For the first time at Jamesville-DeWitt High School, students can earn credit for working on the yearbook. It is an option for an elective course starting next year. Though the details aren’t finalized, there will only be one class, which will meet on either AC or BD days during the period 3/4/5. The class is worth one-fourth of a credit for either a half or full year of the course. The credit doesn’t vary based on how long students take the course because there aren’t any tests or actual assessments.

In the past, students in the yearbook club met in homeroom and occasionally meet after school, but the majority of the work was done through an online program at home.

“Access to events that were happening through the school day were almost impossible to cover,” said Larry Stroh, technology teacher and co-adviser of the yearbook. Students were only able to obtain the needed information they needed from students and athletes by staying late after school.

“Trying to get pictures of the school body after school wasn’t a true experience,” said Mr. Stroh. He said that it would be easier for students to take the necessary pictures during school hours. Depending on the work accomplished during the class, it may or may not be necessary for students to stay after-school to take additional photos.

However, with an in-school period dedicated to working on the yearbook, the students will be able to “tap into the general population” and feature a wider variety of the school life.

“It’s more of a creative class, not a curriculum class. It’s a duty block, not a teaching class,” said Emily Rowles, physical education teacher and yearbook business manager. “Doing creative things takes time. Deadlines tend to make people rush,” said Coach Rowles. This means the class will be structured like a study hall rather than a workshop with kids working on individual tasks. However, Coach Rowles also said that Jostens, the company that publishes the yearbook, might send representatives to help instruct the class.

Coach Rowles said that making it a class will allow students to put more time into making the yearbook more creative, which is something that can be very time consuming.
Yearbook Editor Cameron Rinaldi, junior, said that meeting deadlines can be one of the most difficult and stressful aspects of working on the yearbook staff. Deadlines will be easier to meet if students are working in class and put in extra work after school.

“Also, making it a class makes it a bit easier to manage and everybody together at the same time can increase sales,” said Coach Rowles.

“About 20 people are taking the class,” said Mr. Stroh. There’s also going to be number of students working on the yearbook who aren’t enrolled in the class, who will work after school.

The class involves a lot of student photography, designing and publishing, as well as layouts, selling the yearbooks and a creative sense of how to throw all of those details together to make one perfect yearbook.

Rinaldi feels that students will be able to accomplish more work with the addition of the yearbook class. “It’s fun but it’s also serious,” said Rinaldi.