Church-School

The Problem:

The Coronavirus/Covid-19 Pandemic caused K-12 public schools to close abruptly in March 2020. As the virus has continued to spread, schools have remained closed. It's July, and most public school systems have not determined a solid plan for reopening in August.

In general, school systems have three options:
Option A. Open as usual with face-to-face teaching and learning.
Option B. Schools open for face-to-face, but parents and students are given the option of face-to-face OR e-learning.
Option C. Schools remain closed and all students would be taught through an e-learning platform.

If school districts choose Option C, it may be detrimental to many students. They have not been challenged academically, in months, and may lack the motivation and/or ability to grasp information through a screen. They have been without socialization and need the common experience of friends to feel motivated and healthy.

If school districts choose Option B, some students will be forced to attend because their parent(s) have no other option for childcare and parents must work. Even if parents fear the spread of Covid-19 from germs spread at school, they know their child needs the help, supervision, and structure provided at school.

A Potential Solution:

Local churches could open their doors to provide structure, supervision, and academic assistance to students who are not attending school face-to-face.

The church would stand in the gap between families and schools to offer families who are legitimately concerned about the pandemic situation, a means of choosing the e-learning option put forth by the school district.

Churches do not operate under the same governmental rules as public schools, so they could open when schools may not.

Quite often, the church family is a close knit group of people who already care for each other's children, visit one another, and pray for one another. A level of comfort in regards to the children being together each day may exist among this group gathering that is very different from the gathering of students and teachers at school. Parents may feel more comfortable with school district Option B or C if they know their child will receive academic assistance, supervision, and structure at the church-school program each day.

The Details and Considerations:

The church would need space to house the school program. Classroom space would be ideal. Social distancing of 6ft between student work-spaces is be recommended. The classroom space would need to be furnished with moveable furniture that can be configured in different ways.
The classroom space would need WiFi so the students can access the e-learning lessons from their teacher(s) at school.
The church would need adults willing to be present each day for the school program. Certified teachers would not be required, but may be beneficial. Adults who have a good rapport with children - lots of patience - will be needed. The adults will need to be creative with developing supplemental lessons and activities for students. They should make a schedule and share it with students and parents so they know what to look forward to. Adults who are in good physical health, who are not a high risk of contracting Covid-19 are ideal. Other adults, who may be at higher risk, may assist with the program, but will need to work behind the scenes instead of directly with the students.

The church would need a plan for lunch. Will the church supply lunch - will local businesses help? Will parents be responsible for sending lunch with their child? If so, does the church have a refrigerator to keep the lunches cool? Could the church partner with the school district to provide lunches - the students are enrolled in school, just opting to complete their work at a remote location.
What ages/grade-levels will the church-school program serve? In general, students in grade K-2, 3-5, and 6-8 work well together. Will high school students need to attend a church-school program?
Will the church serve only their membership? Will the church open it's program to any family who wants to take part, until they are at capacity?
Will the church charge a fee to the families enrolled in the program? If the adults working with the students are not volunteering, the church may need to charge a fee so that the adults can be compensated.
Will the participating families need to sign a waiver of liability that if a child gets hurt or gets sick, the family does not hold the church liable?

How to Get Started:

Pray.
Ask the Lord if this endeavor is for your church? If it is, ask Him to give you wisdom in developing a plan for how to bring it to fruition. Ask Him to give you the resources - human, financial, material, and creative, that you will need.

Survey your membership.

Do you have enough adults willing and able to work with the students?
Do you have families who are interest in this option? In what grade-levels are their students? Do any of the students require special accommodations?

Develop a plan.

How many classrooms do you have?
How many students can you accommodate?
How many teachers will you need?
How is your WiFi? How many devices, potentially on Zoom will it serve simultaneously? Does it need an upgrade?
What is the first day of school? How can you be ready to start on that day?
Will parents need to sign a waiver of liability - do you have an attorney to draw it up?

How will you prevent the spread of Covid-19? Will students wear face masks? Will you check temperatures each day? How, and how often, will you disinfect hard surfaces?
Will all students bring their own laptop? How will the students plug in their laptop, if needed? How will the students participate in online, live meetings with their school teacher?
How will you handle lunch?
During what hours will you operate?
Which grade-levels will you serve? Is there a nearby church with whom you could partner to provide a structure for a different grade band, but still offer convenience to parents?
Develop a daily schedule. A sample schedule is below
7:30-8:30.......Student drop-off, breakfast snack, morning exercise
8:30-9:00.......Morning Prayer, Bible story
9:00-11:30.....Student school work time
11:30-12:15...Lunch
12:15-12:45...Recess
12:45-1:30.....Activity 1 (art, science lab experiment, STEM project, journaling, reading, extra practice)
1:30-1:35.......transition
1:35-2:25.......Activity 2 (Structured physical activity, guest speaker, nature walk)
2:25-2:30.......Clean Up, Pack Up, Afternoon prayer
Ask your membership to donate children's books in good condition so that you have a classroom library.
Write a grant for funding.
Ask local businesses to donate art supplies, or to assist with lunch.

Helpful Resources:

I recently published a book called Sowing Seeds with Brother Wali. The children's book is a biography of Willie J. Cathcart of Rock Hill, SC. He has devoted his life to teaching children about farming, history, and giving back. Mr. Cathcart attended the Carrol School, a Rosenwald School in Rock Hill. If you are not familiar with the term Rosenwald School, in 1912, former slave, then founder of the Tuskegee Institute, Booker T. Washington spoke with the CEO of Sears and Roebuck about the lack of educational opportunities for Black children. Rosenwald agreed to contribute the money, matched by the local community, and a nearby church, to open rural schools for Black students. By the 1930's over 5000 Rosenwald Schools were opened. According to Mr. Cathcart, the schools and churches were closely involved with one another. That was then, this is now. Right now, due to the pandemic, schools may not be able to open, but children still need to be educated. They need structure, socialization and supervision, too! Churches may be able to provide these things if they begin the planning process now. For years, we have lamented how "they" took prayer out of school, this is our opportunity to put it back.

If you are reading this, and your church is interested in developing a church-school program, please don't hesitate to reach out to me for assistance. I may be able to offer suggestions to your plan. My email address is [email protected].

If you have thoughts, comments, or questions, please post below.

Standing in the Gap

Church-School Partnership