The yearbook is all about the student body. It should be a top priority for you and your staff members to get as many faces into the book as possible. Your aim is intentional, as described in the article "We're So Diverse: How Students Use Their High School Yearbooks to Bridge the Gaps.", the author describes how rural high schools leveraged outside-of-school interests and work to gain a more intentional representation of all students.1 The same philosophy can galvanize you and your staff members to be more widely inclusive in constructing the yearbook.
1 Hoffman, L. M. (2004). We’re So Diverse: How Students Use Their High School Yearbooks to Bridge the Gaps. American Secondary Education, 33(1), 4–25. http://www.jstor.org/stable/41064620
Honoring Legacies
Apply this principle practically by creating layouts that not only show the rich history of your school but also the rich history of family legacies. Who in these photos represents multiple generations? As you research, find the alumni members of current students and mix them on the page. Students will feel honored to be part of something that honors their legacy. This idea can evolve over the years to become a tradition, plus a driving force behind the sales and marketing of the yearbooks!
Making Ads Better!
You and your staff members can revolutionize the way you do advertisements. Traditionally, advertisements by local businesses are included at the back of the book. Advertisements are typically page spreads that students and family members skip. Find the students who volunteer or work in these businesses, and include them in these ads. Alternatively, take a trip with some staff members to try or experience a local business and take footage to feature in those ads. That touch makes a difference and is a vital part of the whole.
Stay Organized
Layout strategies need to remain simple. Keep a clean, visually appealing, clever headline. Follow up with a block hierarchy spread that repeats from page to page, with variations in topics, copy, and faces to engage readers. Indexes track the names so there is a balance in student representation. Use the dynamic pieces for section introductions!
Caring for the Underappreciated
One of the most amazing results of choosing inclusivity is the treasure it reveals. Those usually hidden or overlooked become part of a whole new community. One school included the kitchen staff in the yearbook, and the photo shoot for the layout became a full breakfast spread to honor their work. A tradition was born.
Another group of students who steadily focus on their academic work, have pleasant attitudes, and encourage others are often overlooked. Because they don't cause trouble, they are underappreciated. The yearbook staff at a school asked teachers to select students who reminded them of why they became teachers. Those students were honored for their positivity, their drive for success, acts of service, and goodwill. Many of those they chose for the award had overcome incredible odds and persevered in hardship. Others were recognized for their positive encouraging character and influence in the classroom. The yearbook staff facilitated and documented the breakfast event. Families were invited and the overall experience powerfully impacted them all.
These "new" traditions influence marketing. Many who have decided yearbooks aren't important change their minds when they understand that those usually overlooked are incorporated.
We hope you can implement these layout ideas and create a yearbook that truly captures the heart and soul of your school’s community. Please visit our website at www.unitedyearbook.net and subscribe to our blog, newsletter, and podcast. Schedule your yearbook 1-on-1 here.
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Editor: Donna Ladner obtained a B.A. in Education and a minor in English from California Baptist University, and a M.S. in ESL from USC, Los Angeles. After she married Daniel, their family moved to Indonesia with a non-profit organization and lived cross-culturally for 15 years before returning to the U.S in 2012. Donna has been working as an editor and proofreader for TSE Worldwide Press and its subsidiary, United Yearbook since 2015.
Contributor: Lucy McHugh comes to United Yearbook Printing from a 39-year career in public and private school education. She was a former visual art teacher and yearbook adviser. She received a Bachelors of Science in Art from Columbia College in Columbia, SC, a Masters in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Nebraska in 2000, and in 2014 earned a Certificate in Catholic School Leadership from Loyola Marymount University. Lucy enjoys her family, making art and gardening.
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