Nearly 100 Abbott Elementary School students enjoyed clearer outlooks when they received new eyeglasses on Jan. 19. The service was provided by Vision To Learn, a nonprofit dedicated to eliminating vision issues as a barrier to education. Students received eye examinations in fall 2017 to determine if they needed glasses.
Follow-up Story: Michael Tidwell, the newly installed president of the University of Texas at Tyler, still muses on the lessons he learned as a Lynwood Knight, especially from Donald Jones, the school’s former accounting teacher. Tidwell considers Jones a mentor since even though he was never enrolled in his classes, Jones still took the time to provide him with guidance about his future. “Mr. Jones was always so intentional about helping us students think about our future and helping us understand that where we are today is not necessarily where we would be tomorrow,” Tidwell said. “He never let us rest on our laurels and he constantly pushed us to think bigger and better.”