In late October, the Central yearbook staff began delivering our school’s 2021-2022 yearbooks to students.  The yearbook staff works hard every year to create something meaningful that students and staff can carry with them for the rest of their lives. Many students at Central have expressed mixed feelings about the yearbook.

There were aspects of the 2021-2022 yearbook that students appreciated. One popular element was the 3D cover design:“I thought the cover was nicely done,” said junior Julia Hopkins, who recently received her copy. “I also liked the pages where they talked about the most ordered apps.” Sophomore Chloe Flynn also stated that she liked the cover design. Similarly, freshman Kiry Ortiz, who is in the yearbook class this year stated, “I liked the way they tried announcing advertisements.”  

However, there are strong feelings from students that the yearbook could have been higher quality.  Some complained that it was lacking visual appeal. “I thought the black writing with white highlights wasn’t visually appealing,” Hopkins said, “A box with a nice font would have been more visually appealing.” Similarly, Ortiz stated, “I think the backgrounds need improvement; I saw last year’s yearbook and the background for the seniors was really basic and plain.” Junior Nasja King, who was in the yearbook class both this and last year, stated, “There were some pages that were completely blank, and the layouts from the website could have been more organized.”  

Grammar and spelling errors were also present in the yearbook. Sophomore Kaitlyn Helm, a current yearbook student who also took the class last year, said, “Half of people’s names were not spelled correctly, even students that the yearbook teacher knew. There were also multiple teachers whose names were not listed on the staff and faculty page.” Additionally, there were also multiple students who were listed in the wrong class. For example, Flynn stated that one of her friends was listed in the freshman class, when she was actually a sophomore that year. Flynn also said that her own name was misspelled multiple times.

Students also felt that inclusivity was lacking in last year’s yearbook. “I felt like there was favoritism; there was the same group of people in a lot of the photos,” Hopkins said. “On the other hand, there were a lot of people that weren’t in any of the photos.” In addition to the favoritism of certain people that seemed to take place, there could have been more of a balance of clubs and activities in the yearbook. “There were a lot of clubs that weren’t included,” Helm stated. “It was mainly just sports and athletics.”  

Overall, students conclude that last year’s yearbook was not done as well as yearbooks in previous years. King felt that the yearbook for the 2020-2021 school year was more organized and done better, saying that it was “more completed and thought out.”    

There are plans moving forward on how to improve the program and make the next yearbook better. Taryn Smith, who is a new English teacher at Central this year, has taken over the yearbook class. “We have learned a lot together,” she said. “I feel that I am very organized and committed to Central, and I am dedicated to making the yearbook better and building the program.” Students in the class are also wanting to make sure that there is more inclusivity and balance in this year’s yearbook. “We want to make sure that we include as many clubs and events as we can, and make sure that we have people to take photos of those events,” said Lia Myerscough, a freshman in the yearbook class. Students who were in the class last year shared how timeliness was lacking, and that they only had two months to put everything together. There are also plans and hopes to stay more on top of deadlines in order to get the yearbook done in a timely manner. 

Students outside of the yearbook class also gave suggestions on how to improve the yearbook.“They should have stronger editing, and overall just look at them with more care,” Hopkins said. “They should also value visual appeal and accuracy over just a mound of content.” Similarly, Flynn felt that spelling and grammar could be improved, and that there could be better fact-checking.

Ms. Smith stated, “I am also hoping to get the yearbook back to a spring release instead of a fall release, so that students can have the experience of being able to sign each other’s yearbooks at the end of the year. We also want seniors to be able to get theirs before they leave.”