The new school year in Sunday School and Education can be a very stressful time. However, if you have a plan and start on it in advance, the transition from one year to the next can be much smoother.
There are 5 points to consider in your new year plan:
Volunteer Recruiting to fill open positions and cover new classes.
Background Checks on new and existing volunteers to ensure safety.
Training New Volunteers on their curriculum and your processes.
Promotion of Age-grouped Students to new classes.
Using the Group Finder to provide a menu of new classes for adults.
When recruiting new volunteers, ensure that you make the opportunities as clear and easy to understand as possible. Don’t make potential volunteers dig for information. Make sure that every position has a job title and description of their responsibilities. For instance, calling everyone a “teacher” will make people willing to help engage your students away as they may also assume they have to develop and deliver the curriculum.
One of the most effective ways of onboarding new volunteers and preparing existing volunteers for the new year is with a start-up event. A couple of weeks before “Promotion Sunday”, “Kickoff Sunday”, or similar, use a kick-off educational seminar for your volunteers to thank them, provide some motivation, and train them on your check-in/out procedures, curriculum, substitute processes, and other important details.
Using a subsequent Saturday or Sunday as a “Clean-Up & Set-Up” day would also be very advisable. Clear out toy boxes, snack storage, and any other clutter. Refill each room with the necessary supplies, like paper, cleaning supplies, etcetera.
At the end of the day, it is important to remember, and teach everyone else involved, why Sunday School and Education is so important. Sunday School and Education is a primary way to reaching an attendee and giving them an intimate, informed, educated hearing of the Gospel. It also helps win new people to your church as well as grow them into the beliefs and practices you hold most dear.