CPS students to get free eye tests

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Updated: August 4, 2011 4:20PM

Chicago Public School students who have never had an eye exam or whose teachers suspect they have vision problems can now receive free vision screening at a new clinic run by the Illinois Eye Institute.

By making vision care accessible to thousands of CPS students who need it, organizers hope to improve students’ academic performance.

“The fact is that many children who have vision problems don’t necessarily perform as well because they can’t see,” said clinic director Sandra Block, a professor at the Illinois College of Optometry. “If you address vision problems, you can remove it as a barrier for children to learn properly.”

Block said the clinic, which opened last week, is the first to provide eye care year-round to an entire school system. It’s housed inside the now-closed Princeton Elementary School.

Services will be geared toward students who have failed an in-school screening, have been referred to the clinic because of teacher concerns or who need an eye exam as a requirement to enter school for the first time.

Children can’t be examined without a parent or guardian’s permission.

The National Eye Institute estimates that 2 percent of students entering first grade and 15 percent of students entering high school are near-sighted. That translates to about 22,000 CPS students who may not be able to see the chalkboard in front of them without corrected vision.

The clinic will start out serving about 30 students a day, but will eventually increase that number to 100 a day, Block said. Students are transported to the clinic by bus.

The clinic will be funded by a combination of private grants and reimbursements for children who have insurance.

Angienell Womack took her grandson, Tyler, a kindergartner at Wadsworth Elementary, to the clinic Wednesday for his first eye exam. He passed with flying colors.

“He never complained about his eyes, so I never thought about getting him tested. But I’m glad the school did it,” Womack said. “You know kids, they’re not going to say something if they can’t see.”