know

  • Students at Oxford Elementary School in Cleveland Heights were paid a visit by the governor and first lady as they were provided prescription glasses through the Vision to Learn program

  • The nonprofit works with various schools to provide eye exams and equip students in “high-need communities” with glasses

  • The students at Oxford Elementary School, 74 of whom received glasses, were the first to receive them, with the rest to be distributed “in the coming weeks"
  • The governor also officially announced members of the new Children’s Vision Strike Force on Thursday, a plan he spoke about during his State of the State address

The nonprofit works with various schools to provide eye exams and equip students in “high-need communities” with glasses, according to a release from the governor’s office, which pointed out that the program expanded this spring to work with schools in northeast Ohio.

“These students are seeing a whole new world than they were just a few moments ago, it’s truly a life-changing experience,” Gov. Mike DeWine said in the release. “By helping our children see their best, we also help them to read their best and learn their best.”

The students at Oxford Elementary School, 74 of whom received glasses, were the first to receive them, with the rest to be distributed “in the coming weeks.”

“Experts tell us that 80 percent of a child’s learning comes through their sense of sight,” DeWine said in the release. “Fortunately, we have leaders who are doing innovative work to help connect more students with supports like eye exams and glasses. These models are making a real difference. Now, it is time to bring these proven solutions to more schools and more communities across Ohio.”

The release also notes that the Vision to Learn nonproifit will begin working with Sight for All United next school year to provide more assistance to Cleveland-area students.

But that wasn’t all.

The governor also officially announced members of the new Children’s Vision Strike Force on Thursday, a plan he spoke about during his State of the State address.

The members are as follows:

  • Bruce Vanderhoff, M.D., MBA, Director, Ohio Department of Health (Chair)
  • Sergul Erzurum, M.D., Co-Founder & Board President, Sight for All United; Vision to Learn Ohio Advisory Board Member
  • Shane Foster, O.D., Athens Eye Care Mobile Clinic; Chair, Vision to Learn Ohio Advisory Board; and Immediate Past President, Ohio Optometric Association
  • Jeffrey J. Walline, O.D., PhD, Acting Dean, The Ohio State University College of Optometry
  • Stephen D. Dackin, Director, Ohio Department of Education and Workforce
  • Kara Wente, Director, Ohio Department of Children and Youth
  • Maureen Corcoran, M.S. Ed., Director, Ohio Department of Medicaid
  • Anne Gonzales, Executive Director, Ohio Vision Professionals Board
  • Dion Manley, Board Member, Gahanna-Jefferson City Schools; Optician
  • Paul Imhoff, Ed.D., Director of Government Relations, Buckeye Association of School Administrators
  • Elizabeth Muckley, O.D., CEO and Executive Director, Ohio Optometric Association
  • Walker Motley, M.S., M.D., Ohio Ophthalmological Society, Cincinnati Children’s Pediatric Ophthalmologist
  • Amy Pulles, CEO, Prevent Blindness Ohio

The release cites data from an ODH Survey from last school year in which it was noted that in-school vision screens saw 93,000 Ohio students referred for follow-up exams. The data notes that only 17,000 of those students actually followed up and estimates that “at least 35,000 students who needed glasses did not receive them.”

The goal of the strike force, according to the release, is to help work through barriers and escalate local organizations’ efforts to reach statewide. The strike force’s first meeting will be June 3, followed by monthly meetings.

“I am looking forward to getting to work with this talented group of professionals to deliver strategies and solutions that will ensure we fulfill our mission,” said Bruce Vanderhoff, director of the Ohio Department of Health and chair of the strike force. “We will work at a rapid pace to find a pathway toward our ultimate goal of ensuring that every Ohio student who needs glasses can get glasses.”

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