As I see the online training modules coming to an end I am
beginning to realize just how far our journalism program has come at my
school site.
When I took over 6 years ago the journalism program was in
a state of emergency. The yearbook alone
was $10, 000 in debt. Seniors were
selling their yearbooks back to the freshman for bargain basement prices…it was
that bad. The yearbook was full of pixelated
images, tattoos, piercings, lack of theme, misleading quotes, and a
plethora of other catastrophes.
Coming into uncharted territory with little armor to prepare
me for one of the greatest undertakings of my career. I came armed with my passion for art and
design to carry the troops into battle as we began damage control. I can only imagine how much easier it might
have been had I known about the Reynold’s Institute and the wealth of knowledge
it could have provided me in the beginning during the storm.
Although, a part of me is glad that the struggles we endured were laid
in our path. The first year was
tough. I had a physical staff of 35, but
a working staff of 4. I consumed far
more coffee than any human being should consume in a lifetime. Long days, late nights or shall we say into
the early morning, shooting all of the events, designing, producing, and repeating the
process day after day.
The first year was exhausting.
But I we survived. Was
the book award winning…no but it managed to get done and was several steps above
the previous year. I learned so much from that first year. I think I learned more of what NOT to do
again, rather than things that worked.
But the biggest thing I took away from that first year was there is
value in the struggle.
Today we have a thriving journalism program with award
winning yearbooks…complete with themes!
We have students that want to be a part of the magic. Books are selling out, the student body is
excited, staffers are invested, and it all makes for one happy adviser. The struggles we faced in the beginning make
the victories that much sweeter.
 |
| LJCHS Montage Yearbook Staff 2015 |
Next year I will embark on running Newspaper, Yearbook, and Broadcasting
out of the same class period. The movie
crazy in my head tells me it will work like a well-oiled machine. Will it work?
Who knows, but what I do know is that the journalism staff at my school
have a passion to succeed and sometimes that’s all you need.
Heather Eaton
La Joya Community High School
Avondale, Arizona
Thank you for sharing Heather. I look forward to collaborating with you since I will also be combining Journalism and Yearbook into one class period .Congratulations with the yearbook turn-around! Yearbook was insanely stressful and I can't tell you how many times I cried. But knowing that every copy sold-out and we earned 100%+ profit from the beginning of the year was well-worth it.
ReplyDeleteSharon Fonzo
Poston Butte HS
San Tan Valley, Arizona
Yes, thank you for sharing. Our journalism/newspaper and yearbook classes will occur during the same period, but with two different teachers. We are in the process of creating one fluid journalism program. It will be interesting to see how our deadlines will correspond and how the workload will be distributed.
ReplyDeleteAnd you should definitely congratulate yourself. Digging out of a hole that deep is difficult, but I am glad that you managed to do it.
Esther Bateson
Basha High School
Chandler, Arizona
Heather,
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing. Taking on a student publication is no easy task, especially when you are have to rebuild while learning the ropes. I am excited to meet you, Sharon, and Esther as I, too, will be teaching journalism, newspaper, and yearbook during one class period across two classrooms. My heart starts racing at the thought of the craziness! I am hoping to gain some insight on how to best organize, train, and keep the staffs motivated and on task when they are in one classroom and I am in the other!
Congratulations on turning the program into such a success!
Jennifer Woolsey
Sunrise Mountain HS
Peoria, AZ
This is a true success story. I remember digging out as well after transitioning to the high school and it was hard with "someone else kids" who wanted him back so badly. He was on campus as the assistant principal at the time. An amazing guy with zero money sense. God love him.
ReplyDeleteNow, we have a combined yb/online news class and this year was our first year we sold more copies than we ordered. (Thank you plant for sending "overs." ) I haven't quite figured out who to attribute the success to. Smiles all around. Happy parents, staff, admin... everyone loved it. That doesn't always happen and I'm thankful. I think one of the items that may have helped us sell books that I hadn't considered before is the stories we posted online. Not that we have huge readership, just enough to have people talking that the writing and photography was looking sharp. I hope we can get better and offer a wider variety of news on our website because sometimes we get to yearbook focused.
I am so glad to hear of your success and I'm excited to share stories.
Annie Green
Glacier Peak High School
Snohomish, WA
Heather,
ReplyDeleteI can't believe you are going to run all of your productions out of one class period! That is definitely a HUGE undertaking. You are a brave soul! How many students do you have on your staff and do all of the kids participate on one staff only or do they crossover?
My staff next year is about 30 kiddos and they will all have their hands in both YB and Newspaper. I have an EIC for Newspaper and then another for YB, but all staff write for both publications. We hold auditions, if you will, for broadcasting and those students are on air. And yes #iamcrazy but the movie in my head shows me that it works.
Delete