PHOENIX – On the first floor of the Phoenix Children’s campus on Thomas Road in Phoenix is 1 Darn Cool School, a classroom that serves kids in the hospital while they are missing school.

There are nine teachers who work in the school, teaching kids reading, math, science and more, as well as assisting parents with paperwork for extended absences.

Mary Kay Mojgani is a teacher at the school. She said the learning is personalized for each child, so when the student can’t leave their room or floor, the school goes to them.

“We have a couple of man-made classrooms up on some floors where… patients are up there for sometimes for over a year and they can’t leave the floor,” Mojgani said. “We want to provide that social feeling of ‘I’m in a room with not just an adult at bedside doing school but with other children.’”

Virginia Thimble, another teacher at 1 Darn Cool School, said the lessons are different for every kid, with staff working directly with students’ schools to make sure they stay on track. She said even when a child is discharged, the school works to make the transition smooth.

“We want them to feel good about going back to school,” Thimble said. “And if you haven’t been there and maybe your hair is different now or you’re learning a little differently, you may walk a little differently than you did before. Depending on what you were here for, that can be pretty scary.”

1 Darn Cool School helps parents as well as children

Mojgani added another part of her job is making sure the parents can focus all their attention on their children and not on paperwork.

“It may be that the school’s asking for a chronic illness form… there’s going to be an extended absence from school. So, they’re asking for some documentation that we can help the parent with so that they’re not having to be on the phone for that and they can focus on their child,” Mojgani said.

Thimble explained schools also provide equipment students may need to continue with schoolwork during their stay, like laptops.

She said the positive impact from her job makes her feel as if the day is never wasted.

“I’ve had kids that I go in and offer and [say], ‘Oh, I’m here for school today. How are you doing?’ And mom or another person in the room, an adult might say, ‘Oh, they’re having a really rough night,’” Thimble said. “And the kiddo will say, ‘Oh, but I want to do school.’ So that’s a really nice feeling.”

Funding for this journalism is made possible by the Arizona Local News Foundation.

How you can donate to the Phoenix Children’s Give-A-Thon

The 17th annual Phoenix Children’s Give-A-Thon presented by Your Valley Hyundai Dealers and Yrefy is now underway. Sister radio stations KTAR News (between 5 a.m. and 7 p.m.) and Arizona Sports (between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m.) are airing the event daily through Friday, dedicated to Phoenix Children’s and its services.

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The largest radio hospital fundraiser in the country brought in a record $2.36 million in donations last year, pushing the total raised since 2009 to more than $20 million.

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