You may be overlooking a vast and multi-talented resource for your yearbook program: parents. Parents love their children, want them to succeed and want to help when they can. If you show them the value of your program, and explain how it works in a way they can support it, your program will benefit.
Without deadlines, chaos would reign in the world of yearbooks. Nothing can be done to get rid of deadlines and the stress they cause. But technology can reduce the amount of time submission takes, providing more time at deadline. More time at deadline means less time being stressed.
Like the old saying “you can’t be too rich,” there is no such thing as being too organized. We all talk about it. But how many of us really take the steps to become organized?
SO, YOU’RE THE ADVISER FOR A MIDDLE SCHOOL YEARBOOK. THE HARDWARE AND THE SOFTWARE MAY BE IDENTICAL TO WHAT YOUR COMPATRIOTS ARE USING AT HOME TOWN HIGH SCHOOL, BUT YOU KNOW THE STUDENTS ENROLLED IN THAT HIGH SCHOOL PROGRAM DOWN THE STREET OR ACROSS TOWN ARE DRAMATICALLY DIFFERENT FROM THE 11- TO 15-YEAR-OLDS POPULATING YOUR MIDDLE OR JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL CLASS.
Brainstorm. Any word with “storm” in it must be fairly intense. When you brainstorm for story ideas, dozens of thoughts are going through your mind at once. You may be using your brain, but brainstorming can be a gut-wrenching process. However, there are ways to capitalize on the process to make it more useful. Brainstorming for story ideas is a year-round activity for the yearbook staffs at three high schools where the advisers have tried-and-true methods for helping their students through the process.
Veteran advisers look back at their first year or two and wish someone had warned them about what can go wrong. Here are some of the more common issues that advisers face, and tips for avoiding or resolving them. We tried to come up with a list of the Top Ten Pitfalls to Avoid, but we can’t count, so here Mike Frazier’s article with help from advisers Renae Goldie, Amy Morgan and Danielle Bradley, and yearbook representative Karen Ray.
Call your customer service representative for questions and problems concerning your yearbook. Your CSR is a valuable resource who knows where to go for the answers to your questions. CSRs are located in the pre-press plant, with access to your yearbook during the production process.
How many students does it take to misplace the stapler in a classroom?
One. Now multiply that by the number of students on your yearbook staff, and keeping your classroom organized will not happen unless you have a plan.
Ah, summer vacation. There is nothing quite like long, lazy days filled with swimming, barbecues and… a yearbook workshop?
“It’s a great way to get a jump start on the school year,” said Mary Ann Akerman, yearbook adviser at Beloit Memorial High School in Beloit, Wis.
Many stories about former JEA Yearbook Advisers of the Year tell a familiar tale of non-journalism majors who stumbled into yearbook advising by accident, with no experience or preparation, and discovered a lifelong passion.