As we begin another school year, making sure children’s eyes are ready to see and learn in the classroom is critical to their success. Did you know 1 in 4 school-aged children has a vision problem? Sometimes children have trouble seeing and don’t even realize they are viewing the world differently from others. Vision affects a child’s physical, mental, and emotional health. In fact, children with vision problems are more likely to struggle in the classroom and experience depression and/or anxiety. Fortunately, together we can make sure they are vision ready for school and beyond.
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event Blindness North Carolina’s Children’s Vision Screening Improvement Program helps school districts across all 100 North Carolina counties obtain the training needed to screen over 400,000 school age children each year. PBNC’s training and voucher programs for school age children are essential to students’ growth and development. School nurses from across the state recently provided input on the impact of PBNC’s Children’s Vision Screening Improvement Program:
“Training has helped me feel more prepared and confident in conducting screenings. I have been able to get children referred and seen by an eye doctor. Getting certified every two years keeps us current on any changes and reinforces what we have already been taught. I have also been able to get children new glasses through the use of PBNC voucher program.” – Wayne County School Nurse
“PBNC training provides our school system with trained individuals that our School Nurses can depend on to assist us in screening more students in a timely manner with reliability and consistency” – Chowan County
“PBNC’s Children’s Vision Screening Certification Program allows us to quickly and efficiently screen large numbers of students with the training of additional helpers. Providing the screening charts as part of the training also is greatly appreciated.” – Nash County
Whether you are a parent or caregiver, school nurse, or an educator we all play an integral part in a child’s vision health and their success inside and outside the classroom. To ensure their eyes and vision health are ready, please reference the following resources:
Vision Screening Resources for Children Vision Health Partners
Online Vision Screening Training for School Staff and Volunteers
- To be eligible for training and certification, individuals must have approval from a school nurse or administrator to provide vision screening as part of the school system’s screening program.
Online Vision Screening Training for Pediatric Primary Care
Parents/Caregivers
Children’s Vision Digital Screen Tips