Shown is the Syracuse Lions Club’s 2022 vision screening team. From left are Karen Hartley, Tom Thornburg, Ann Haffner and Marie Butler-Knight. Photo provided.

News Release

SYRACUSE — The Syracuse Lions Club recently completed its annual SchoolSight screening of students in grades one, three, five and eight at Syracuse Elementary and Wawasee Middle schools. The Lions vision team also screened new students in other grades at these schools. This state-mandated vision acuity screening has been provided by the Syracuse Lions since 2015, except during the pandemic of 2020, when schools were closed.

On Sept. 7, two teams comprised of four trained Lions screened 193 eighth-graders. This represented a 20% increase over 2022, due to the consolidation of Milford and Wawasee Middle schools. The club also screened 15 new sixth- and seventh-graders. On Sept. 13, the teams screened 236 first-, third- and fifth-graders, up slightly from 2022.

With this year’s screening, the Syracuse Lions have screened or assisted in screening nearly 4,500 students in the Wawasee School District since 2015. This year’s team members included Ann Haffner, Marie Butler-Knight, Tom Thornburg and Karen Hartley, working closely with District Head Nurse Sarah Bauer and Syracuse Elementary School nurse Tisha Powell.

Lions team leader Marie Butler-Knight noted that the referral rate has continued to drop, this year from 15% to 13%. Referral rate is the percentage of screened students who do not have vision acuity of at least 20/32 in both eyes. The Lions and school nurses believe that regular screening of students is a significant factor in the steady referral decline.