by Stefanie Hamilton, yearbook adviser
Independence High School, Thompson’s Station, Tennessee
Don’t be a serial deadline delinquent. Adopt some practices that have worked for a fellow advisers.
• We make sure our theme, cover, fonts, and ladder are absolutely perfect before we leave for summer break. Over the summer we hold “fun sessions” at the school where we all bring food and plan the book. Yearbook is a club for us, not a class, so I have to make sure the girls stay motivated. Food works wonders! (Yes, sadly I do not have any boys on staff; we are working on it though!)
• I have approximately 15 girls on staff each year that are amazing workers and they are each responsible for at least 20 pages. It’s a lot, and I am constantly reassuring, helping, encouraging, and praising their efforts. I have a candy drawer and they are only allowed to eat (as much as they want) when they come in and accomplish something that day. We meet during their study halls, so some days they must do their school work instead of yearbook. The candy is a great motivator though.
• We assign the pages up according to a timeline. Since each girl has 20 pages, she needs a plan that’s not going to overwhelm her any one week. We have five deadlines to hit, so that’s 4 pages per deadline. Each staffer has a calendar in the classroom, and we track all the pages she needs to complete on her calendar. We typically start with the portrait, academic and student life pages. They all happen quickly so we can get pictures and interviews starting the first week of school. Since we already have our ladder and templates set up (from over the summer), we can immediately start submitting pages.
Excerpt from Elements magazine “How’d You Do That?: Meet Deadlines.”
