ACP’s yearbook works hard year-round to make sure that students receive a book that captures a true high school experience and the events of the year. As a result, for the second year running, ACP yearbook staff has received the National Yearbook Program of Excellence Award, a prestigious accolade for yearbooks across the country. On top of that, they are also getting featured in the Jostens 2020 Lookbook, which calls attention to only the best of the best.

Under the guidance of Mrs. Patterson, the yearbook advisor, yearbook staff members dedicate a majority of their time to designing and creating pages. As yearbook and newspaper coincide, I’ve had the pleasure of experiencing firsthand how devoted and diligent all staff members are when it comes to producing great content. The chief editor of the yearbook, Emma Fendrick (12), is very pleased with her yearbook team and what they’ve accomplished so far. Here is what Emma has to say about their newest accolade:

Q: How do you feel about receiving the National Yearbook Program of Excellence Award again?

A: I feel so proud of the staff, and so excited that we have been recognized yet again for all of our hard work and dedication to creating a beautiful book for ACP.

Q: What is the award about? What does it entail?

A: The Jostens National Yearbook Program of Excellence Award is given to yearbook staffs across the country who have gone above and beyond to create both an incredible book, and an incredible yearbook program. Jostens recognizes schools that have met their deadlines, advertised their yearbooks well and sold a large proportion of their yearbook goal. This year we sold 95% of our goal of 600 books!

Q: How is the 2019-2020 yearbook different compared to previous years? 

A: This year’s yearbook has more and better content than any of our previous yearbooks. The design we chose for the pages is a huge step up from last year; there are more pictures, more detailed writing, and some new elements that we experimented with this year!

Q: Can you explain what the Jostens 2020 Lookbook?

A: The Lookbook is an annual publication from Jostens that showcases the “best-of-the-best” in terms of yearbook design. Schools win awards for their covers and spreads, and they are displayed in the year’s Lookbook.

Q: Was receiving the award a goal for yearbook this year? If so, what did you do to accomplish this?

A: I think it’s always a goal to be recognized for a job well done, but our first and most important goal is to create a yearbook that truly reflects everyone’s year at ACP. Our coverage is extremely important to us; it’s basically how many times each person was tagged three times in the yearbook. This year we managed to achieve 88% coverage, which means every student is highlighted at least three times in the yearbook.

The criteria from Jostens is:

A Meaningful Book for All Students: A book that means something to all students and includes a vast majority of the student body.

A Book in Every Student’s Hands: Schools put so much time, effort, and love into their yearbook. We want to help ensure that as many students as possible get to enjoy the masterpiece that’s created.

Effective Project Management: Meeting the yearbook deadlines is a very important part of the yearbook creation process and ensures the delivery of books on time.

Q: Is designing the yearbook a difficult job? How does the staff accomplish their tasks?

A: It can be difficult, but we always face challenges together, which is the most important part. There’s a reason the yearbook staff isn’t just one person. Each staff member brings a unique set of skills to the table, and throughout the year, we recognize those skills and utilize them when we are creating the yearbook. We are also deadline driven, so we make sure we have what we need before the due dates and communicate with others when we need help writing captions or tagging names.

Q: What can ACP expect for the yearbook this year?

A:  The cover is incredible, like nothing we’ve seen before! I am so excited for people to see it! ACP can also expect a beautiful book that accurately captures their year and can be a lifelong memory of the 2019-2020 school year, despite its rather unexpected end.

Congratulations to the yearbook staff for a job well done! We can’t wait to see the newest ACP yearbook edition!