- If you purchase Sunday School curricula from an outside vendor, the materials you receive will contain training manuals for your volunteers. Meet with the volunteers before the school year begins and monthly throughout the school year to discuss what you will be teaching and go over the training resources provided by the publisher.
- The policies of your church are a critical resource in training your Sunday School teachers. While these policies may not directly speak to the lessons they are teaching, many churches have safety and education policies that need to be addressed and followed at all times. In terms of education, your church may have certain topics that are deemed essential to spiritual development or topics that should not be covered by certain ages. Some churches have also initiated policies regarding having multiple volunteers in each room at all times and proper reporting of incidents.
- Most religions have embraced the technology that is available and have resources on their official website to help volunteers lead classes for children. One advantage of using these resources is that you can assure your volunteers that any information they receive will be in line with the doctrine of your religion. This can also be a good tool for finding a Sunday School class from another church that your students can interact with.
- At the end of each school year, ask the students and parents to complete a small survey to find out if your program is meeting the needs and expectations of your congregation. For the students, you can ask for their overall feedback as well as what topics they wanted more information on or what topics didn't interest them. When surveying the parents, ask questions regarding their child's reaction to the weekly lessons, whether or not they felt their child benefited from the program and what they see that could be changed. Use this information as you enter the next school year to adjust the curriculum to better meet the children's needs.
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