Tina Woods, schoolteacher at the Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt, works with patient Caden Hodges, age 5, in his hospital room. (photo by Susan Urmy)
Woods keeps young patients on track with schoolwork
Each day Tina Woods — the hospital school teacher at the Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt — is charged with keeping a rotating cast of more than 60 hospitalized children up to speed on their schoolwork.
It’s a monumental task, one that she approaches with flexibility and determination.
“I may go to a patient’s room and they might be in the middle of a procedure or simply not feeling well,” says Woods. “So I just keep a very long list of tasks and juggle things until, eventually, we get there.”
“It’s very different from a public school setting, where you have a set curriculum and a timeline that you work through,” said Woods, who taught in various school systems for more than 26 years before coming to Vanderbilt two years ago.
Dressed in crisp, colorful clothes, she greets patients and families each day with a comforting smile and a calm voice. She’s careful not to overwhelm or frustrate healing patients, but she also lets it be known that she expects their best efforts.
“I set very high standards for the children, and I have very high standards for myself,” she says. “I think that’s how we succeed.”
Woods has a variety of duties at the hospital. She does everything from gathering assignments and textbooks from teachers, contracting with schools and communicating with distant school districts, to lining up homebound school for outgoing patients.
One of her favorite things is being able to work with children herself.
Children’s Hospital is a Category 1 special state approved school by the Tennessee Department of Education. The classroom is complete with state approved textbooks and follows the Common Core State Standards.
Inside the classroom are novels for all ages, computers and iPads, maps and science equipment.
In the mornings, the classroom becomes a bustling hub for school program volunteers, practicum students and a student teacher — nearly 25 in all who assist Woods at different times.
They are student teachers, retired school teachers, Vanderbilt University professors, and a band of exceptional students, Vanderbilt Student Volunteers for Science. The student group conducts educational science experiments for children throughout the hospital.
Tina Woods works with patient Brandon Jolly as he Skypes with his schoolteacher from the classroom at the Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt. (photo by Rex Perry)
Children’s Hospital’s school program officially launched in 1995, and Woods has played a major role in its growth. Since her arrival in 2010, she has seen the program forge new partnerships and embrace new technology.
Fourteen-year-old Brandon Jolly was outfitted with a “halo device” last year and missed close to three months of school while admitted to the hospital.
He was one of the first students to take part in Skype sessions with his homebound teacher, which Woods facilitated. She and Brandon were also able to work together to complete his assignments.
When Brandon returned to school he was actually ahead of his classmates in several areas.
“I never could have dreamed that something like that could happen,” said Brandon’s mom, Deborah. “It was amazing to watch it boost his morale…it was just an awesome experience.”
Surprisingly, it’s some of the smallest things that Woods enjoys the most, like convincing a school that a returning patient needs to use a rolling backpack, which normally isn’t allowed. She says she likes to be the person connecting those dots because, she cheerfully asked, “Who else would?”
With children, Woods has found her comfort zone.
“I feed off their energy and I want them to succeed,” she says. “I want every child to have a happy and healthy life, and for them to accomplish this, education is key. I couldn’t see myself doing anything different.”
Woods to be featured on “Day Jobs”
Celebrity Scott Hamilton recently spent a day with Tina Woods, schoolteacher at the Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt, as part of the show “Day Jobs,” on Great American Country (GAC) television network. The episode airs on Wednesday, April 11, at 9 p.m., and will also include singers Scotty McCreery and Lauren Alaina in separate segments.