Class remains in session at the UNC Hospital School

With her second child on the way, a woman named Barbara watches her 7-year-old daughter Madison work through a Monday morning reading lesson.

This isn’t an ordinary classroom, but Barbara is happy to see some normalcy remain in Madison’s life. Instead of attending class at her Johnston County school, Madison is keeping up with schoolwork at the UNC Hospital School.

She’s been at UNC Children’s Hospital since February. Barbara said Madison began feeling sick and experiencing pain in December. After bloodwork showed abnormalities, Madison came to UNC Children’s and received a leukemia diagnosis, for which she’s now receiving treatment.

Learning remains a joyful constant for Madison. She enjoys math and making crafts. With the help of teacher Rebecca Von Hoene, she’s also progressing as an English-as-a-second-language learner.

“Every morning she looks forward to the teacher coming,” said Barbara.

Madison enjoys making crafts at the UNC Hospital School. Her mother, Barbara, said “it’s very important to us as parents” that her schooling continues. (Jon Gardiner/UNC-Chapel Hill)

A first-of-its-kind school

Madison’s experience is one example of a core belief at the Hospital School: Children becoming sick or needing medical treatment shouldn’t stop them from learning.

Six decades after opening as the first hospital-based public school in North Carolina, the Hospital School remains dedicated to supporting students from across the state, nation and world.

Each year, around 2,700 children — from age 3 through high school — receive an education at the Hospital School, a partnership between UNC Hospitals and Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools.

UNC Hospitals School principal Marny Ruben (Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools)

When youngsters come to Chapel Hill for treatment, experienced educators make sure lessons continue, collaborating with their teachers and schools back home.

The school has a dedicated space on the hospital’s seventh floor with classrooms and a library, as well as classrooms in the Neurosciences Hospital. But teaching takes place everywhere, including bedside or chairside as students receive chemotherapy.

When Marny Ruben started as principal nine years ago, she became inspired by students’ desire to learn amid adversity. That feeling hasn’t changed.

“You might have a seventh grader with cancer and a poor prognosis, and they’re working on their math — every single day,” said Ruben ’02 (MSA). “The resiliency and strength of kids and their families is the surprise. Because a lot of them are going through unbearable situations.”

A school like no other

Ruben has been an educator for over three decades and first learned about the Hospital School in a district principals meeting.

The chance to work in such a unique and rewarding environment was appealing, and she knew the opportunity was rare.

She now leads a staff of 17 that includes teachers with different areas of expertise. Some are experts in certain subjects or work closely with certain age groups, such as preschoolers or high schoolers. The school also employs a librarian/technology specialist.

Regardless of specialty, Ruben said her teachers “have to have compassion.”

“You also have to be able to take care of yourself at the same time,” Ruben said. “Because our teachers are exposed to trauma every single day.”

As their students experience challenges, teachers at the Hospital School find purpose and take pride in being a source of joy.

Kaylee Treese is in her seventh year teaching here and works with teenagers in the adolescent psychiatry unit. Her students have experienced different types of trauma — from suicidal ideation to having an altered mental state or running away from home.

But compared to past jobs in traditional schools, Treese feels she gets to devote more time to developing personal relationships with students, which is rewarding for everyone.

For Treese’s students, a typical stay at the Hospital School is one to two weeks. “By the time they’re leaving, they’re like, ‘I wish this could be my school all the time,’” she said.

Teacher David Bennard has worked at the UNC Hospital School for nine years and is inspired by the resilience of students like fourth grader Jaxson. (Jon Gardiner/UNC-Chapel Hill)

Fun and perspective

Through his nine years teaching at the Hospital School, David Bennard has enjoyed getting to know students closely. Watching them come out of their shells never gets old.

This year Bennard has had the chance to work with Jaxson, a comic book-loving, Roblox-playing fourth grader from Pembroke, North Carolina.

When Jaxson arrived in January, he was very quiet and still adjusting to his new environment, Bennard said.

Fast forward to March, and in between math lessons and learning about the American Revolution, Jaxson was using Canva on his laptop to make posters for an upcoming concert he was hosting — the guest list included his mom, nurses, teachers and other staff. He performed the guitar to the tunes of “Life Is a Highway” and “Sweet Caroline.”

“How much they adapt to difficult situations and put their best foot forward” is the biggest lesson Bennard takes away from working with children like Jaxson. “Being that they’re elementary age, I’m just amazed,” said Bennard, who first worked as a recreational therapist before teaching.

Von Hoene, Madison’s teacher, said one of the best parts about the Hospital School is that despite all else going on in her pupils’ lives, the focus on instruction remains strong.

“Trying to get them to learn one thing” is the daily goal. “And then if they’re not feeling well enough to learn that day, we can be compassionate,” Von Hoene said.

For children and families alike, the normalcy of school during a trying time goes a long way.

“It’s very important to us as parents because it helps to bring a little bit of the outside world to here,” Madison’s mother Barbara said. “It’s really good that she’s still continuing with her education.”

Madison works through a reading lesson with teacher Rebecca Von Hoene. (Jon Gardiner/UNC-Chapel Hill)