Next weekend we begin piloting something new in 4th-6th grade: an automated check-in system. The benefits to you will ultimately be a streamlined check-in process. The benefits to us will be better tracking of kids' attendance - and a streamlined check-in process. Our hope is that sometime in the not-too-distant future, long check-in lines (for all ages) will be a thing of the past.
To get the system off the ground, we're asking for your help. For starters, anytime you implement a new system - especially if it's technology-based - there are bound to be hiccups. This system will rely on our computers, network, and printers running as they should. While there's no reason to believe they won't, tech problems have a way of surfacing at the 11th hour.
Secondly, the easiest way kids & families will access the check-in system is by entering their phone number. We can also look up kids by last name, but phone number is far faster. So - does your kid know your phone number?
And which number? Good question. The answer is, whichever number(s) we have on file for you. Depending on when you first registered your child (which could have been many years ago!), we may have a home phone, cell phone, or both listed for you. Not to worry - we will have lists of all the kids cross-referenced with the phone number we have on file. But ultimately, the phone number will be the quickest way to check-in.
In the beginning, anyhow. Well down the road our hope is to allow you to use a barcode, like you might at the library or the gym, to check-in. Before we get there, we need to iron out any wrinkles in the system as it is.
Here's what the "new" check-in system will look like (and remember, this is only being implemented in 4th-6th grade to begin with; a full children's ministry rollout is a few months away):
1. Kids will arrive and give the check-in volunteer the last seven digits of their phone number.
2. A screen for your family will pop-up, showing any kids in 4th-6th grade.
3. The check-in volunteer will click next to the name of the kids checking in, and -
4. At the same time, the printer will spit out a fully printed nametag, containing the kid's name, the age group, and their small group number.
And that's it! Quick and efficient, the program also creates electronic records for us, so we can look back at individual attendance records and patterns. Currently we have a team of volunteers who takes the paper check-in packets from the weekends and enters the attendance into our database by hand. Needless to say, we are eager to find a quicker way to do that.
Next weekend, the automated system will be set up for 4th-6th graders in the lobby outside our room. If kids forget to come upstairs, they can still do paper check-in downstairs. Beginning the weekend of March 19-20, we hope to have the system fully implemented & operational upstairs.
Again, your patience with us during a period of change is much appreciated. We know that this upgrade will be a great thing in the long run.
