As Aryan Gupta *’26 wakes up, his start to school is different from the average high schooler. Instead of reaching the first period, he stays at the hospital. Gupta has a chronic illness, which caused him to have a different high school experience. Utilizing a 504 plan, Gupta takes individualized schooling to ensure he graduates high school on time.
According to the US Department of Education, a 504 plan is a legal document allowing students with disabilities or illnesses to have an equitable education by providing accommodations, specialized instruction, and individualized plans. Gupta adds that these 504 plans have helped him create an adequate learning environment while dealing with his sickness.
“I was diagnosed at the start of my junior year (last school year) and ended up missing 37 days of school that semester due to a 29-day hospital visit and my disease flaring,” Gupta said. “So far in my senior year, I’ve missed 31 days of school, making 68 days of school total missed due to my disease. When I initially came back to school post-diagnosis, the school helped me form a 504 plan.”
School psychologist Sarah LaFrancis states that the 504 plan has assisted many students diagnosed with a chronic illness within Stevenson. Amongst adolescents, a chronic illness or disease are long-term health conditions that have the ability to prohibit daily activities, like asthma, diabetes, and epilepsy according to Cleveland Health Clinic. LaFrancis explains that each student case is so personalized that there is no one solution.
“We look at whether a medical, mental health, or neurological condition substantially impacts a student’s ability to access their education in a typical way,” LaFrancis said. “That can include physical health conditions, mental health concerns, or attention-related diagnoses among others. The key factor is not necessarily the diagnosis itself, but how the condition affects the student’s day-to-day learning and school participation, as this can certainly look different from student to student.”
School psychologist Lisa Shoemaker adds students who tend to miss a significant amount of school have access to resources such as the Coordinated Academic Reentry Program (CARE). Shoemaker cites this program as a means for students to be able to keep up with course material in a timely manner.
“It’s a classroom that we have here that’s staffed fully by tutors throughout the day and they work with students to catch up on missing work,” Shoemaker said.
Gupta says the CARE program provides a safe place for those who need to reacclimatize to a school environment and helps students in organizing a plan to make up for missed work. He adds he received additional support from his Student Support Team (SST) to ensure adequate success.
“They also offered virtual tutors to help with any coursework I didn’t know how to complete, although I found it was faster to use classroom materials to catch up in honors and AP courses,” Gupta said. “My SST and teachers have been very helpful with talking through plans to make up work and still stay up to speed in classes, but there’s only so much that can be done beyond giving me time and a place to work.”
In order to be considered a chronic absentee at Stevenson, a student must miss 18 days of school per semester. LaFrancis explains that when this threshold is met, the main concern is how to garner proper support for students in order for them to graduate and prioritize their wellbeing.
Gupta notes that even in personal plans, there is a different routine taken each time he misses school due to both personal and institutional reasons. Gupta has utilized the CARE program before, but notes that due to the program’s requirements, he has not used it this year.
“The CARE program only allows those who have come from the hospital to enter,” Gupta said. “Having a chronic illness means that I’ll have a week or two where I won’t be able to come to school, and going to the hospital every time that happens is expensive. As such, I wasn’t able to go back to the CARE program in my senior year. Fortunately, my SST and I found a solution, and I ended up working in the ILC and ELC instead to catch up on work.”
LaFrancis states that there are several students in Stevenson who face health issues which vary in severity. In some cases, such as diabetes, students are still able to be in school, but require accommodations such as monitoring according to Shoemaker.
“Sometimes students need to use their phones to monitor their glucose levels, so being able to have that because some teachers and classrooms don’t prohibit cell phone use,” Shoemaker said. “We’ll consider having the student be able to use a specific app, be able to leave to go check their blood sugar levels to make sure they don’t need to go to the nurse,home, or to the doctor. So that’s just an example of some accommodations we might consider.”
Both Shoemaker and LaFrancis are proud of the support that Stevenson provides as they are able to see students graduate and complete their classes through the various channels that Stevenson offers like school psychologists and programs like CARE. According to LaFrancis, SSTs consistently track whether students have the supports they need in place and whether those supports remain effective.
Gupta notes that there are other resources such as mental health services within the Stevenson community that he has not yet explored due to contentment with his current plans. However, there is always room for improvement, according to Lafrancis.
“There is no one-size-fits-all response, and we work hard to meet students where they are,” LaFrancis said. “As with any system, there is always room to grow, particularly in continuing to build awareness, communication, and flexibility as student needs evolve.”
*name changed to protect anonymity