Atlanta Public Schools and 2020 On-site, the only company bringing state-of-the-art mobile vision centers on-site to schools and businesses, announced that they have partnered to provide Atlanta students with eye exams and eyewear. 2020 On-site will bring its mobile optometry vehicle to schools throughout the city, beginning with a March 3 eye exam event at Booker T. Washington High School.
Students with uncorrected vision problems are at a disadvantage in the classroom. In many cases undiagnosed visual disorders and uncorrected vision is the cause of poor school performance. By law, public school students must undergo simple vision screening in school, but many families don't follow up with the comprehensive annual eye exams recommended by the American Optometric Association (AOA), which are necessary to correct visual disorders. Serving other school districts, 2020 On-site has found that more than half of students need vision correction (the company provides eyeglasses, which are shipped directly to school nurses after the exam for distribution directly to students).
“As APS continues to build our comprehensive health support strategy, we are excited for this partnership with 2020 On-site to provide eye exams and glasses to our students,” said APS Superintendent Meria J. Carstarphen, Ed.D. “Poor vision can be a huge barrier to learning. We want to help our students gain access to the necessary health services so they can reach their highest academic potential.”
Informational packets are provided to parents of APS students to grant permission for their child (ren) to receive a comprehensive eye exam. Forms can be found here: http://www.2020onsite.com/schools. Once a school can provide at least 30 signed parental forms, 2020 On-site schedules a date and time to visit the school site, to ensure they can see as many students as possible.
Howard Bornstein, founder of 2020 On-site, said that the APS partnership is modeled after a successful program established with the Boston Public Schools. In Boston, 2020 On-site has provided eye exams for nearly 1000 students, and put more than 500 pairs of glasses into those students’ hands.
“We believe that students should have the same access to high-end vision care that we currently provide to companies throughout Atlanta,” said Bornstein. “Many of the students we see are already being impacted by vision problems that they may not know they have. These children can’t see a smartboard clearly, or the faces of their teachers or classmates. That’s going to have an impact on them academically, socially and recreationally, and why it’s critical to get them the care they need.”
2020 On-site is headquartered in Boston, where it serves 300+ clients including Boston Public Schools, Wayfair, Microsoft, Ocean Spray and Pfizer. The company expanded to Atlanta in April 2016, and already more than 50 area businesses have signed up for the service, including Kimberly Clark, MailChimp, Jackson Healthcare, and Randstad.