Mt. Bethel Christian Academy prepares for a new school reality

Not long after closing the books on a chaotic school year, staff teachers and at Mt. Bethel Christian Academy are preparing for what they hope will be a less disjointed academic year that starts in little more than month.

Although built-in to their plans is the flexibility to be able to handle disruptions.

Classroom instruction is set to begin on Aug. 6, as previously scheduled, and measures are being taken to emphasize in-person learning.

“If we have to go home, we have enough laptops,” said Lisa Nelson Kelly, the head of the lower school campus adjacent to Mt. Bethel United Methodist Church on Lower Roswell Road.

“It’s not an optimal learning environment, and we’re hopeful we don’t have to do it.”

She said laptops would be issued for students in grades 3-12, while those in kindergarten through third grade would get iPads.

Like the Cobb County School District, Mt. Bethel sent students home in mid-March, as the COVID-19 crisis prompted lockdowns of schools, businesses and most aspects of daily life.

Unlike the larger public school system—the second-largest in Georgia, with nearly 115,000 students—Mt. Bethel can adapt easier on the fly.

“We really wanted to be back on campus,” Kelly said. “But we wanted to make sure we could do it safely. We wanted to communicate with [students and their parents] so that they know the expectations.”

More than 530 students are enrolled on both Mt. Bethel campuses, including around 100 or so 9-12 students at the Upper School campus on Post Oak Tritt Road.

Daily chapel services will be streamed into classrooms, instead of students gathering in the church sanctuary. At the start of the school year, lunches will be served in classrooms, with the aim of moving to the cafeteria if and when it’s deemed safe.

The number of students allowed in restrooms or locker areas at any given time will be limited.

While they’re in class, mask-wearing won’t be required. But they will have to wear them as they’re going between classes, or to special classes and other events.

“We’re asking parents to provide 2-3 face coverings for their students” of any variety, Kelly said, “whatever the children feel comfortable wearing, on the limited occasions they’ll have to wear them.

Mt. Bethel parents have been sent a brochure (you can read it here) that explains the many changes that are in the works because of public health guidance.

A task force was created to put those plans into action, and Kelly said that group will be available as the school year goes on.

In addition to spacing out desks (as seen in the photo above), Mt. Bethel will be providing what Kelly calls a “safe room” for students who aren’t feeling well, a place where they can wait for parents to pick them up.

More cleaning and sanitizing of spaces on both campuses will take place, and everyone at both campuses must wash and sanitize their hands before entering a classroom.

A total of 25 hand sanitizing stations will be placed throughout the school buildings.

Water fountains have been shut off, to be replaced by bubblers. Students will be asked to bring water bottles with them that can be refilled.

Should remote learning be necessary, adapted lesson plans are being formulated for students and their parents to follow from home.

Unlike the remote learning option that the Cobb school district is planning, however, Kelly said Mt. Bethel will be offering that only to those families who have students who are health-compromised or if they have a family member who is.

The academic calendar has been altered and won’t have a fall break. The first semester will end before Thanksgiving and an extended break is scheduled around Christmas and New Year’s.

Kelly said after so many months of distracted learning, and so much in limbo about the upcoming year, she’s heard from many parents who are eager for their children to resume as normal a schooling as they can.

“They’re very much in favor of coming back to school,” she said.