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When elementary, middle or high school students get sick with an illness requiring prolonged medical treatments at the hospital or are involved in an accident that renders them unable to walk, most people would assume that any schooling would be put on hold indefinitely. But there is a school within Miami-Dade County Public Schools (M-DCPS) that specializes in these tough cases.
Brucie Ball Educational Center in Kendall is one of Miami-Dade County Public School’s best kept secrets and one of its most crucial assets. When students are hurt or too sick to attend school, this innovative learning center is their most powerful ally in their quest to keep learning.
“We run the gamut of kids who develop cancer all the way to major depression and anxiety, transplant patients and kids who may be involved in an accident,” said Brucie Ball principal Dr. Amrita J. Prakash. “You could be homebound for a variety of reasons.”
Through Brucie Ball Educational Center these children get the classroom time they need to keep up, either online or through a visiting teacher. They are equipped with a staff of teachers and a counselor who can address whatever academic and psychological hurdles these students may face on the road to recovery.
The school has 37 teachers, with 17 of them are on the road visiting students every week at home or in hospitals. Students learning online are taught in groups of 10 and the hours and classes mirror in-person schools, with high school and middle school students having different periods for each subject. Students being taught in person are visited a few times a week for two to three hours.
There are 465 students in enrolled in the pre-K thorugh 12th grade homebound hospital program. About 140 of those students are taught online in groups of 10. Educators on the road teach the remaining 283 students at their home or in hospital rooms.
Some students are short term, injured in an accident or recovering from surgery. But others use the program for years because of a catastrophic injury or treatment for cancer that stretches out for years.
This means that teachers become much more than just instructors. The in-person teachers form a close personal bond with the student and their families which can be difficult.
“If you’re teaching in the child’s home and the mom is serving the teacher cafecito on the kitchen counter, you become part of the student’s family,” Dr. Prakash said.
Dr. Prakash added that despite the challenging work environment, teachers at her school are very committed and few leave or transfer to other schools. These teachers want to focus on children who have special needs, far beyond teaching math or language arts. She said parents send updates regularly of students’ progress long after they leave the school, proof of what a close bond they develop with their students.
“For the most part it’s a joyful place to work. We are all very close-knit because of the work we do,” Dr. Prakash said.
Students at Brucie Ball Educational Center thrive as they work with their attentive teachers and online classmates. Many have overcome huge obstacles in their road to recovery.
The school shares a space with Ruth Owens Kruse Educational Center and has about 42 students who attend the school in-person; most of those have severe intellectual and physical disabilities.
School counselor, Lisa Nesenman said despite the sad situations they encounter with students who have long-term illnesses or injuries, the work is exhilarating because teachers get to see many students get better and thrive after a long road to recovery.
“I’m the first one to see the medical forms come through and this week alone we had five applications for students who have serious illnesses,” Nesenman said. “But it’s incredibly rewarding to see when seniors finish and are released and can walk in the ceremony to get their diploma.”
Alex F. Sardinas is assistant principal, Brucie Ball Educational Center, Miami-Dade County Public Schools.
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