Phoenix Children’s graduation celebrates students overcoming illness and injury through ‘1 Darn Cool School’

Students receive instruction either bedside or in classroom settings when they are physically able to leave their rooms.

PHOENIX — At Phoenix Children’s Hospital on Monday, students battling serious illnesses and recovering from life-changing injuries celebrated a major milestone: graduation.

Thirty students marked kindergarten, eighth grade, and high school graduations through “1 Darn Cool School,” an accredited K-12 education program that brings classroom instruction directly to children inside the hospital. Some students even participated in the ceremony remotely from their hospital rooms using robots.

The program, fully funded by Desert Financial Credit Union, is designed to help children keep up academically during treatment while also providing a sense of normalcy.

For high school graduate Ana Stevens, the ceremony represented far more than finishing school.

“Graduating feels great, but knowing that high school is over, it’s hard,” Stevens said.

Stevens said her senior year was interrupted after a devastating tumbling accident last August.

“I ended up landing on my neck, and I broke my C5 and C6. And it smashed down into my C7 and compressed my spinal cord,” she said.

The injury left Stevens an incomplete quadriplegic. She spent more than three months at Phoenix Children’s after transferring from Chandler Regional Medical Center in September.

“You never know how fast things can change until they do,” Stevens said.

While recovering in the hospital, Stevens continued her coursework through 1 Darn Cool School and formed a close bond with teacher Barbara Lewis.

“Barb was the best part. She was my rock and my shoulder to cry on, and she helped me get through,” Stevens said. 

Lewis, one of eight master’s-level teachers in the program, said students receive instruction either bedside or in classroom settings when they are physically able to leave their rooms.

“We try to do some classrooms, and when we can get some students that are capable of leaving their rooms and coming down and participating in a class setting, otherwise, we’re doing the instruction bedside,” Lewis said. “A little bit of sense of normalcy. You’re going to get up, you’re going to go to school, do something normal.”

The program serves students ages 5 to 22 and is organized by medical specialty and diagnosis, allowing teachers to better understand the educational and emotional support students may need when returning to traditional schools.

Lewis said Stevens remained determined throughout her recovery.

“She never turned me away. She always wanted to do school. She wanted to stay on top of things,” Lewis said. “I was her hands. I was her doing the typing. I was taking care of everything, but she was right there, just ready and willing, no matter what her day was looking like.”

Stevens said Phoenix Children’s became much more than a hospital during her recovery.

“They made it fun and exciting,” she said. “One of my closest friends I met here in the hospital. We still stay in contact.”

Now preparing to attend Arizona State University while living at home, Stevens said she still looks forward to visiting the rehabilitation floor whenever she returns to Phoenix Children’s for appointments.

“Every time I come back for a doctor’s appointment or anything like that, I always say, ‘Mom, let’s go down to rehab. I want to go visit,’” she said.

You can now watch 12News content anytime, anywhere, thanks to the 12News+ app! 

The free 12News+ app from 12News lets users stream live events — including daily newscasts like “Today in AZ” and “12 News” and our daily lifestyle program, “Arizona Midday”—on Roku and Amazon Fire TV. 

12News+  showcases live video throughout the day for breaking news, local news, weather and even an occasional moment of Zen showcasing breathtaking sights from across Arizona. 

Users can also watch on-demand videos of top stories, local politics, I-Team investigations, Arizona-specific features and vintage videos from the 12News archives. 

Roku: Add the channel from the Roku store or by searching for “12 News KPNX.” 

Amazon Fire TV: Search for “12 News KPNX” to find the free 12News+ app to add to your account, or have the 12News+ app delivered directly to your Amazon Fire TV through Amazon.com or the Amazon app. 

Catch up on the latest news and stories on the 12News YouTube channel. Subscribe today.