Bethesda Presbyterian Church offers back-to-school assistance

By Christine Haines

chaines@yourmvi.com

The pastor at Bethesda United Presbyterian Church in Elizabeth remembers the struggle of juggling a work schedule when his child was home from school and wanted to offer some relief to local families facing the same problem as schools open with a hybrid education model.

“A lot of parents can’t just change their schedule on a whim,” said Pastor Walt Pietschmann.

The church had offered a preschool program, but when the director retired and the assistant decided not to return for the fall, the church opted to close the preschool for a year.

“Because we made that decision, we had our whole facility available,” Pietschmann said.

That facility can accommodate as many as 20 students at a time with social distancing, and if everyone who has made inquiries fills out an application, all the slots are already filled. 

Students in the Elizabeth Forward School district are being divided into two groups for online education two days a week, with all students going virtually on Wednesdays. 

Pietschmann said a lottery system may be used to determine which students can be accommodated on Wednesdays while maintaining social distancing.

“We’re offering our space mainly for elementary and middle school students. We assume high school students can be safely at home,” Pietschmann said.

The church offers a safe place with physical distancing, Wi-Fi service and adult supervision where everyone will be wearing masks.  It’s not a drop-in service, and all children utilizing the program must be pre-registered.

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