Published: May 08, 2008 10:21 am            

NOW, Vision for Kids programs honored

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By TESA CULLI

tesa.culli@register-news.com

MT. VERNON — Two District 80 programs received special recognition by the Illinois State Board of Education for their work in addressing needs of students — the Nutrition on Weekends program and the Vision For Kids program.

“These programs are special because of the partnerships they develop with the community,” ISBE board member Andrea Brown said as she presented the awards. “We [as educators] can only do so much in five or six hours per day, and the students need more than that.”

School nurse Deanna Metje was honored for her commitment for helping students receive eyeglasses through the Vision For Kids program. In December, Metje realized many of the low-income students at the district who were on the All Kids Health Insurance plan were not getting glasses. Ordering glasses through the state could take from three to six months, and parents with a prescription could go to Zeigler or Salem to place the order, although many parents didn’t have the means to travel. Some teachers had begun purchasing glasses for their students.

“If they can’t see, they can’t read and they can’t learn,” Metje said at that time. She discovered that $30 could provide a pair of glasses for a child, and she began sending letters to organizations and members of the community for help. She started by targeting about 30 students who had failed eye screenings for at least two years and hadn’t received treatment. Since its inception, Vision For Kids has helped an average of nine students every month, Brown said.

The Nutrition on Weekends program, or NOW, was also recognized for feeding low-income students during long weekends and vacation breaks.

A partnership between District 80, Park Avenue Baptist Church and the United Way began last year when food service staff at the school began holding fundraisers to send home bags of groceries with low-income students over long school breaks. Many of the children ate breakfast and lunch at the school, and staff members realized they may not eat when school was not in session.

In August, ladies from the Park Avenue Baptist Church food pantry called District 80 wanting to help. The food pantry call was followed shortly by the United Way. With more than 70 percent of students in the district in the low-income range, the food was a way to help. The district has about 170 children signed up for the program.

According to District 80 Superintendent Kevin Settle, it costs about $500 for each long weekend to buy food for the children.

        

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