Before moving to a Web-based solution, the entire school registration process at Calvary Christian Academy was all done on paper, according to Dianne Kleckner, controller for Calvary Chapel and Calvary Christian Academy in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
"It was difficult to rectify data coming into the school and monitor accounting details. Synchronizing numbers of children who had registered and who had paid was incredibly challenging," Kleckner says.
Opting for a Web-based program simplified all the information. It gave access to anyone working in the office to numbers that are always current.
"It makes all of our lives easier," Kleckner says.
Calvary is also able to post a calendar of events online using the same software. This brings peace of mind, according to Klecker. "We know that it is always up-to-date," she says.
ServiceU Corporation provides the most complete on-demand event management software solutions designed specifically for churches. More than 30 percent of the fastest growing churches in the United States are ServiceU clients.
And because "back-to-school" means back to sharing space for many churches around the country that share facilities and/or administrative tasks with a school, flexible solutions that save space and time are getting a gold star.
For more and more congregations this flexibility comes with both modular furniture and walls, and through technology that makes record keeping simpler.
Smaller classes
With studies continuing to point to the positive relationship between smaller class sizes and improved student learning, traditional classroom settings and classroom furniture may be in for an overhaul in the coming years.
New trends in school equipment indicate a future move towards modular, flexible furniture, according to experts at the National School Supply and Equipment Association that sponsored the 2006 School Equipment Show this spring to highlight future classroom designs. A look into the future reveals the benefits of reduced class size and classroom furniture redesign to fit this scaled-back space.
"The educational and industrial furniture industry is continuing to adapt to meet the changing needs of today’s classrooms and students," says Jack Rayher, CEO of Adirondack Direct, a leading supplier of educational furniture to schools nationwide.
"By helping schools to construct modular furniture designs for the changing face of classrooms today, our goal as suppliers in the education industry is to provide schools with the equipment they need to not only fill their classrooms, but which enhance learning."
Modular furniture, specifically furniture that is adaptable, also enhances school budgets. Tables and chairs that "grow" with students, with leg extenders, can provide more options for cash-strapped institutions. Moveable furniture can provide more options for a space that must be used differently for weekend worship than for the school week.
Other advances in school furniture include products that more effectively resist wear and tear, such as desks with vacuum-formed, hard-plastic tops with wood grains. And new-style FruiTables showcase the fun side of institutional furniture. These adjustable-height activity tables come in the shapes and colors of five different fruits. Adirondack introduced these this year as part of a growing selection of school, office, church and institutional furniture options. It’s a short leap to a teaching on the fruit of the spirit with these colorful tops.
Streamlining a school’s cyberspace
Making the best use of space also includes the vastly uncharted territory of cyberspace. And because churches and educational institutions are continually looking for ways to cut costs, while increasing productivity, Web technology has become an answer. The Internet can greatly improve the way some schools handle the day-to-day responsibilities of taking tuition, accepting donations, registering for events and handling ticket sales to events.
ServiceU Corporation has develop Web-based, on-demand technology tools and services that make all these tasks possible online through a school's interactive Web site.
"For schools and universities, there is more pressure than ever on the staff to do more with less. Often, their current processes take up valuable staff time that would be much better spent somewhere else," comments Tim Whitehorn, founder and CEO of ServiceU Corporation.
In addition to saving time by streamlining processes such as paying tuition and accepting donations, this software can also aid institutions who want to simplify registration for events. With TicketU, ServiceU's online ticketing software, organizations can sell tickets online, reserve seats, allow patrons to print their own tickets at home and more.
Replacing an outdated system that is cumbersome and ineffective may free staff and volunteers to spend more time reaching out than sitting in an office. That adds up to make ministry cents and sense.
