There are two schools of yearbook coordinators: the first, would never click on this blog, and the second, is ready to prep for the following school year. We’re glad you’re ready to lay the foundation for your yearbook over the summer and hope these three steps relieve stress because you’ll enter the school year more prepared than ever, and help you tick off some boxes so you can fully enjoy your summer vacation.
Step 1: Build your Team
Yearbook finished, check! Distribution party a success, check! Use this momentum to recruit a new team. Before you hand out your yearbook staff application, debrief with your current team and state your goals for the upcoming year.
Are you creating a memory book? Be sure to build a team of photographers to capture the emotion behind the events as well as some marketing mavens who will pump up crowdsourcing efforts.
Are you looking to go more journalistic and create a history book? You’ll need writers/reporters in addition to your layout designers and photographers.
Are you creating a spirit book? You’ll want people who are passionate about your school community.
If you lead a student class or club:
- Make sure your recruiting message aligns with your goals
- Highlight the transferable skills
- Solicit recommendations from the faculty as well as your current team
- Build your syllabus and bookmark these rubrics from our free yearbook curriculum
Summer is a great time to do some introductory training with your team. Some advisers do a two- or three-day minicamp and select the theme, colors, and fonts for the year. Others host team-building events to build trust before jumping into design.
If your team is comprised of adults:
- Make sure your recruiting message aligns with your goals
- Set specific expectations for involvement
- Follow up, follow up, follow up
- Offer opportunities for all parents and teachers to contribute
Step 2: Start a Ladder
A ladder is the lifeblood of yearbook organization because it serves two functions:
- It helps you create a schedule
- It helps you determine your page count
From your ladder, you can reverse engineer your yearbook from the final deadline to all the photoshoots that need to be scheduled in between. Since this doc is an overview of the entire book, some yearbook staffs like to post it and use it to check off spreads when they are finished.
Using this yearbook organization module will help you with all the back-end administrivia.
Step 3: Relax and Wait for School to Start
We’re working parents, so we get it: it’s easier said than done. Yes, you’re going to want to solicit summer vacay photos for the yearbook, so grab you-time when you can. From an extra five minutes of privacy in the bathroom to hours with a great book, we wish you well.
To echo the signatures in our yearbooks, have a great summer!
