For most families, the search for a school begins with looking at local districts or neighborhood boundaries. Still, for Maria Ugarte and her daughter, Ariana, the search was a matter of life and survival.
Ariana was born with Nephronophthisis Type 3, a rare genetic condition that meant she entered the world without functioning kidneys. Since she was a newborn, the Ugarte family’s life has been defined by hospital stays and intensive medical procedures. For years, Ariana endured daily dialysis—a process Maria describes as «rough» and physically exhausting for such a young child.
Because of her condition and a severely weakened immune system, a traditional brick-and-mortar school was never a safe option. Ariana requires daily medication and a level of medical monitoring that a standard classroom cannot accommodate. “Regular school was not an option,” Maria explains. The family needed an educational partner that could work around life-saving treatments, which led them to enroll Ariana in Esperanza Cyber Charter School (ECCS) for kindergarten.
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