Timeline And Resource Guide For Mentors

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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