CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — School is in session and in full swing for all Texas Schools, even patients over at Driscoll Children's Hospital.
Known as the "One room school house" children at DCH can be kids while keeping up with their studies, like everyone else.
"Not one of them is singled out for having medical issues because they all have something going on," said DCH teacher Sumer Duhon.
The DCH-CCISD program started years ago.
Marie Soza has been a hospital teacher with CCISD for 15 years, and knows first hand of the benefits and flexibility the program offers.
"My son was here in the late 1990s and I just got involved with the hospital," Soza said.
Soza's son was an oncology patient. Unfortunately, he passed away after battling for a year-and-a-half. But even after his passing, she still felt called to help.
"I felt it was really important for these kids to have a place to go for their education. This is a place where kids come, and keep up with their peers and be a normal kid," Soza said.
The room helps to give children a sense of normalcy, rather than remind them that they're patients in a hospital.
"It gets them out of their room. We had a student that came up today and she's like 'wow, this is better than being in my bed'. Especially for kids who are here long term,'" Soza said.
Students are provided ample amounts of support, but there are still difficult days.
"You know it'll happen. You'll have a really sick student, or a student pass away. For that second, it is very hard, but then you think of all the kids you still have and it keeps you going," Duhon said.
Branden Lee Martinez is a student in the program and has been a patient at DCH for around three years. He said class is something he really looks forward to.
"I'm just stuck in my room all day during summer and when we came back to school, I got the courage to do stuff now and just have fun. It kind of brought me up a little bit," Martinez said.
Within the program, Martinez can be like any other freshman. It offers standardized and STAAR testing, so student's aren't missing a beat.
The program currently has eight students enrolled, and they're from different parts of South Texas like the valley, Laredo and Edna.
Soza said the program will be around for a very long time and they're always looking for volunteers.
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