Timeline And Resource Guide For Mentors

Photo by Ally Million

TIMELINE AND RESOURCE GUIDE FOR MENTORS

TIMELINE AND RESOURCE GUIDE FOR MENTORS Hello mentors! Welcome to the Walsworth Yearbooks Adviser Mentor Program. Thank you both new and returning mentors for being willing to share your expertise with a first- or second year adviser. You will be making a huge difference in helping your mentee have the best year possible. You remember what it was like getting started on that journey to completing your first book. All the hundreds of things you didn’t know and, more importantly, how isolated you felt at times not knowing where you could turn for advice. Your rep was always there for you, but sometimes you needed to ask questions that only a fellow classroom teacher could answer. Now you will be paying it forward to a new adviser by being a resource for them. We know how busy you are with your own staff and your own book, so our expectations of you as a mentor are very easy to meet. At the beginning of the month, I will send you an email, the Mentor Minute, reminding you it’s time to contact your mentor that month. I will also give you suggestions about what you might include in your text or email. That’s it. If your mentee responds immediately, that’s great. But if they don’t, it doesn’t mean it’s an unsuccessful match. When I mentored two new advisers, they both responded in different ways. One would respond with a text regularly and the other only responded when he had a specific question. But they both shared how glad they were to know I was always available as a resource. This eBook will provide you a month-by-month resource timeline that you can reference. Pass insights on to your mentee as you see fit at least once a month. Maybe they will even help you as you plan and make your way through the year. -Jim Jordan

“ If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.”

Isaac Newton

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JUNE/JULY CHECKLIST AND RESOURCES For teachers, summer is definitely a time to relax and recharge. Even though there are always things to do to prepare for the next year, be sure to stop, relax and take time for yourself in June and July. Purposefully plan time away from any thoughts of teaching or yearbook. It will always be there right where you left it. Don’t let one year blend into the next without a break. If you can’t completely slow down, here are some possibilities for things to do. Never stop searching for new design and coverage inspiration. Wherever you are, keep gathering inspiration to help drive your theme, coverage and design. You will need it from the start and throughout the year to take your work to the next level. Touch base with your leadership team. You may want to plan a brief meeting with your leadership team in June. Give them tasks to keep them focused on the job that lies ahead. If your school allows it, send a computer or laptop home with them to practice their InDesign, Photoshop or Yearbook 360 – Online Design skills. Give your leadership team some time off. With that said, be sure to encourage your leadership team to get away from it all for a while. They need to start fresh and relaxed, too. I’m seeing more and more staffs and advisers who seem to be busy with yearbook every minute of the summer. Remember, you want them to do their very best work during the school year. Avoid burning them out even before the year starts. Make attending a yearbook workshop and Adviser Academy a priority. One of the best ways to get your year off to a great start is to attend a summer yearbook workshop with your staff and Adviser Academy just for you. There are many workshops in your area and around the country from which you can choose from. Walsworth sales representatives have a workshop in their territory or close by that is easy for you to attend at a reasonable price. Staff members who attend will receive training in all aspects of the yearbook process – design, writing, photography, technology and staff organization and leadership. My staff’s summer workshop experience each year was always a major part of our success. And I highly reccomend Adviser Academy to strengthen your skills as an adviser. You’ll connect with llike minded advisers, learn so much and prep yourself for the year.

“ The delicate balance of mentoring someone is not creating them in your own image, but giving them the opportunity to create themselves.”

Steven Spielberg

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AUGUST/END OF SUMMER CHECKLIST AND RESOURCES Get off to a strong start. Most schools are back in session by Labor Day, but many schools are in full swing sometime in the month of August. Here are some activities to consider sharing with your mentees in August. Keep in touch and meet with your leadership team. Before school starts, set up a time to meet with your editorial leadership team to plan for start of school. You need to plan how you are going to have your staff ready to start covering the year before it starts. If your staff is untrained, you may miss crucial events that happen as summer ends and the school year begins. Review what you learned at summer workshop. Gather your workshop team to review what you learned and discuss the progress you made on theme and design elements. Discuss ways you can bring what you learned to the staff who did not attend. Find fantastic fonts. One of the easiest ways to take your book to the next level is to have a modern, contemporary font strategy. Don’t settle for bad typography. Find a font you love that has the voice of your theme. If you aren’t sure, ask someone you trust. Hold your own staff boot camp. Consider holding a staff boot camp the week before school starts. Start the training process as early as possible so the staff can start shooting photos, interviewing and covering events well right from the start. In one day at boot camp, you can cover material and train your staff in what would take a week or two of class periods after the year starts.

“ Mentoring is a brain to pick, an ear to listen, and a push in the right direction.” John C. Crosby

4 Photo training is essential. Be sure your photography staff is ready to take photos before the year even begins. Have your experienced staff train your rookie photographers and get them out practicing their craft at end-of-summer training and events. CHECKLIST AND RESOURCES

AUGUST/END OF SUMMER

Begin staff bonding. Before school even starts, begin building your team. A close-knit staff makes the work ahead much more fun. Have a party during the last week of summer to welcome new staff members and show them that they are now a part of a supportive, fun team and that an amazing journey lies ahead. Create your lesson plans for the first two weeks of school. Your staff and the process of creating the book should be led by your editors. Every day, the editors should be in charge of running the class and being sure all necessary work is accomplished. Plan what needs to be accomplished every day in class. In my 35 years of advising, one of our weaknesses was not using every minute of class time as wisely as we could have or should have. When you waste class time, it only means there will be more to do after school, on work nights or weekends. Develop your full staff training sequence. If you can’t hold any summer trainings, set up a timeline for how you will train your staff to do what is required of them. Start with interviewing and caption writing. Most issues with the staff arise when you have not trained your staff well and you expect them to do things they are not prepared to do at the level they will be required to.

AUGUST/END OF SUMMER RESOURCES eBooks “The Mike Taylor Back-To-School Checklist” “12 Essential Tips for the New Adviser” “New Adviser’s Field Guide to Yearbook” “First 30 Days – InDesign” “First 30 Days – Online Design” Webinars “The New Yearbook Adviser Road Map” “May the Theme be With You” “May the Fourth Theme Planning” “Terrific Trends for 2023”

Photo by Sasha Haber

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SEPTEMBER CHECKLIST AND RESOURCES

“ One of the greatest values of mentors is the ability to see ahead what others cannot see and to help them navigate a course to their destination.” John C. Maxwell

While some schools start after Labor Day and then do not get out of school until late in June, a majority of the schools around the country start earlier in August. At least they can look forward to being out for summer by late May. Whenever school starts for you, September is a crucial month. First deadlines will be arriving sometime in October for most schools, and September is when things start getting serious. You must have the staff ready to move from the training process into the production process. You will be making decisions and setting up systems this month that will determine the success of your year. Staff training is in full swing . From the first day of school through the end of September, be in the mode of training your staff. Depending on how many returning staff you have each year (in my case nearly ¾ of the staff was new each year), start the year reviewing caption writing, interviewing, basic journalistic story writing and design principles. Photography training will also be ongoing with your photo staff. Every staffer is a potential designer , so have everyone keep a design portfolio. As part of your basic design training, have every staff member keep their own ongoing design portfolio where every day they gather interesting design ideas they find. If you have many freshmen, sophomores and even juniors, this process will help you find new potential designers. Nail it down. Finalize your ladder, your theme and your designs. Be sure you understand and love your theme. At some point this month, you will need to turn from planning and discussing possibilities to finalizing decisions that will allow you to actually produce the book. This was always difficult for me as these decisions put limits on what would follow. On the other hand, this was a wonderful time as you now can get on the path to creating beautiful stories on fresh pages and move closer to finishing the book. Staff bonding and team building is a major priority . Before the work gets rigorous and the deadlines are looming, work to build your team and bond as a staff. Never forget: whatever kind of book you do, the process is supposed to be fun! This is the time when many staffs hold a mock wedding ceremony where they agree to be there for each other all year long. The ceremony may even have invitations, rings and cake! Attend an Elite Weekend in your region . Consider attending an Elite Weekend in your region. Walsworth’s Elite Weekends are probably the best way to take your book to that next level. For three days, your staff will meet with several of the best yearbook advisers in the country, all who helped their own students earn top national awards. They will give you frank and helpful suggestions to improve all aspects of your book. You just need to be willing to listen, learn and implement the changes you feel comfortable making. If you can’t travel to one, attend our virtual Elite Weekend online.

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OCTOBER CHECKLIST AND RESOURCES Can you believe it’s October already? That first deadline is fast approaching. Make time to celebrate National Yearbook Week! Invite your mentee to join you in the celebration. In 1987, President Ronald Reagan declared the week of Oct. 4 each year as “National Yearbook Week.” It’s a week to spread awareness and celebrate all that you and your staff are doing! Check out walsworthyearbooks.com for all the details on all we have coming up for you this week. The main goal of October is to put you and your staff on track to meet that first deadline. OCTOBER CHECKLIST Theme words and design . Is your theme set and have you written first drafts of your theme copy and designed your cover, end sheet, title page, opening spreads and a divider? Get that ladder done . Is your ladder complete? Do you know where everything will go? Are you certain you have not left anything out you need to cover? Have you left room for topics that may come up that you have not thought about yet? Understand your student portrait strategy . Have your student and faculty portraits been taken, including all make up days? Have you received those portraits back from the photographer and uploaded them so they can be flowed on the individual spreads? Often these mug pages are the first ones to be submitted

“ The greatest good you can do for another is not just to share your riches but to reveal to him his own.” Benjamin Disraeli

on the first deadline, so it’s important to stay on top of this process. Work with your Walsworth representative to set up this process and dates necessary to meet your deadlines for these pages. AND RESOURCES

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Senior tributes and ads. If you sell senior tributes and business ads, is your plan in place to get some of these pages completed? These pages can make a big difference in making your deadline page count. Get them done early. They can be some of the easiest to complete which can give you more time on your content pages. Staff expectations and training . Does every staff member know what is expected of them and how to meet those expectations well? Have you trained them to do what you are going to be asking them to do? All time devoted to staff training should be complete. From here on out, training will need to take place in small groups around specific deadlines. Know your workflow. Is your workflow system in place? Who on staff will be doing what and what are the specific steps that each spread must go through from start to completion? This is one of the most crucial steps to define well before you get in the thick of production. Rely on and refine what has worked well for you in past years. Have your deadline plan in place . Have you planned your first deadline? What pages will you be submitting on the first deadline and what mini deadlines are in place to be sure they are done on time and at the very top level of quality? This is one of the main functions of the adviser. You need to understand when pages must be sent and help your editors devise the best plan to get the necessary work done. Be sure to plan in extra time to be sure the actual deadlines will always be made. It’s even OK if only you as adviser know what the actual drop-dead deadlines are. OCTOBER RESOURCES Ebooks “100 Great Yearbook Photos That Captured Our Attention” Webinars “Get Your Yearbook Show on the Road: Making That First Deadline”

Photo by Elizabeth Winkler

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NOVEMBER CHECKLIST AND RESOURCES It’s November and fall is in the air. Even Halloween is behind us now. Whether that first deadline is already at the plant or it’s still fast approaching, this is a great time to reach out and encourage your mentee. Meeting that first deadline is probably the most stressful time in the first year, and you can be a great support to them as they are going through it. Take a quick minute and send your mentee a short text or email of encouragement and let them know how you made your first deadline and what you learned once you sent in that first set of pages. What I learned from that first deadline in my first year as an adviser was that I need to do a better job training my staff to know what I expected of them. I expected them to do things at a level of quality they were not taught to meet. I was disappointed and so were they. NOVEMBER CHECKLIST Here are some considerations to pass on to your mentee for November. Debrief that first deadline. Once that first deadline is behind you, take time with your editors and staff to debrief what went well and how you can improve how you will perform on your next deadline. Refine your workflow. Evaluate how your workflow system works for you. Do any adjustments need to be made?

“ Our chief want in life is somebody who will make us do what we can.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Set your page goals for the month. Reexamine your ladder to decide what pages you will send this month, and set goals for what you plan to send before Thanksgiving and winter break. The number of pages you send will be determined by the number of pages in your book and your plant deadline schedule. Remember, your ladder is a living document. Mark off the pages you have completed and celebrate. AND RESOURCES

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NOVEMBER RESOURCES Check out our podcasts! Find great podcasts at walsworthyearbooks.com/podcasts or wherever you prefer to listen! #AskMike #ChatwithJim #WYPN Listen to a replay of the webinar on writing and storytelling . Get feature writing tips from the replay of “Feature it.” Walsworth’s Jim Jordan and Susan Massy, yearbook adviser at Shawnee Mission Northwest High School in Shawnee, Kansas, present Feature It! , focusing on in-depth yearbook storytelling and feature writing. November is national convention time. Check to see if your mentee is going to either of the fall conventions.If you both are attending, set up a time to meet. If either one of you are going, be sure to stop by and introduce yourself at the Walsworth booth.

Photo by Isha Sheth

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DECEMBER CHECKLIST AND RESOURCES It’s December and the holidays are in full swing. By this point, your first deadline should be behind you. What a great accomplishment that always is! It’s time to celebrate, evaluate and keep creating beautiful pages. Be sure to remind your mentee to make time to celebrate this incredible accomplishment and then discuss with the editors and staff how things are going. What has been working well and what could be improved with workflow and staff relations? They may have already done this in November, but it’s valuable to debrief after every deadline. Take a quick minute (do it right now) and send your mentee a short text or email asking them how it felt to send that first set of pages and emphasize that the hardest part of the yearbook year is behind them now. Also share any or all of what follows here. DECEMBER CHECKLIST Here are some considerations to pass on your mentee for December. Debrief that first deadline. If you haven’t done it yet, take time with your editors and staff to debrief what went well and how you can improve how you will perform on your next deadline. Reconfirm your page goals for the month. Reexamine your ladder to decide what pages you will send this month and set goals for what you plan to send before winter break. The number of pages you send will be determined by the number of pages in your book and your plant deadline schedule. Remember your ladder is a living document. Mark off the pages you have completed and celebrate.

“ A mentor is someone who allows you to see the hope inside yourself.” Oprah Winfrey

Pages in the pipeline for January. January can be a slow month if you don’t plan for success in December. Decide what can be completed in January and get those pages started. For my staff, January was a great time to work on clubs, organizations and academics spreads. AND RESOURCES

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Plan time to party and shut it down. Whenever your last day of school is, plan that final deadline of the year to be completed at least three days (better a full week) before vacation begins. Do not take the work and the stress up to the very last day. I made this mistake for years. Too many times, we even worked during the break. This is wrong. Bad. Don’t do it. Everyone, especially the adviser, needs to get away from yearbook for a while. Celebrate your success. End the year with a holiday party to celebrate all you have accomplished in these first four months of the school year. We used to hold our holiday party off campus at a home, but over the years, the way we could ensure that everyone would be there was to have our party during class time. Our potluck and gift exchange party was always one of the favorite days of the year. Clean, Put Away, Secure. The last thing the staff should be sure to do is tidy up the room, put everything away (including your holiday decorations) and if you have any valuables in your yearbook space, secure them for the two weeks when no one will be in the building. walsworthyearbooks.com/holiday-fun and see how we can help warm up your yearbook sales during the holidays with marketing templates, memes, coverage ideas and more. Check out our podcasts! Find Behind the Byline, Ask Mike (hosted by my friend Mike Taylor, CJE) and my podcast, Yearbook Chat with Jim, at walsworthyearbooks.com/podcasts or wherever you prefer to listen! #BehindtheByline #AskMike #ChatwithJim Feedback and the Fall Adviser Mentor Program survey. Sometime this month, you will receive a link to our Fall Adviser Mentor Program survey. Please take the time to fill it out. We are always looking for ways to make the program more effective for you. You can also always contact me directly at jim.jordan@walsworth.com. DECEMBER RESOURCES Yearbook Holiday Fun. Check out

Photo by Tom Rath

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JANUARY CHECKLIST AND RESOURCES

“ I’ve learned a lot from mentors who were instrumental in shaping me, and I want to share what I’ve learned.” Herbie Hancock

Hello mentors! Happy New Year and welcome back! May your year be filled with smooth deadlines, great stories and beautiful designs. I hope your break was totally and completely relaxing, filled with family and fun. Depending on how the December deadlines went, January is usually a month to reflect, plan, catch up, submit what you can and get ready for the intense months of February and March. Take a quick minute (do it right now) and send your mentee a short text or email encouraging them that the most difficult part of the yearbook year is behind them now and to stay focused as they power through the next three months. Also share any or all of what follows here. JANUARY CHECKLIST Here are some considerations to pass on your mentee for January. Reflect on how the first half of the year went. As you have done throughout the year, take time with your editors and staff to debrief what has been going well and how you can improve your performance on the next deadline. The first week back is a great time to do this. Set New Year’s resolutions — both for the staff and you as an adviser. Once you have reflected on the ups and downs of the first half of the year, make somem resolutions to get the new year off to a strong start. My resolution as an adviser would undoubtedly be “Kids Before Pages.” Your staff health – both mental and physical – should always be the priority. Keep it fun and emphasize personal growth in every step of the process. I too often felt I cared more about creating great pages and making deadlines than nurturing each and every staff member.

Attack those proofs. If you crushed your December deadlines and you use InDesign, you undoubtedly will be inundated with proofs. Have a clear plan and set of procedures for correcting proofs. AND RESOURCES

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Revisit your ladder — determine when pages can be completed in January through your final deadline . Reexamine your ladder and decide what pages you will send this month, and set goals for what you will send in February and March as you march toward the final deadline. January can be a slow month if you made all your December deadlines. For us, January was a great time to focus on clubs, organizations and academics spreads. Sell. Sell. Sell. Plan your book sales strategy for January and the rest of the year. A financially sound program will allow you to expand and upgrade the quality of your book, purchase new equipment and attend conventions and workshops to motivate and educate your staff. Check out the “Market Your Book” section of walsworthyearbooks.com. Start the recruiting process. Even though this year’s book is barely half done, begin developing your recruiting strategy for next year’s book. When will students be registering for next year’s classes? Be sure to plan your heavy recruiting push around those dates. Guard your health. Every year in late January and early February, the sickness begins to creep in. Do what you can to stay healthy. Keep your keyboards clean. Wash your hands. Do not share food and drink out of the same cups or bottles. Eat as healthy as you can.

JANUARY RESOURCES eBook “Recruiting Yearbook Staffs: Methods to Madness” Webinar “Radical Recruiting”

Photo by Caroline Schlieker

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FEBRUARY CHECKLIST AND RESOURCES

“ The greatest good you can do for another is not just to share your riches but to reveal to him his own.” Benjamin Disraeli

Hopefully you have managed to stay healthy and warm as the cold weather descended and the yearbook work heated up in January! February can be a stressful month as everyone realizes they have been working on the book for at least six months now and there are only about two months left to the final deadline! Right now, the number one thing to do with your mentee this month is encourage them. Everyone gets a little anxious, frustrated and even depressed this month. There still seems to be so much to do. The kids’ commitment seems to be waning. And to top it off, you must start seriously thinking about recruiting for next year. Simply remind your mentee that they are doing a great job, we all struggle, the book will get done and it will be amazing! I know I needed that encouragement every year. Beyond encouragement, share any or all of what follows here with your mentee. FEBRUARY CHECKLIST Here are some considerations to pass on your mentee for February. Don’t forget the importance of self-care. At the top of the list this time of year is to be sure and take care of yourself first. You and your family should always be your top priority. Somehow the book will always get done. Breathe. Take a yoga class. Go for a hike. Often when you seem to be the busiest is the very best time to get away from it all. Lock your ladder. At this point in the year, be sure you know what will be on every page of the book and when it can be completed. You should be able to zero in on all that needs to be done and know the process it will take to get there. Make your final page submission plan. List the pages you still must complete. Map out on your staff calendar the exact days they can be completed. Set your deadlines.

Communicate together. All this planning needs to be done with your editors. Hopefully you all are meeting together regularly, but if you are not, carve out time together to plan the next two months. AND RESOURCES

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Make time to celebrate and don’t forget to have some fun. When the stress starts to build, make time to have fun. One of the favorite parts of the year for my staff was celebrating Valentine’s Day together. We all bought or made valentines for each other, then spent time passing them out. We used to use the old page submission envelopes as the place we would slip them in. Keep selling books. Plan your book sales strategy for February and the rest of the year. I was concerned about my finances every spring, but somehow, we always stayed in the black. Know your recruiting dates. Be ready when the students must register for next year’s classes. It is so hard to balance the creation of this year’s book with preparing for next year’s book, so be on top of your recruiting timeline. Plan for conventions. The CSPA convention is just around the corner in March and the JEA/NSPA convention is in April. If you and you staff have the resources, make attending at least one convention a year a top priority. Conventions were one of the major factors in growing my program over the years. We learned together. We saw what other staffs were doing. We toured a great city. We discovered a tribe of people who were just as passionate about making a great yearbook as we were. FEBRUARY RESOURCES eBook “Why I Love Yearbook” Possibilities , Volume 9 Get your copy and be inspired by Possibilities, volume 9, which showcases great student work from 2021. Possibilities, the ideation book from Walsworth Yearbooks, is filled with over 900 real-life, sure-to-inspire yearbook examples from 342 of our elementary, middle school, high school and university yearbooks around the country. walsworthyearbooks.com/possibilities Webinar “Show Your Reference Section Some Love”

Photo by Shelby Boonr

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MARCH CHECKLIST AND RESOURCES March has arrived! There’s been rain, snow and cold around the country, but spring is just around the corner. And it’s final deadline time. It’s now the eleventh hour. The two-minute drill. The end is out there in front of you. What once seemed impossible is now a reality. You are going to finish this book! MARCH CHECKLIST Here are some considerations to pass on your mentee for March. The end is in sight – “Press on!” As February ends and that final deadline approaches, encourage your mentee to “press on.” I adopted this mantra over the years to encourage all of us to keep moving forward even when times get tough and it seems like the end will never come. It took me over ten years to really believe the book would ever get finished. But all 35 of the books I advised did, and not one was ever late. Let the celebrations begin. Circle the date of your final deadline on the calendar and start planning your celebrations. If we still had enough energy left once we pushed the button to upload our final pages, we would all go out to dinner together and congratulate each other for all we accomplished during the year. Most importantly, we celebrated that the book was done and that we could all claim a little more of our lives back. Then we would gather together, eat, toast with bottles of Martinelli’s apple cider and congratulate one another for all the effort and hard work we all put into the book.

“ In order to be a mentor, and an effective one, one must care. You must care. You don’t have to know how many square miles are in Idaho, you don’t need to know what is the chemical makeup of chemistry, or of blood or water. Know what you know and care about the person, care about what you know and care about the person you’re sharing with.” Maya Angelou

Thank your school staff for their support. Once the book is done, be sure to take time to thank those who helped you and your staff on the road to completing the book. On the day after the staff finaled the book, I sent a version of this email out to the school staff. AND RESOURCES

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Staff, We are finished! (Though we still have proofs to go.) The final ____ pages of the ____ page _____ (name of your book) were put to bed and uploaded to the plant on early Thursday morning (don’t ask how early). Thanks to all of you (names of special teachers and staff who went above and beyond in their support) and all who have been so understanding of all the work needed and the stress involved in this process. I appreciate your support of my editors, staff and me more than I could ever say. It never is easy, but the staff and specifically the editors grew so much this year and rose to the challenge of “creating something beautiful that will last a lifetime.” Special thanks go to (names of editors-in-chief), editors-in-chief; (photo editor), photo editor; (other important staff members). I know they get out of class, interrupt your teaching at times and appear to be wandering around far too much, but they have done an amazing thing once again in creating this yearbook. I am very proud of them. In an era when we often wonder if anyone is motivated anymore, these kids are motivated and make something difficult happen through passion and hard work. Thanks again for being such a supportive staff. I appreciate each of you very much. If you know anyone on the staff, please tell them how much we all appreciate their accomplishment. Jim Jordan For the ________ (name of your book) editors and staff Look for its release _________________ at (whatever your distribution process is) You may still buy your own copy at the super low price of $xx (whatever you charge teachers). Just send us a check made out to _____________________, bring cash or order online at yearbookforever.com.

Photo by Samantha Nguyen

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Plan for proofs. If you are an InDesign book, you will no doubt be bombarded by a barrage of proofs in March and April that will take up much of your time and energy. Refine your proof correcting strategy – know the dates when the proofs must be returned and identify who is in charge of going over the pages and making necessary changes. Careful proofing and editing can make a good book great. The Walsworth Yearbooks Photo Contest begins in February and continues through March. For the next month, yearbook photographers across the country will have a chance for their outstanding work to be recognized and rewarded. The Photo Contest will run late February through the end of March. Photographers will compete in various categories, with prizes awarded to the winners in each one. For more details see the Photo Contest page. See you at CSPA. The CSPA convention is just around the corner. If you are able to be there, drop by the Walsworth booth and say hello. Check out Mike Taylor’s #AskMike podcast episode “What Should I Know About CSPA?” MARCH RESOURCES You may need these more in April and May, but once the book is done, here are some great resources to use in the months to come. eBooks “Jim Jordan’s 40 Things to Do After the Yearbook is Done” Webinars “Your Yearbook Is Done. Now What?”

Photo by Katherine Severin

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APRIL CHECKLIST AND RESOURCES

“ A lot of people put pressure on themselves and think it will be way too hard for them to live out their dreams. Mentors are there to say, ‘Look, it’s not that tough. It’s not as hard as you think. Here are some guidelines and things I have gone through to get to where I am in my career.” Joe Jonas

Spring is here and this is the glorious month when every spring delivery book will be done. It’s time to celebrate! Congratulate your mentee and celebrate all they have accomplished this year with them! Depending on when you started school and when your spring break falls, this is the season for the book to be complete. Some schools in Texas finaled as early as the first week of March, and some in California and New York with late spring breaks are still putting the finishing touches on this year’s editions. You may still have some proofs left or a supplement to complete, but most of the heavy lifting is behind you. APRIL CHECKLIST Here are some considerations to pass on your mentee for April. Keep the celebrations going. Whenever you finish, be sure to make it a memorable moment. Your students will remember for the rest of their lives how they felt when they finished this monumental project. Celebrate big. This is a huge deal. Stop. Breathe. Get away from it for a while. However it works best for you, plan some time to get away from yearbook. There is still a lot to do before the book arrives and certainly there is always planning you can do for next year. But take some time totally for yourself. If you planned well and the dates fell right, you finished the book right as you were starting spring break. But if that didn’t happen, you must still plan for uninterrupted time away from thoughts of yearbook. You have earned it.

Perfect the book in proofs. If you are an InDesign book, you will still have proofs to correct in April that may annoy you and take up more of your time and energy. But hang in there and give your pages the careful and thoughtful final look they deserve. Careful proofing and editing will make a good book the very best it can be. AND RESOURCES

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Let the distribution planning begin. Get ready to make a big splash with your baby with a fun and fantastic distribution plan. Work with your administration and student government to make it an exciting, schoolwide event. Stage a rally. Have a party. Create some buzz over your beautiful creation. Webinar: “Yearbook Distribution: Distributing Your Love Letter to the School.” eBook: “Distribution Day: The Big Reveal.” D I STR I BUT I ON R E SOURC E S Get your next team of editors in place and begin training them. April is a great month to name your editors and start their preparation to lead. While your current editors are still engaged, have them pass on what they have learned directly to the ones who will be filling their positions. One staff in Florida has each editor create a podcast that tells the story of how their year went and what the new editor needs to know. I used to have each editor create a manual for how to be successful at the job they just completed. So much insight from this year will be lost unless you capture it in these ways. Avoid making the same mistakes year after year and keep perfecting your production process. Keep recruiting. With students involved in so many activities these days, I found I needed to keep recruiting even after the initial set of staffers had been selected through our application, interviewing and scheduling process. There were always one or two students who in March thought they wanted to take that BC Calculus class, but as the school year got closer to starting, they realized maybe yearbook might be a more fun choice for them. As much as I would have liked to have had a program where every staffer was able to be on staff for three years, I found many of my best staffers were first-year seniors who were able to learn quickly and had the energy for one yearbook production year.

Photo by Ashley Flores

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See you at the spring National High School Journalism Convention. The NHSJC convention is just around the corner in April. If you are planning to be there, drop by the Walsworth booth and say hello. Book a half hour session with me (Jim Jordan) or Mike Taylor to show us your book and get some ideas for your next book. Ask your sales representative for more details. APRIL RESOURCES Once the book is done, here are some great resources to use in the months to come. Idea File The spring issue of our Idea File magazine is out and is a great resource for you and your staff. eBooks I shared this last month and I’ll share it again. My eBook — “Jim Jordan’s 40 Things to Do After the Yearbook is Done" “Distribution Day: The Big Reveal” Webinars “The Yearbook Is Done. Now What?” “Yearbook Distribution: Distributing Your Love Letter to the School.”

Photo by Ava Nichols

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MAY CHECKLIST AND RESOURCES It’s May. Many spring-delivery books have already arrived at schools around the country. The journey that, at times, seemed would never end is almost over. All the hard work and dedication has paid off. Now is the time to get that book out to the audience it was created for and sit back and enjoy all that you and your staff have accomplished. Thanks again for your willingness to come alongside and mentor a new adviser and help them navigate their first year. MAY CHECKLIST Here are a few important things you can share with your mentees this week. Distribution is at hand. Your plan is in place. Just be ready to execute it. Make it a fun celebration for the entire school. You could share with your mentee the insight you have gained from distribution over the years. If you still need ideas, check out all these distribution resources on the walsworthyearbooks.com website. No book is perfect. Remind them to remind their students that as hard as we try, no book will be perfect. Be the role model and cheerleader who helps the editors

“ A mentor is someone who sees more talent and ability within you, than you see in yourself, and helps bring it out of you.”

Bob Proctor

and the staff see their book in the light of all they have accomplished, not in a few errors that they will inevitably discover. Include this information with each book at distribution. The staff at McKinney High School originally developed this insert to be included with every book at distribution regarding their policies on lost or damaged books and also includes

sales information for next year. This version was provided by former McKinney adviser Alyssa Boehringer, CJE. AND RESOURCES

MAY CHECKLIST

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Check out my “40 Things to Do After the Yearbook is Done” eBook. The “40 Things to Do After the Yearbook is Done” eBook expands on many activities and projects to make the last few weeks booth valuable and meaningful. Start making plans for summer workshops, Adviser Academy, Elite Weekend and a fall convention. Remind your mentee to start planning to attend all the important events that will jump start and help the production of their next book. In the summer, be sure and take as many of your staff as you can to a summer yearbook workshop. A workshop can help with theme development, ladder building and training for your entire staff. Once school gets under way, refine your theme concept and layout at an Elite Weekend near you. If you are looking to take your book to the next level, this is a must. Thanks again for all you do . Have a great end of the year. Savor every moment. Enjoy a relaxing summer. Hope to see you all back mentoring next year. CONSIDER JOINING WALSWORTH’S ADVISER MENTOR PROGRAM Walsworth Mentor Program Mentor Commitments • Contact your mentee once each month (by text, email, phone, Facetime, Zoom, in person). • Offer your help and encouragement in their yearbook journey.

Photo by Rumaysa Siddiqi

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FIND MORE WALSWORTH EBOOKS Walsworth is among the top three yearbook printers in the U.S., and the only family-owned publisher of yearbooks. As a leading provider of resources for yearbook advisers, Walsworth’s focus is making the yearbook creation process easier and more

successful for our schools. Learn more by visiting us at walsworthyearbooks.com.

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