The Class: Upper School Yearbook

This class introduces students to layout, design, and photography. They acquire advanced skills in appropriate computer applications to create and publish the school’s yearbook. Students are required to photograph events outside of class time. Students are encouraged to take the course for the full year, and they may take the course more than once and advance to more responsible positions on the yearbook staff each year.

The Task: Design and Create Spreads for the 2022–2023 Yearbook

In five-week cycles, students design two-page spreads for the yearbook. They are assigned the pages by the three student editors, who manage the creation of the yearbook (and many class sessions) with the help of Journalism Teacher Scott Collins. Students use design elements to create pages that grab readers’ attention, write short stories and captions that tell stories, and collaborate with design partners, the photo editor, the copy editor, and the editors as they refine and complete their spreads.

The Outcomes

In this class, students are putting out an actual product that everybody in school is going to see, said Scott. “While working on a publication, they learn how to manage time, communicate and collaborate with other people, think critically, and take an introspective look at their community while making sure the book represents everyone at UPrep,” he said. “It’s great if they learn design skills and how to write good captions, but all of them
will have jobs someday where they work with other people, and that’s what I hope to prepare them for. They will use these skills regardless of their career path.”

Junior Wynne Johnson said she’s learned Photoshop and design techniques that she uses to elevate her projects in other classes, but she is most appreciative of how much this class has taught her about working with other people, including giving people feedback. “I’ve learned that communication is the key to collaboration,” she said.

Junior Alexa Carlisle said she’s learned how to receive and give honest feedback. “The deadlines in this class matter. If you don’t get your copy editor the copy in time, they can’t copyedit it,” she said.

Alexa and Wynne worked on 21 pages for this design cycle, finding and writing short stories on the pages that contain the school photos of students, faculty, and staff. Alexa also discovered that there is so much diversity within the UPrep community. “I used to think everyone does similar activities and has the same routines, but I interviewed a student who wants to be an astronaut and students who bike to school,” she said.

After taking the class as both an eighth grader and a sophomore, junior Kian Baghai is the photo editor for the 2022–2023 yearbook. “I think the facial expression in a photo and the emotion displayed can tell a story, and then the caption builds on that story,” he said. Along with his photo editor duties, Kian designed the Halloween spread during this five-week cycle. “Choosing the dominant photo to represent the day’s events was tough,” he said. “I picked a photo from the ‘Thriller’ dance performance put on by students, faculty, and staff because that’s the most traditional part of the UPrep Halloween celebration, and some of the faculty and staff danced with students for the first time this year.”

Like all the students, Kian communicated about the design and stories on his spread as he created it with his assigned editor. “I communicated with Max [Rubenstein, 12th grade] frequently. I sent my ideas and designs to him, and we had an ongoing conversation. I’ve learned not to get defensive when an editor tells me what they think,” he said. “You have to learn to take the teaching in a good way and apply the critiques where you feel it works best.”

This ability to dialogue respectfully with other students to create a finished product that everyone in the class is proud to hand to students in the spring is one of Scott’s main goals. “In the end, I want them to be proud of what they produce,” he said. “I try to give them a lot of editorial independence, so they feel real ownership of their work.”
 

Get to Know Journalism Teacher Scott Collins 

When Scott was working as a television news producer in Portland, an anchor he was working with decided to get her teaching certificate. “I thought, ‘Oh my gosh, that’s what I want to do. I’m so jealous!’” he said. That realization led Scott to earn his Master of Education at University of Oregon. (He earned his BA in journalism at the University of Missouri.) After teaching in Eugene, Oregon, and Raytown, Missouri, he arrived at UPrep in 2017. He has also led sessions on video journalism at national conventions. Scott loves that he teaches both Middle and Upper School students and sees students evolve throughout their time at UPrep. “I like building relationships with the students—learning how they see things and who they are as people. It keeps me young,” Scott said.