This paper provides information concerning the school experience of children with cancer and describes a program of intervention by the pediatric psychologist and the oncology nurse-clinician to facilitate the child's successful return to school. School records, including attendance, grades, standardized test scores and teachers' comments, were collected on a group of 116 children currently in treatment for cancer at the University of Kansas Medical Center. Among these patients, the most frequent problem was absenteeism. The high rate of absenteeism was associated with other school difficulties, including declining grades (18.1% of the sample) and failing grades (10.6%). Over 10% of the children had behavior problems (e.g. inattention, acting out). An intervention program was developed to bridge the gap between the hospital and the child's home school. Procedures include: (1) an initial conference with school personnel; (2) printed material concerning the medical and psychological/social aspects of childhood cancer, (3) follow-up consultation as needed, and (4) program evaluation. Results of a pilot project involving 15 children showed that teachers and other school personnel significantly increased their factual knowledge about childhood cancer. Post-intervention attendance improved for those children who were medically able to go to school. Parents and teachers expressed satisfaction with the program. (Author/RH)