The National Eye Institute in cooperation with the Association for Research
in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO), developed the VISION School
Program as a unique community service project to deliver basic knowledge
about the eye to elementary school children. 
The JSEI Affiliates, a volunteer network serving the Jules Stein Eye
Institute, sponsors this fun, educational program in Los Angeles.
The goal is to effectively communicate the importance of eye care
to this most vulnerable population group.
Volunteers include community members, Institute staff, students and researchers
who donate their time to make the free program available in schools
throughout Los Angeles County. To date, over 9,000 students and
their teachers benefited from this program. For each classroom,
an hour-long, interactive session is conducted on three topics:
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How the eye works |
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Common vision problems |
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Eye safety |
The anatomy of the eye is demonstrated using drawings and diagrams.
Common eye disorders such as myopia and cataracts are discussed,
as are glasses and contact lenses. Eye safety focuses on how injuries
occur and emphasizes prevention, as well as first aid. Child-oriented
handouts and classroom exercises help to engage the students. A
popular option offered with the standard curriculum is a dissection
demonstration using a cow eye, to show students the main parts of
the eye and how they work together, discussing the similarities
between the cow and the human eye. Volunteers must provide their own transportation to and from the schools. No
experience is required and volunteer training of program curriculum
will be provided. New volunteers will be paired with experienced
program volunteers who have experience with the program curriculum Screening volunteers, under the supervsion of a trained JSEI orthptist, visit
local preschools to screen three to five year old children. The
team uses a variety of tests designed specifically for preschoolers
to screen for simple refractive errors and eye muscle problems. |
