How to Survive Your First Year as a High School Yearbook Advisor

You were asked to be your high school's yearbook advisor this year. You are excited and you are honored to have been asked. But as the responsibilities of the task begin to sink in you find yourself feeling a little bit overwhelmed, right? Don't be. Follow these steps and you will be a part of creating something very special with your students.

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Lists of Yearbook Seminars
• Phone numbers of yearbook representatives
• Books

Be Organized

1. Keep a notebook of all activities from theme selection to final delivery. Divide your notebook into several sections: Deadlines, phone numbers, sales, marketing, promotions. Keep several notebooks if that is easier for you but keeping everything in its place is essential.

2. Hang the yearbook calendar on the wall. Your yearbook representative should have given you one of these. If he or she did not then call them now and get one. This calendar allows you to see at a glance approaching deadlines and allows you to keep track of completed pages.

3. Select your yearbook staff. If the staff has not been chosen yet, then spend your first week watching and studying the students carefully. You will see who emerges as a leader (editor), bookkeeper, photographers, journalists. Once you have narrowed your selection then put it to a vote and allow the students to vote on staff members.

Be Prepared

4. Keep a list of all the phone numbers you will need throughout the year. These numbers include staff members, school administrators and your yearbook representative.

5. Ask your yearbook representative what sort of professional seminars they offer for yearbook advisors. These seminars are a major resource for you. You will meet other advisors from other schools who you can swap war stories with. You will also learn everything there is to know about producing and selling a high school yearbook.

6. Read. Read everything you can your hands on about being a high school yearbook advisor. There is a huge wealth of information on the Internet and in your local library. Avail yourselves of the knowledge of others who have been where you are now.

Be Known

7. Take advantage of Photo Day to make your presence known. Have flyers prepared for your yearbook staff to hand out to students and teachers regarding the upcoming sale of the yearbook.

8. Begin marketing as soon as possible. Post flyers everywhere about how great the yearbook will be this year. Run a school wide contest to see who can pick the winning theme for the yearbook. Hold raffles and raffle off a free yearbook. Let everyone in the school and the community know that you and your staff are working hard to produce a quality yearbook.

9. Utilize the Internet to send email reminders to students, faculty and parents about upcoming sales and events. Ask your school computer technician to put notices on the school website.

Tips & Warnings

• Remember that even though you have chosen a competent staff, you are still the head honcho and have final veto power.
• Don't allow staff members to abuse their press badges by skipping class.

[vallain]

on 4/26/2008 This sounds really helpful. Thanks