Yearbook hero Greg Carpenter isn’t stressed

Treering Yearbook Heroes is a monthly feature focusing on yearbook tips and tricks.

Few educators willingly take on the yearbook. Greg is one. As a member of the House of Slytherin, he used his resourcefulness to find Treering Yearbooks and make us work for him, not the other way around. He left his previous yearbook companies, frustrated with diminishing print quality and leftover books. Now, because the books arrive before school lets out, Greg’s working to build a yearbook culture at Apprentice Academy.

How do you define yearbook culture?

Building a yearbook culture is difficult. Our old publisher delivered them late every year, so there was never a signing day. This year, I have the first-ever yearbook class. It restored my passion for yearbook. 

The theme was a hit; the cover looked like an iPad. The students reported on more than portraits and sports. There were spreads devoted to style, music, pop culture, and siblings. They used the yearbook to define what makes an Apprentice an Apprentice. They captured the CTE essence of our school culture. 

We still have a ways to go. Mainly middle schoolers and seniors bought yearbooks. I want to get more books in the hands of freshmen through juniors.

What did you do to make your first in-school distribution special?

All the seniors received their books at Senior Breakfast. And one of the seniors that was with us for four years came up to me and said, “Thank you, Mr. Carpenter. We've never got a book before the end of school.”

My son was also a senior this year, so it was cool for him. They all sat around at breakfast, looking through the books, laughing, looking at the pictures, and seeing the superlatives—that made me feel amazing.

I want kids to have access to their year. Something I’ve done for years is a Video Yearbook. It’s a slideshow of behind-the-scenes footage. Students came in and we handed out popsicles while they watched it. The yearbook staff introduces each section and students see photos from their book. They also see outtakes. It is really for the kids who cannot afford a book. They watch it with their friends. I hand out autograph sheets, so if they order a book after the deadline, they can slip it in the back.

How do you structure your staff?

We have a semester system at our school; the kids end up with eight classes a year. So I said, let's do Yearbook 1 in the fall and Yearbook 2 in the spring. It worked out really well. I feel like it's one of the best teams I ever advised, and the website was very straightforward. I use the Treering curriculum modules; with the quizzes at the end, it’s easy documentation for the district CTE.

How else does Treering help?

I should be stressed, but I’m not. Treering handles the trifecta of yearbook stressors: money, minimums, and ad sales. The cool thing about Treering is there are no high-pressure sales, and there is help when I need it. I didn’t need to negotiate a contract because pricing is upfront and haggle-free. It’s like CarMax. Before switching, I had additional cost centers I never saw until the final invoice. 

Treering even gives families two pages.

Let’s talk about that. Some high schools do not offer custom pages to their students.

We look at it like it’s a free ad. Our parents loved the custom pages and bought more after their first two free. It was crazy. They love them. I sent emails home and taught the students how to customize their books. Even the school staff helped and shared them.

I briefly review custom pages because our name is on the cover. It’s also a safety lesson: I remind the students this will be somewhere on the internet. Yes, I can see them. People from Treering see them. Never post anything anywhere that you would want anybody else to see.