VCA and Transitions Partner to Reach 20 Million Families
through Scholastic Teaching Guides

Children’s Educational Materials Available for ECPs

Washington, D.C. (August 11, 2006) – The importance of vision care will be a lesson learned by millions of students this fall as a result of a partnership between the Vision Council of America (VCA) and Transitions Optical, Inc. The organizations, through VCA’s Check Yearly. See Clearly. and Transitions’ Eye Didn’t Know That! public health campaigns, have joined together with Scholastic Publishing - the largest publisher and distributor of children’s books in the world - to create a teaching guide entitled “Our Amazing Eyes.”

The teaching guide will be distributed in conjunction with Scholastic’s classroom magazines to educators across the country. Three different versions of the guide were created at the appropriate levels for grades one-three, four-six and seven-eight.

“Our Amazing Eyes” will consist of lesson plans on the anatomy of the eye, how lenses work, the importance of vision care and eye safety, as well as fun optical illusions. A classroom poster with “Eye-Opening Facts!” will be included in the guide, in addition to a take-home activity for students to complete with their parents.

In total, 166,000 educators will receive the “Our Amazing Eyes.” “We know that Scholastic materials have a utilization rate of 90 percent due to their brand recognition among teachers,” said Bill Thomas, VCA CEO and executive vice president. “On top of that, teachers typically pass along Scholastic materials to three to five of their colleagues. Given that scope, we anticipate that we will reach 20 million families with our vision health and eye care messages.”

Eyecare professionals can also utilize “Our Amazing Eyes” as an educational tool. “The teaching guide is an invaluable resource for eyecare professionals to use in their practices, local schools, health fairs and other community venues,” noted Rick Elias, president of Transitions Optical. “By educating children about the need for regular vision care at an early age, we can encourage them to care for their eyes throughout their life.”

Eyecare professionals attending International Vision Expo West can request a complimentary copy of the teaching guide at the Transitions booth (#10053) or VCA’s Check Yearly. See Clearly. booth (#14123). Additional information is available at www.eyedidntknowthat.com/checkyearly or at www.checkyearly.com, and downloadable copies of the teaching guide will be available in October.

For more information or to request copies of “Our Amazing Eyes,” please contact Stephanie Campbell, VCA manager of professional and consumer relations, at 703-548-4560 ext. 266 or via e-mail at scampbell@visionsite.org.

###
Vision Council of America (VCA) is a leading organization in the ophthalmic industry representing a wide base of global optical manufacturers and distributors. VCA and its membership are visionaries for the industry, working to create awareness of the value of vision care and to grow the eyewear marketplace through education, forums and expositions, industry statistics and data, technical standards, public relations and advocacy.

Transitions Optical, headquartered in Pinellas Park, Florida was the first to successfully commercialize a plastic photochromic lens in 1990. As the leading supplier of photochromics to optical manufacturers, Transitions Optical offers the most advanced photochromic technology
and the widest selection of lens designs, materials and brand names. Transitions® Lenses are the #1-recommended photochromic lens worldwide.

Transitions Optical has manufacturing operations in Pinellas Park, Florida; Tuam, Ireland; Laguna, Philippines; Sumare, Brazil; Adelaide, Australia and Chonburi, Thailand. Sales offices are located in Cambridge, Canada and nine other countries.