Class is coming to the hospital. Oklahoma City Public Schools will place district teachers inside the new Oklahoma Children's OU Health Behavioral Health Center so young patients can keep learning while they receive treatment. The center, now under construction on the OU Health campus, is set to offer both inpatient and outpatient services when it opens in late 2026. District and hospital leaders say the setup is designed to keep students from slipping further behind in school during longer hospital stays.
According to OKC Fox, Oklahoma Children's and Oklahoma City Public Schools are partnering to recruit seven teachers who will staff dedicated classrooms tailored to each unit and age group. Dr. Robyn Cowperthwaite, OU's chief of child and adolescent psychiatry, told OKC Fox that "mental health diagnoses can have long-lasting effects if they greatly impair a child's education." Kenny Ward, OKCPS' executive director of special education, said the collaboration will help identify learning styles and behaviors that need support when students transition back to their home schools.
Design Features And Family-Centered Care
As detailed by OU Health, the three-story facility will add two floors of inpatient services and 72 beds to cover both short-term stabilization and longer-term treatment. Every patient room is being designed so a parent can stay overnight, and the building will feature a two-story gym, multiple outdoor respite and garden areas, family resource rooms and dedicated classrooms. OU Health also notes that the project will create hundreds of new clinical and nonclinical positions as it prepares to staff the center.
How Schools Will Coordinate
Under the partnership, OKCPS teachers will work with students across grade levels and coordinate with each patient's home school so credits, accommodations and supports follow them, OKC Fox reports. Oklahoma Children's will also employ a public-school liaison to ease communication between hospital staff and school districts, a step officials say should help smooth the transition back into regular classrooms. District leaders describe the arrangement as a way to link clinical treatment with individualized education plans and behavioral supports.
Why This Matters For Families
OU Health reports that Oklahoma ranks near the bottom nationally for youth access to mental health care, and many families currently travel out of state for pediatric psychiatric services, adding strain to already difficult circumstances. The new center aims to keep specialized care in-state while offering programs that range from intensive outpatient care to a neurodevelopmental unit for children with autism and other developmental differences. Hospital and education leaders say combining treatment with on-site schooling should limit disruption and improve the chances that students return to their home schools ready to learn.
Next Steps
Recruiting and planning will continue through the summer and fall as OU Health and OKCPS finalize staffing and classroom layouts, and district officials say teacher job postings will appear on OKCPS hiring channels. When the center opens, hospital and school staff expect the on-site classrooms to cut down on academic disruption and streamline students' re-entry to their home schools. Families looking for updates are encouraged to watch OU Health and OKCPS announcements for information on applications and referrals.
