DAY 1: WEDNESDAY, JUNE 26
*All times listed are in Central Time

10 - 10:45 A.M.
OPENING SESSION - REMEMBER THIS: CONSIDERATIONS FOR YOUR 2025 JOURNEY
Mike Taylor, CJE, Jim Jordan, Sabrina Schmitz, CJE
Don’t miss our opening session to capture the heart + soul of Adviser Academy. Join the parade and get started!

NEW ADVISERS:

BEGINNER ADVISERS, DAY 1

11A.M. - 4 P.M.

Sabrina Schmitz, CJE, Kathy Beers
New to yearbook? Still learning?
Looking to refresh your skills? This is the track for you! Don’t be intimidated by the all-day run time; we’ll take plenty of breaks.

EXPERIENCED ADVISERS:

11 - 11:45 A.M.
SYSTEMS OF SUCCESS, PART 1 (Staff Management)

Jim Jordan, Walsworth Yearbooks
Examine specific systems of success – recruiting, finding inspiration, summer planning, getting better photos, creating your ladder, staff organization, deepening your coverage, caption writing, storytelling, quality control and fun – that will ensure your book will come out on time and you’ll love the process.

LET’S GET MOODY (Inspiration)
Ericka Muncy, Jupiter Community High School
Get the tools you need to create a staff mood board to inspire the overall design and vibe of your yearbook, offering tips on how to incorporate professional magazine design into yearbook design. This session will also give you pointers on how to use a staff mood board to develop a style guide that will give your yearbook consistency and cohesion.

PERCENT OF BOOK SUBMITTED: 100% (Organization)
Brian Wilson, MJE, Palo Alto High School
Organizing and finalizing the yearbook doesn’t have to be an agonizing process; you and your students can simplify a lot of it to make everything run smoothly!

WHO SAYS YOU NEED A CLASS TO CREATE A YEARBOOK? (Club)
Michael Bittner, Bridgewater-Raritan High School
The BRHS EPIC yearbook was created through the hard work of the dedicated members of their Yearbook Club. You will learn how to divide the creation of your school’s yearbook over the school year so that it can be done with a club.

WHOSE BOOK IS IT ANYWAY? THE GIVE AND TAKE OF CONTROL IN YOUR YEARBOOK CLASSROOM (Middle School)
Laurel Wicke, Drake Middle School
Harry Houdini and David Copperfield have nothing on the teacher who can pull off these magic tricks: 1) Turning over creative control without losing control of the classroom. 2) Raising leaders who still listen. 3) Giving students creative ownership while still elevating their vision. Together we will investigate this intricate and ever-changing balance that can make all the difference in your yearbook room.

12 - 12:45 P.M.
TRIVIA WITH LELAND
Leland Mallett, CJE, Legacy High School
Join our trivia competition where you can flex your trivia prowess over lunch.

1-1:45 P.M.
THEME: WHERE TO BEGIN (Theme Development)
Ericka Muncy, Jupiter Community High School
The theme is the glue that holds the whole book together, but how do you come up with the right one? This session will offer tips on theme development, providing ways to get your staff to brainstorm on a theme unique to your school and year. It will also give examples of how to carry out a theme both visually and verbally from cover to endsheets to opening to closing.

SYSTEMS OF SUCCESS – PART 2 (Staff Management)
Jim Jordan, Walsworth Yearbooks
This session will examine specific systems of success – recruiting, finding inspiration, summer planning, getting better photos, ladder and staff organization, deepening your coverage, caption writing, storytelling, quality control, fun – that will ensure that your book will come out on time, and you’ll love the process.

LIPSTICK ON A PIG – FROM CLUB TO A CLASS (Clubs)
Kat Hoolan, Minisink Valley High School
Over the last six years, Kat Hoolan has gleaned invaluable insights from taking a club photo book to journalism class, both pre-and post-COVID. Her experiences have been rich with lessons, shaping her understanding of storytelling and the evolving landscape of media in a dynamic world. Learn from Kat’s journey through creating a successful yearbook club in this dynamic and informational session.

WE’VE GOT IT COVERED: MIDDLE SCHOOL/JUNIOR HIGH COVERAGE
(Middle School)
Andrew Young, CJE, Woodland Junior High School
Learn from a middle school adviser on how to make sure you aren’t covering
the same students on every spread. And guess what, your students can keep
track of it all!

2 - 2:45 P.M.
IS THIS FOR A GRADE? (Grading)
Leland Mallett, CJE, Legacy High School
Yes. We’re all teachers trying to determine how and what to grade in a yearbook class. In this session, we’ll discuss ways to grade and ideas for assignments
to grade.

GATHERING GOAT QUOTES (Reporting/Writing)
Brian Wilson, MJE, Palo Alto High School
Reporters need to train their ears to listen for amazing quotes, and they need to be able to dig for whatever comes after the quote. Discover strategies for helping your students find diverse voices, get the most out of their sources and build strong transitions.

USING CANVA IN YOUR YEARBOOK PROGRAM (Design)
Dan Sidwell, Freedom High School
Bringing Canva to your classroom will benefit your program. Canva is great, and it’s free. So why aren’t you and your students using it to learn design tips and tricks and boost your social media presence in the process?

TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS (Finances)
Michael Bittner, Bridgewater-Raritan High School
Learn how to create your yearbook on time and under budget. Despite what people may think, when you are advising the business side of the yearbook, you are essentially running a non-profit business. It is important to keep track of all expenses and to also offer some incentives to encourage families to order their yearbooks early.

MIX AND MATCH DESIGN (Middle School)
Laurel Wicke, Drake Middle School
Any staff can create a beautifully designed and cohesive book. Laurel’s award-winning yearbook staff has created a system of mix and match design that can work for you! This class will show you how using various combinations of elements can turn one single spread design into 10 through rotation and mix and match mod designs. This system will make creating your book easier and allow your newer staff to hit the ground running.

3 - 3:45 P.M.
PUTTING THE QUEST IN YOUR QUESTIONS (Reporting/Writing)
Michelle Balmeo, MJE, West Albany High School
Question-driven stories lead reporters on a journey. If some of your publication’s stories feel flat or uninspired, maybe you need to focus more on developing questions, not just for interviewees, but for your staff. It’s the kind of journalism you see in movies, and it’s a blast.

PHOTO BASICS FOR BASIC PHOTOGRAPHERS (Photography)
Dan Sidwell, Freedom High School
You don’t have to be a professional photographer to train your students to take outstanding photography. These 10 tips and tricks will make your program’s photography look like it all came from pros.

WHERE EVERYONE WANTS TO BE (Organization)
Leland Mallett, CJE, Legacy High School
How do you create a positive classroom environment even when deadlines can be stressful? How do you make the yearbook room the place people want to be? How can you foster positivity and leadership within your group? All the answers are here.

TAKE YOUR SHOT: MIDDLE SCHOOL/JUNIOR PHOTOGRAPHY (Middle School)
Andrew Young, CJE, Woodland Junior High School
Take your photos to the next level! Learn from a middle school adviser how
your students can take amazing photos too. You will see great photos
from students around the country and get some tips on how to motivate
beginner photographers.

3:45-4:30 P.M.
ROUND TABLE
Hosted by Mike Taylor, CJE, Jim Jordan and Sabrina Schmitz, CJE

DAY 2: THURSDAY, JUNE 27
*All times listed are in Central Time

10:30-10:45 A.M.
GENERAL SESSION – THE WALSWORTH STORY with Don and Tripp Walsworth

NEW ADVISERS
11A.M. - 4 P.M.
BEGINNER ADVISERS, DAY 2
(New Adviser Track)
Sabrina Schmitz, CJE, Kathy Beers
New to yearbook? Still learning?
Looking to refresh your skills? This is the track for you! Don’t be intimidated by the all-day run time; we’ll take plenty of breaks.

EXPERIENCED ADVISERS
11-11:45 A.M.
WHAT THE FONT (Design)
Liz Luna, Athens Drive Magnet High School
Typographic choices impact the delivery of your book. Understand more about different typestyles and how to pair or choose a font for your design. Learn about font sizing and the influence it has on the success of your page. Make smart type choices to keep the reader invested in your work. We’ll focus on key rules your students need to consider as they develop their visual theme, ensuring access to the information you’re placing on the page.

LEVEL UP YOUR THEME (Theme)
Leland Mallett, CJE, Legacy High School
Like the band AJR? Learn how their creative process is the same for making a great yearbook theme. Don’t like AJR or know who they are? You’ll be downloading their music after this session.

WRITING THE RIGHT STORY (Reporting/Writing)
Sara Gonzales, Paetow High School
Say goodbye to writing the same old story that the team was a family or that they bonded. In this session, learn how to take your writing to the next level and relate it to the true story of the year.

THE 13(ISH) DAY PLAN: HOW TO ORGANIZE YOUR STAFF (Middle School)
Jason Davis, CJE, Cactus Canyon Junior High School, Apache Junction High School
You trained them up, now what? Developed by the 2024 Arizona Journalist
of the Year, the 13(ish)-Day Plan guides your editors and staff through the
steps to complete spreads in 13(ish) days. The session covers all the steps, lessons learned after using it for a year, and how it can be adapted to varying staff situations.

12-12:45 P.M.
TRIVIA WITH LELAND
Leland Mallett, CJE, Legacy High School
Join our trivia competition where you can flex your trivia prowess over lunch.

1-1:45 P.M.
COLOSSAL COMPENDIUM OF COVERAGE (Coverage)
Jim Jordan, Walsworth Yearbooks
What do we put into a yearbook? Of course there are the basics: student life, academics, clubs, people, sports but it’s how you tell those stories that draw your audience into the book. Long-form stories, profiles, showstoppers and a multitude of quick reads can keep your audience engaged from the first page to the last.

30 FOR 30: HOW TO GET ORGANIZED FROM A LIFELONG MESS (Organization)
Brit Taylor, CJE, Hagerty High School
Come hear 30 tips from an adviser whose 30 yearbooks and fading memory have forced him to learn some things about organization. Hear best practices from Brit when it comes to organizing your book, your staff and your time, with emphasis on digital tools and organization that have saved his life as an adviser.

COACHING WRITERS (Writing/Reporting)
Leland Mallett, CJE, Legacy High School
Why is your students’ copy bad? Why can’t they write a good story? Learn some ways to coach writers to make their stories, captions and quick reads so good, readers will want to read more.

THEME WORK MAKES THE DREAM WORK (Middle School)
Jason Davis, CJE, Cactus Canyon Junior High School, Apache Junction High School
Prep yourself so you can prep your staff for your best theme ever! Go beyond a cool cover to find a theme that your school will love and your staff will love to create. The best themes start with good stories, so the session will focus more on using your theme to tell stories and less on designing your endsheets.

2-2:45 P.M.
PHOTO STORYTELLING TOOL BOX (Photography)
Liz Luna, Athens Drive Magnet High School
Events are more than just one moment in time. Consider the different types of photos you should be teaching students to take at each event and learn to give them the tools and context they need to hunt those moments down. We’ll also hit upon some of the photography principles and look at directing students around framing their focus as they move into the field and photograph for your book.

MAKING YOUR CLASSROOM (Organization)
Sara Gonzales, Paetow High School
How do you organize your classroom to get the best flow for student success? Let’s take a look at how to break down your classroom and organizational tips to ensure that your students are being given all the tips they need to get the yearbook done on-time and sold out.

YEARBOOK HACKS (Organization)
Leland Mallett, CJE, Legacy High School
Get your pencil ready. This fast-paced session will give you 70 or so hacks to make your year run smoothly.

WRITING BASICS: HOW TO’S AND MUST DO’S (Middle School)
Laurel Wicke, Drake Middle School
In this class, we will cover the how-to’s for writing great captions and stories. You’ll leave this class with a list of must-do’s, plus teaching ideas and resources that will help you train your staff to ask the right questions, get great quotes and use them effectively.

3-3:45 P.M.
WHAT MAKES A GREAT LAYOUT? (Design)
Jim Jordan, Walsworth Yearbooks
Take this quick refresher course on what goes into a great layout. All great design is built on solid principles, but yearbook design is always evolving. Start with a strong structure, apply the principles and create exciting 2025 designs.

WHAT FRESHMAN BOYS WANT IN THE YEARBOOK (Coverage)
Brit Taylor, CJE Hagerty High School
If you’re an adviser, you probably want to see spreads that make the principal, the judges and your editors happy. Don’t toss all that out the window, but in this session, we’ll try and figure out what your toughest critics (freshman boys and other people who don’t care much about the book) want.

LOOK AGAIN: FINDING FRESH, ORIGINAL STORY IDEAS (Writing/Reporting)
Michelle Balmeo, MJE, West Albany High School
In four years, the typical high school student will have four Homecomings, four graduations, four senior classes that are certain they’re the best class ever, lots of pep assemblies full of school spirit and sports games won and lost. So how do we tell stories that don’t just say the same things they’ve always said? Here are 10 ideas to get you thinking of ways to find fresh angles on those same old stories.

DON’T CREATE YEARBOOK DICTATORS (Middle School)
Jason Davis, CJE, Cactus Canyon Junior High School, Apache Junction High School
Learn how to train your editors to effectively take charge within your program without being overbearing.

3:45-4:30 P.M.
ROUND TABLE
Hosted by Mike Taylor, CJE, Jim Jordan and Sabrina Schmitz, CJE