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School Zone
Points of Pride
Five Duval County Schools Receive Grants
Five Duval County public schools - Holiday Hill Elementary, Lake Forest School of the Arts, Eugene Butler Middle, Jean Ribault Middle and Matthew Gilbert Middle - have been selected to receive nearly $105,000 to implement new science discovery, civic engagement and arts infusion programs through the Inspire.Create.Achieve. (I.C.A) Grant provided by The Chartrand Foundation.
Duval County schools assigned to the Superintendent's Standard Bearer cluster were eligible to apply for the grants, and more than 10 schools applied. The five schools selected best reinforced the mission of The Chartrand Foundation: to provide support for real-life experiences in the arts, civics, and sciences that broaden students' horizons, ignite their imagination, and enliven and enlighten learning.
Each school received a grant in the following amount for the program specified: Holiday Hill Elementary - $15,000 for civic engagement; Lake Forest School of the Arts - $9,880 for arts infusion; Eugene Butler Middle - $10,000 for arts infusion and $17,000 for science discovery; Jean Ribault Middle - $17,500 for civic engagement; and Matthew Gilbert Middle - $17,500 for science discovery. An additional $17,500 was awarded to Matthew Gilbert Middle to assist with its Communities in Schools (CIS) after school program.
For more information about The Chartrand Foundation and to view its entire announcement of grant recipients, click here.
DCPS Students Receive Free Eye Exams and Glasses
Duval County Public Schools (DCPS) Vision Services and the Duval County Council of PTAs, in partnership with the Luxottica Group Foundation, provided free eye exams and glasses to more than 120 Duval County students when the Give the Gift of Sight Vision Van visited Parkwood Heights Elementary School on December 3rd and 4th.
Students from several Duval County schools, including Parkwood Heights Elementary, Don Brewer Elementary, Merrill Road Elementary, Gregory Drive Elementary and Arlington Middle School, participated in the mobile vision screenings. The students, who were screened and referred through DCPS Vision Services beforehand, received a complete follow-up eye examination and, if needed, a pair of eyeglasses. Glasses were made on the spot, and students were able to wear their new glasses when they returned to school that day.
"If children can't see well, they can't learn as well," said DCPS Student Services Vision Clinician Dot Mathias. According to Mathias, Duval County is the only county in the state that has a system-wide coordinated vision program that is community based, meaning that the community and the school system work together to improve the vision of its students. Last year, Vision Services was able to screen nearly 70,000 Duval County students.
Give the Gift of Sight is supported by the Luxottica Group Foundation. Its mission is to deliver free vision care and eyewear to underprivileged individuals in North America and in developing countries around the world. Millions of pairs of used eyewear are collected in the Luxottica Group's retail stores, such as LensCrafters, Pearle Vision, Sears Optical and Target Optical.
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