The Yearbook World of Scott Geesey
from Jostens Yearbooks of central/northern Pennsylvania
ARCHIVE - SEPTEMBER 20, 2020
MAYBE A NEW PLAN THIS YEAR?: Think Chronological
Hello! And welcome to autumn this week. The weather has certainly turned cool in a hurry, with even some frost warnings and advisories in most of central and northern PA. But I'm a sweats guy anyway so I'm liking this!
We;re about a month into the school year - how's it going so far? I've heard a lot of stories this month. A few schools have gone all remote learning for the foreseeable future. A few others have switched to the hybrid model. Everyone I think isn't liking this "new" version of education right now.
I've been enjoying my live online teaching on yearbooking topics two days a week. I really appreciate the kind and constructive comments I've received so far, even impressed an administrator. If the future of education is part in-person and part online, let's meet the future now.
In this crazy year, a chronological yearbook may be the answer...
Back in the spring a LOT of yearbooks found themselves really stuck when sports and events started getting canceled.
Back then those missing events caused holes in many yearbooks - what to do with those pages when things disappear?
Now it's a new year - but could the same kind of planning cause more holes THIS year?
The great majority of books follow the same basic plan as they always have - cover groups and events in set sections like sports, clubs, student life, etc. The problem with such a plan - what if events are cancelled again? Those same holes, albeit with different groups and events, will show up again.
How to avoid that, no matter what this school year throws at us?
Consider a chronological ladder plan. With a chronological yearbook you cover the year as it unfolds. Something is happening every week of the year and THAT'S what gets covered, not just the usual material. You read the book as the year progressed.
How to do this?
HOW COORDINATE?: There are several ways to handle chronological coverage. Some folks do it by season - reporting stories that happened over the summer, then coverage of school stories and events in the fall, winter and spring.
Many schools do this plan by month - what happened in September? In October? Etc. Each month gets several double page spreads and whatever took place that month gets included in that section - sports activity, special events, class material, anything.
And I haven't seen it often but some staffs have weekly coverage for every week of the school year. Depending on the size of the book, each week may get one or two double page spreads. Interesting things that happened that week get some coverage.
Again, no matter what happens - or doesn't happen - the staff is never in danger of holes because coverage is more about time than it is about groups and events.
WHAT ABOUT HEADSHOTS?: Chronological books always have a People section, usually toward the end of the book. Seniors, underclassmen, school staff, and team and club photos are all in the same area.
And along with the portraits, consider some spreads devoted to topical coverage - trends, hot events this year, interesting questions, etc. Run some surveys and polls to gather information and quotes from students and staff, then use that material to report results and reactions from as many different people as you can.
A GOOD PLAN FOR THIS YEAR: With the uncertainty of this insane year, a chronological plan means no chances of sudden empty space in the book like we had back in the spring.
Need more info? For Jostens schools go to your Yearbook Avenue website and click on the Digital Classroom link. In the search bar there enter "chronological" and watch some great material pop up on your screen. Or ask your Jostens representative for assistance.