About our School
Who We Are
The UNC Hospital School is a unique public school within the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools district, located inside UNC Hospitals. Founded in 1965 through a partnership between North Carolina Memorial Hospital and the school district, it has grown from a staff of two serving 50 students to a team of 18 professionals serving over 2,700 students each year.
Our staff includes a principal, 16 certified teachers, a school librarian / digital learning coach, and an administrative assistant. All teachers are licensed by the state of North Carolina, and most hold advanced degrees. They are employed through Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools.
We provide year-round PreK–12 instruction to students through age 19 who have not yet graduated from high school. Our goal is to support students’ education during medical care, helping them stay on track with as little interruption as possible. As with all public schools in North Carolina, our services are free for families.
Programs and Services
Our school includes three main departments:
- Neurosciences Program: Serves students with psychiatric or emotional disorders as well as eating disorders. Primary, middle, and high school classrooms operate Monday through Friday, offering small-group instruction, assessments, and coordination with students’ home schools. Teachers help identify learning needs, provide advocacy, and support transitions back to community schools.
- Pediatrics Program: Supports inpatient students. Instruction occurs at the bedside or in classrooms and includes academic assessments, referrals for special education, and close coordination with community schools. Lessons are based on assignments from the student’s home school when available or aligned with the NC Standard Course of Study.
- Cancer Clinic Program: Provides academic support to students in the outpatient cancer clinic, including direct instruction and regular communication with the student’s home school.
While we have designated classroom spaces, our teachers frequently bring education directly to patients—teaching at the bedside or in hospital units to meet each child’s needs.
Our History
Educational services for pediatric patients at UNC began in 1961 with volunteer tutors. In 1964 (sometimes cited as 1965), the first hospital-based public school in North Carolina was officially founded. Early leaders like Nathalie Harrison and Lillian Lee began teaching children enrolled in the Cleft Palate Program—a collaboration between NC Memorial Hospital and the UNC Dental School. Many children came for extended stays, and Ms. Harrison and Ms. Lee became the first state-paid public school teachers at the Hospital School.
By the early 1970s, staffing had expanded into two programs: the Child Inpatient School (hospital-funded) and the Hospital School (CHCCS-affiliated), offering school accreditation. By 1987, the school employed four CHCCS teachers, a part-time secretary, and a part-time principal who also worked for the district. In addition, the hospital employed several educators serving psychiatry patients. Both groups collaborated as one faculty, sharing meetings, professional development, and supply budgets.
Over time, more teaching positions were added to support new hospital programs, including the burn center, hematology-oncology, lung transplant, eating disorders, and bone marrow transplant services. Our physical space grew with the opening of the Neurosciences Hospital (1995), UNC Children’s Hospital (2002), and the Pediatric Hematology-Oncology Clinic (2009).
All UNC Hospital School teachers have prior experience in public schools and bring specialized knowledge to working in a hospital setting. In the early years, tutoring support was provided by retired volunteers. Later, these roles were filled by teaching fellows, and we continue to host student volunteers from UNC.
Funding and Reach
The school is publicly funded through three main sources: the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (small school allotment), Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools, and UNC Hospitals. Additional funding has come from community partners, including the Addie Armfield Memorial Fund, UNC Volunteer Services, UNC Health Foundation, the Goodnight Foundation, and Kathy’s Korner Library Endowment.
Our students come from across North Carolina, throughout the United States, and around the world. Every day, we work to ensure that no student’s education is left behind during their time in the hospital.