Staying on track
Published on December 3, 2015“It gives them the expectation that they’re going to get better and that gives them hope.”
“It gives them the expectation that they’re going to get better and that gives them hope.”
For more than 50 years, the UNC Hospital School has kept children on track with their school work while they receive treatment — giving them hope and the expectation they will get better. Lillian Lee, above, was one of the first two teachers at the Hospital School when it began in 1965. Today, more than 2,700 children benefit from the UNC Hospital School at UNC Children’s each year.
“We expect these kids to keep up with their school work,” said Faith Becker, a teacher in the pediatrics program of the UNC Hospital School. “It gives them the expectation that they’re going to get better and that gives them hope.”
Harrison Barnett, a seven-year-old who travels to Chapel Hill three times a week to receive dialysis, is one of the 2,700 children who benefit from the UNC Hospital School at UNC Children’s each year.
“If Harrison didn’t have the [UNC Hospital School], he would be so far behind that it would be a constant frustration for him… As far as where he is academically, you wouldn’t know he’s missed so much school. He’s right on track with his peers,” said Becky Barnett, Harrison’s mother.
The school, which celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2015, has continued to help patients like Harrison because of dedicated teachers, volunteers and private gifts.
Read the complete Carolina Story from UNC Health Care…Opens in new window
This is story number 57 in the Carolina Stories 225th Anniversary Edition magazine.
