Teaching and Caring for Ill Students Continues during COVID-19

See how the nation’s only K-8 school on a medical campus is handling learning and patient care for its students who are all critically ill. Morgridge Academy is a free, Colorado Department of Education approved facility K-8 school on the National Jewish Health main campus. It is the only school of its kind in the country, with a mission to provide a safe, friendly and healthy school environment.

Transcript

Jennifer McCullough: Hello, my name is Jennifer McCullough and I’m the Director of Education at Morgridge Academy at National Jewish Health. Because our student population has chronic illnesses, and is also 85% at poverty level or below, our students are especially impacted by the COVID crisis.

Jennifer McCullough: Teachers and staff are working especially hard right now to make sure our students' needs continue to be met. First of all, we’ve established online learning and are even delivering supplies to family so that they can continue to get educated during this time. Our nurses are checking in with our students every single day to make sure they have the medicine they need, and make sure they’re getting the treatments that they need to stay healthy. We are also taking care of the families by providing mental health services for both students and their families, and delivering food and fresh produce so that they can get their nutritional needs met.

Jennifer McCullough: My staff and I miss the kids so much and we are hearing from our students and families every single day about how much they miss their teachers and how much they miss being in school. We cannot wait until the day that this crisis has passed and we are able to get back to in-person learning, and hear them running, playing, and laughing on the playground again. Thank you so much for your support.