By this time in the school year, it’s vital to implement goals and set the stage for student leadership. We’ve created a checklist that will highlight different goals for you as you work with your staff members. This checklist can take on multiple different forms: tangibly in Post-it notes, on the board, or in lesson plans. Keep the following in mind as you engage your yearbook staff in student leadership:
Checklist Below!
Implement the following daily:
community-building activities and student voice opportunities in personal ways and as agents for the student body.
Cultivate an understanding of journalistic ethics and integrity
Freedom of Speech
Freedom of the Press
Journalistic Code
Nurture shared decision-making opportunities
Promote a deeper understanding of shared responsibilities
To Peers
To Greater School Community
Facilitate the development of a Mission Statement–who we are, what we do together, and why
Facilitate the development of a Vision Statement–how we get the mission done
Develop a full understanding of the breadth and depth of the work of creating a yearbook daily!
Student Voice
These components are ‘silent’ aspects of the yearbook curriculum–not directly linked to straightforward academic content. Student voice opportunities inspire student ownership, build peer confidence, and increase commitment and investment in planning. To teach student voice, place students in various scenarios where they can practice finding and using their voices to express issues and concerns important to the student body (and many of these stories could be used in the yearbook). For more thoughts about this designed teaching strategy, please see United Yearbook’s blog, The Importance of Structured Learning and Intention in Teaching.
With these fundamentals in place, engage students in discussion and activities around these concepts:
To whom are we accountable in the designing, producing, and delivery of the yearbook?
What kinds of responsibilities are implied by being held accountable?
What is a hierarchy or responsibility and how does it work?
The staff needs to understand the concepts of the colophon, leadership roles with job descriptions, and the leadership selection process. Realize the students need their "voice" in the final decisions about job titles, descriptions, and selections.
Colophon
Introduce your students to the Colophon by offering the definition and challenging them to look at examples in the classroom and online. Your staff will vary from year to year; students may only want a general acknowledgment of their work, but the following year they choose to be specifically acknowledged ("designed by __"). This year they want page design credit and page numbers attached to their names in the colophon, but next year they do not. Remind them whatever choices they make, the colophon becomes a permanent record of the published yearbook (a great reminder of their accountability).
Leadership Roles/Positions with Job Descriptions
A hierarchy of responsibility naturally occurs within leadership, and you can chart the progression. Review previous yearbooks to discover the common job titles and roles. Assign your staff the task of finding job descriptions for each position. Bring all the information together to consolidate and determine what your staff needs and which jobs are required.
This activity will assist your staff in personalizing important roles for their needs:
divide the class into teams
teams will sort and edit job descriptions
each team will present their ideas
the class will provide feedback until the descriptions are complete.
This activity is important to do annually.
Student Leadership Selection Process
Finally, the process of selecting student leadership must be completed. Guide them in a discussion of the necessary leadership roles or positions. Use 2 students to record responses on the board while you offer general questions to clarify the direction of the comments. Do you want the applicant to submit a brief statement of interest in a position or a paragraph essay? Should you consider the applicant's GPAs and extracurricular activities in the process? Include interviews to finalize selections! Use your planners to post dates for interviews and final choices, and issue invitations to proceed. Preparing and implementing this checklist increases students' confidence and integrity in the development and procedures.
United Yearbook Printing understands the value of student leadership throughout the school year and is here to support you every step of the way. Subscribe to our blog, podcast, and newsletter, and visit our website at www.unitedyearbook.net. Or schedule a one-on-one consultation with our representatives.
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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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