<body><div><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=1Q7QFt_0wBlrTSN00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=1Q7QFt_0wBlrTSN00" width="667" height="486" >ELYRIA — On Thursday at Northwood Middle School, students had their eyesight tested in the cafeteria. If a doctor prescribed them glasses, students got to pick out their own frames.Today, 38 Elyria students will be able to see better and participate in class thanks to the free eyeglasses program that is relatively new to Northeast Ohio, but has found great success across the country.Vision To Learn is a Los Angeles-based nonprofit that works to find students with vision problems and provide them with free glasses for the duration of their prescription.Seeking to expand its services in northeast Ohio, the organization has partnered with Ford Philanthropy and districts like Elyria Schools to improve the vision of hundreds of kids at no cost to their families.Ford Philanthropy, a nonprofit organization funded by the Ford Motor Company, donated $650,000 for Vision To Learn’s expansion of services in Lorain County and Cleveland.“This is our first experience (with Vision To Learn) and boy, we couldn’t be more thrilled,” Superintendent Ann Schloss said. “It’s one more thing to take down those barriers that make it more difficult to learn, so now they have the tools they need.”Pete Silberman, director of national operations for Vision To Learn, said that if students cannot see properly in class it makes their job of learning and the jobs of their teachers exponentially harder. Providing a clear view can have a monumental impact on their learning, he said.“A lot of what teachers do is pour sweat and tears into their students every day to make a little bit of progress,” Silberman said. “I was in education for 12 years and I saw a lot of that. This is what I really love about Vision to Learn, it’s very rare that you can make such a massive, immediate impact on a child’s education. And the teacher’s don’t have to do anything differently.”Christine Johnstone, Vision To Learn program manager for Ohio, said that allowing the kids to pick out their own frames and ensuring they could get a new pair if needed was an important part of the organization’s process.She recalled her own experience with glasses as a child, when she was given a pair of simple metal-frame glasses that she rarely wore because she thought they were “ugly.”“We have 175 frames on the van for them to pick from, which ones match their style, their personality, the whole nine yards,” Johnstone said. “... I think the best part of Vision to Learn is if they lose their glasses, break their glasses, we’ll replace them for free for the life of the prescription. We try to make sure we keep glasses on their face, that’s the goal. You can go provide an exam, but actually keeping glasses on their face is much more important.”Johnstone said that more than over 100 students still need to receive eye exams at Northwood Middle, let alone the other schools in Elyria that the team plans to visit.The event on Thursday was a sort of unveiling of the program in Lorain County, as the program will normally bring a mobile vision center in which to test students and provide them with glasses.That was where Ford Philanthropy came in, as Vision To Care needed a vehicle to serve as the mobile testing site. The two organizations used their expertise in mobility and vision care to design a Ford van with all the storage and equipment Vision To Care needs.“We’re a mobility company, so when we’re looking at our nonprofit partners and partnering in the community, we’re always trying to find ways we can leverage our expertise in transportation solutions and improving access,” said Joe Provenzano, Ford Philanthropy director of mobility and volunteerism. “The other thing that’s really important to us is to do a lot of work in our plant communities. (The) Ohio Assembly Plant is nearby, we have employees here and we’re part of the community.”Provenzano said that the current project in Northeast Ohio is Ford’s first partnership with Vision To Learn, but he felt that it was a “perfect fit.”As Ford and Vision To Learn began to work together and discuss how they could help provide vision care in the area, Elyria and Lorain were identified as communities to target.Northwood Middle School Principal Jean Capacetti said that Northwood nurse Tara DiFranco took the lead on bringing the program to the school once Elyria Schools were brought into the conversation.Capacetti, who is one of Northwoods two principals along with Michael Basinski, said he was happy for the help in tackling a major barrier to learning like vision issues.“It’s kind of a secret need, one that is hard to find, because if a kid has never gone to an eye doctor and their vision is blurry and they don’t know anything different, it’s hard for them to advocate for themselves,” Capacetti said. “In Elyria we have a focus on equity and this is an example of us following through on that. This is a barrier that (38) of our kids had, and they didn’t even know it.”Contact Owen MacMillan at (440) 329-7123 or omacmillan@chroniclet.com.</div></body>

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New program fits Elyria students with free eyeglasses

ELYRIA — On Thursday at Northwood Middle School, students had their eyesight tested in the cafeteria. If a doctor prescribed them glasses, students got to pick out their own frames. Today, 38 Elyria students will be able to see better and participate in class thanks to the free eyeglasses...