Adapting to Change: Hospital School

Scott Souter was teaching art class when one of his students came up to him and asked if he wanted to see the student’s lungs.

When Souter said yes, the student showed him a picture of them holding up their own lungs which had been removed prior to a lung transplant the student was recovering from.

That student was one of many who have been enrolled in the Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital School. Opened 100 years ago, Hospital School is available for any student hospitalized at Lucile Packard for three or more consecutive days.

“I will see students ranging from kindergarten through 12th grade, and they can come if they’re up for it (and) can stay for as (long) as they want,” Souter said. “If they show up, we have a number of projects in mind.”

Teachers at Hospital School also coordinate with the student’s previous school district to ensure the student continues their education.

Lilly, the 2024 Paly grad said the program was centered around helping students continue learning in a new environment.

“The basic idea was for you to get assigned a teacher to meet about five hours a week (or) one hour a day to discuss coursework or questions,” Lilly said.

Lilly with this support in place he was able to keep up with his classes at Paly by working asynchronously.

“I was taking AP Lang with Ms. Launer, who sent the material to my hospital teacher, and I got the material through her,” Lilly said. “(The hospital teacher) proctored whatever tests I had to do for Paly.”

Hospital School teacher Elena Melendez also said Hospital School gives students flexibility.

“Medications or conditions can make you feel nauseous or sick, and it’s really hard to concentrate,” Melendez said. “In those cases, you’re just trying to provide other services. (The program) is very responsive to their needs.”

And Souter said the teachers at Hospital School do their best to make the environment nurturing and encouraging.

“They are an incredibly creative, very talented at problem solving, improvisational team that work around amazing obstacles,” Souter said. “They are very dedicated to providing the students or patients with continued academic enrichment or a little bit of something other than their current situation.