This article presents possible solutions to possible attendance problems smaller Sunday Schools may experience coming out of the pandemic. Your comments and ideas are very welcome.

Last minute Workshop/classroom scheduling changes that can help you adapt to low attendance on any given Sunday this fall

I've been discussing with members of our team the problem smaller Sunday Schools will experience as they return to in-church Sunday School -- problems that include LOWER  and LESS REGULAR attendance made worse by the effects of the pandemic.

Most Sunday Schools have always had to deal with "low Sundays." Larger programs can simply do more "broadly grading" of their workshops/classes in advance or at the last minute, combining 4th and 5th graders for example -- or put up with the occasional "I only had 2 kids in my class" problem. But most smaller programs are already broadly-grading, and thus, unpredictable drops and fluctuations in attendance can turn a class of four into a class of one or zero without advanced notice.

The following "8:59 a.m." scheduling solutions are especially addressed to those with smaller programs using the Rotation Model, though they also may be helpful to larger programs and traditional model Sunday Schools as well.

If you're using a traditional model for your Sunday School (new story every week), the following solutions may work for you during the months you're rebuilding attendance. Just substitute the word "Bible Story lesson" for "Video/Art" etc. in the following graphics and explanations.

These options also demonstrate the Workshop Rotation Model'sABILITY TO ADJUST  TEACHING SCHEDULES based on the Bible story, your creative needs, and changes in attendance at any time of the year, pandemic or no pandemic!

If you're using a traditional graded curriculum, you're sunk if they want to suddenly put a 4th and 5th grader in with your K-2 kids, lesson plan, craft, and worksheets. (Worse: those older kids probably won't want to come back next Sunday.)

But if you're using the Workshop Rotation Model, its flexibility and style of teaching give you options!

Here are two workshop scheduling changes smaller Rotation Model Sunday Schools can make at the last minute due to low attendance:

In this first Workshop scheduling solution,

• You staff for two identical workshops each Sunday in two different spaces, one for older and one for younger kids (art projects are often age-sensitive, which is why it helps to split the groups if you are able).
• Each lesson plan has its own appropriate age adaptations, materials, and teacher!
• But if at "8:59" you don't have enough kids to support two groups, you combine into one with both teachers working together and seeing to the needs of their age group.
  
  

What's "enough kids to split" ?
Most of us would agree that there's a critical mass for good teaching and classroom dynamics. Just one or two kids is tough. I'd split my kids into two groups if I had at least two kids in EACH age group, you might pick three. Sometimes it depends on who the kids are. And sometimes in the Rotation Model, it depends on the workshop or planned activity itself. For example, it's often easier to combine for video and cooking, but need to separate for art and games.

The above scheduling solution leaves the definition of "enough" up to you. I like to split older from younger almost every chance I get because older kids need things at their level and don't like to be treated like "babies." Even when we "combine with ALL" I recommend having a teacher specifically assigned to "break out" with older kids during the lesson.

Personally, I like the above option better than this next option, but this second option might also work for you depending on your circumstances, (and if you are a traditional program that changes the story every week. See the note about that below.)

Here's another scheduling solution you can fall back on when attendance drops...

• First, you schedule your workshops and recruit teachers in two-week blocks --letting them know that they may all be working together on any given Sunday, or splitting into different groups depending on attendance.
• Then, if you don't have enough to split the first week, you have "ALL" attend one workshop that week and the second week as well. On Week 3 you revisit the decision to split at "8:59 a.m." based on actual attendance on Week 3.   (Note: If you're changing the story every week, which Rotation Sunday Schools don't, you could revisit the decision to split every week based on who showed up.)
• But if you have enough to split on Week One, you hold two different workshops for the next two weeks that have two different lesson plans geared for their specific age groups. You make the same decision on Week Three. (If you need to make the decision every week due to volatility, see the "first" scheduling solution above this one.)
• The difference between this option and the first one shown above is that in the first one you split into two of the same workshops, an art workshop for older and an art workshop for younger. Whereas in this second example you split into two different workshops.  It's a minor difference, but one you might appreciate if you're expecting low attendance in the first two weeks of your Rotation, and better during the last two weeks.

Because the decision to split happens at "8:59" Sunday morning based on who actually showed up... if you elect to keep ALL together for Video, then the teacher who prepared to teach Art the first week gets put on hold until the second week and has to adapt it for ALL on the second week. That's an intentional choice I made in my schedule because it gives my Art teacher time to think about adapting the Art for ALL, whereas Video is often a bit easier to "show to all" without much notice.

Note: Splitting into "younger and older" group is usually always preferred so that we can meet the social, emotional, spiritual, and intellectual needs of our students. Especially for older kids, they need to feel like they are "older" otherwise many won't want to come back.

Here are the problems "attendance fluctuations" will create in traditionally organized Sunday Schools that use traditionally graded classrooms and curriculum --and how the Rotation Model is more suited to the needs of broadly graded Sunday School...

• Too many of the activities and printed materials will either be too young or too old for some of your "suddenly combined" classes. Workshop lessons from our Writing Team are broadly graded and don't depend on "printed worksheets" and the like.
• Your teacher who "only used to teach the younger ones" will probably have a hard time dealing with the older kids tossed into their lesson. Workshop teachers are used to adapting their lessons for each grade group.
• Traditionally designed classrooms for younger children will make your older kids feel like they're being treated "like babies."   Workshop classrooms in the Rotation Model are designed for all grades and kids are used to going to different rooms.
• Traditional programs often face resistance to changing schedules and rooms. Rotation Model leaders, teachers, and kids are used to changing rooms and schedules.

See our online presentations to learn more
about the Workshop Rotation Model
and its "normal" scheduling options!