It is that time of year when we are finishing up this year’s book, but it is also the time of year to start thinking about NEXT year’s tome, or more accurately, ways to make yearbook a bigger and more vital part of school culture. Successful programs are built upon this idea: they create a book that students not only want, but also need as part of the school experience. There are many factors that contribute to yearbook culture; one that is often overlooked is the composition of the staff – its ethnic and gender diversity – and the quality of the students.

Let’s face it, staffs need to reflect the diversity of the school to better reflect, represent and capture the many student voices telling the story of the year. Advisers have some control over this, though they are somewhat at the mercy of Guidance and schedule conflicts. Nevertheless, taking charge over staff recruitment can give advisers an edge in a number of ways.

Recruit for quality, too. Ask other teachers for recommendations of strong students. Build your staff your way by seeking out good writers, good workers and self-motivators. Some advisers require an application to be on staff and even letters of recommendation. Others work with their guidance departments to put together a short list of students with higher level reading and writing scores. The point is to be proactive. It helps to get an administrator on your side, too. Explain to them that you want to put together a high quality staff so that the yearbook can be a more effective public relations tool for the school. The subtext here, of course, is that a higher quality staff has the potential to promote the school and its leaders more effectively than a mediocre one.

Next, invite the recruits to a yearbook reception. Feed them. Talk to them, or invite us to talk to them, about how cool it can be to be the historians of a year, the photographers of greatness, writers of dramatic stories, and designers of groovy spreads: talk the experience up! If you had a strong staff this year, or at least a couple of strong editors, get them involved. Let success sell success. Recruits need to know that yearbook is not only a commitment, but also a class that will give them opportunities in business, design, writing and, most importantly, in the telling of the only published chronicle of the year.

The diversity, energy, commitment and skill of your staff are major factors to increasing the quality of the book, the rest of the school’s perception of the book, and ultimately the success of the program. Don’t overlook them.