Did you know that the American Optometric Association (AOA) estimates that as much as 80% of the learning a child does occurs through his or her eyes? Reading, writing, chalkboard work and computer usage are among the visual tasks students perform daily. When his or her vision is not functioning properly, education can severely suffer. For that very reason, Family Vision Center (FVC) is partnering with the Bridgeport elementary schools to focus our community outreach efforts on educating the parents and guardians of elementary-aged school children about maintaining healthy eye care and preventing vision problems.

With a total of 30 Bridgeport public and magnet elementary schools located just miles from FVC’s office, we joined forces with Lisa Pavlich-Kuhn, Bridgeport’s Parent Center Coordinator. Thanks to efforts of Lisa and her team, this month kicked off “Eye on Success at Bridgeport Elementary Schools,” a four-month email campaign designed to stress the importance of yearly eye exams for young students. Through the end of the year, FVC is launching an email campaign designated to a different educational topic each month, which aims to reach the families in all 30 of the Bridgeport elementary schools. In addition, each email is printer-friendly, allowing the schools to dispense hard copies of the information.
“The partnership between health providers and community agencies gives the Parent Center a wonderful opportunity to inform families in the Bridgeport school district of all the resources and services available to them,” said Lisa Pavlich Kuhn, Parent Center Coordinator. “We are thrilled to be partnering with Family Vision Center and appreciate their efforts to further engage our parents and educate our children.”
September’s email campaign focused on bringing parents’ attention to possible signs of a vision problem within their child. It stressed the importance of making an appointment with an optometrist should any of the following warning signs surface for the student:

• Rub his or her eyes and blink a lot?
• Have a short attention span?
• Not like to read?
• Have a lot of headaches?
• Cover one eye?
• Tilt the head to one side?
• Hold books close to the face?
• See double?
• Lose his or her place when reading?

This valuable partnership between FVC and the Bridgeport elementary schools opens the line of communication to parents and guardians who might overlook or be unaware of the importance of eye care for their children, simply due to the busy nature of day-to-day life. FVC is extremely grateful to Lisa and the Bridgeport schools for their partnership as we work together to ensure that every student has an eye on success.