A church’s quest to help families get comfortable with remote learning

GROVETOWN, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - Back-to-school plans in Columbia County were changed only one week before kids were due back in class, starting with a new A/B schedule.

Preparing for school during a pandemic has left many parents are scrambling, but one local church is doing their part to try and help out.

With parents basically having to change their plans overnight, Quest Church says we can all help solve a problem by coming together.

Parents -- just because your kids must learn from home, that doesn't mean you're on your own.

“We said: We have buildings. We have buildings, and we have people. So let’s do something,” said Sarah MacDonald, executive pastor of Quest Church.

MacDonald said it took 48 hours for her church to build a program from scratch.

Learn from Quest is their answer in a chaotic time.

“What we are challenging even parents is -- don’t freak out. Don’t stress out right now, because I know this is a curveball thrown your way. There are options available,” MacDonald said.

Their option is for any middle school student in Columbia County. They'll keep the kids in rooms across the church with two adults in each room and follow the same safety guidelines as the school system.

“We are going to be operating on an A/B schedule, so we’ll know what kids are here. If they’re learning from home, it will be probably the same kids,” MacDonald said.

Quest Church sees this as step one, a resource for parents to get through the month of August. And they hope this is an encouragement to other churches or even parents to come together.

“Maybe it looks like you partner up with a neighbor, and y’all do this learn from home thing together,” MacDonald said.

After all, we can still come together and help each other even if we’re 6 feet apart.

“All we’re doing is we’re just called to be the hands and feet of Jesus, and sometimes it looks like opening up a building and providing a workspace for middle schoolers,” MacDonald said.

Quest Church says anyone who is interested needs to register online. Right now, they can only take 50 to 70 kids, but they also still need many more volunteers to handle that many.

The program will start Tuesday and will run from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. The program is free and the plan is for it to be offered until the end of August before a decision is made on whether to continue it in the long term.

To register for the program, visit here.

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