Teachers at American Family Children’s Hospital provide support, normalcy for patients

Teacher Appreciation Week, May 4-8, Teacher Appreciation Day, May 5

There is a school in Wisconsin that has been around for more than a century, but the general public is likely unaware of its existence. 

Pediatric care began at the University of Wisconsin in 1920 when the first children’s hospital opened on campus, and teachers have been part of helping kids experience the joy of learning, even while in the hospital, since the beginning.

Today, that care is provided at the American Family Children’s Hospital, but education is still a part of kids’ care. Three teachers help educate patients at the elementary, middle and high school levels in a warm, welcoming environment on the fourth and fifth floors of the hospital.

Sarah Halasz-Lawrence, Emmanuel Stern, and Andy Tonies, from the Madison Metropolitan School District, work one-on-one with medically eligible students for about an hour a day, covering a wide range of subjects, from basic reading to advanced math. The students can be from any school district, and the teachers coordinate with the patients’ teachers in their hometowns.

“Parents, students and families are most often not aware we have a school at the children’s hospital,” said Stern, who is in his sixth year of teaching middle school and high school at the hospital, and his 25^th year teaching overall. “Children have enough to deal with while being in the hospital, so we are really excited to try to remove an additional source of anxiety, of wondering how to keep up with school.”

Halasz-Lawrence has been a teacher for 30 years and has spent the last 11 years at American Family Children’s Hospital. She loves the variety of her day and the special relationships.

“As a classroom teacher, it is always a dream to have that one-on-one time with students who need extra attention, and you really bond with the students,” she said. “I love that I learn something new every day.”

The teachers work closely with medical care teams and child life teams, who help patients and families cope with the complexities of hospitalizations, to adapt lesson plans to meet the needs of the student.

“When a child is here experiencing all the thoughts and emotions during their hospitalization, the joy of learning and being in school can be a wonderful comfort to them,” said Tonies, who has been an educator for 25 years and is in his second year at the hospital school. “We try to provide normalcy, and school is often the bright spot in their day.”

All three teachers believe that every child deserves an education, no matter their circumstances or location, and they find teaching in a children’s hospital very rewarding.

“We are in awe of the students’ resilience, and we are truly amazed at how far they have come by the end of their stay,” Stern said. “They inspire us to be better teachers.”