Grading for Editors

1. Grading for Editors Alyssa Sellors Harrison High School Kennesaw, GA

2. Contact Information Alyssa Sellors Harrison High School Kennesaw, GA 30152 Email: alyssasellors@gmail.com Twitter: @alyssasellors To access this presentation and all handouts in the presentation, please visit my blog at www.alyssasellors.com

3. Layout Assignments *Staffers are put into “layout teams” of 3 which include a writer, designer, and photographer *We try to keep the same teams but can change them as needed *Every 4 weeks, teams get their deadline assignments (see sheet to the right for an example)

4. Deadline Management: How we do it... • Using “Mini Deadlines” • Adviser “Check-ins” three times a week with the teams and editors • Editor meetings at least once before school/weekly

5. Check In Sheet:

6. How to grade: Writers

7. How to set and manage mini deadlines • I have four mini deadlines: (1) Angle deadline, (2) Interview question deadline, (3) Interview completion deadline, (4) Copy deadline.  (see next slides for explanation) Managing Mini Deadlines • To manage all these deadlines, I set dates for the deadlines. Prior to a mini deadline, I text my writers messages like “Angles due October 18,” or “Angles due tomorrow at the end of class.” On the day of a mini deadline, I stay in the Yearbook room to collect the angles, copies, etc. All mini deadlines are a completion grade, so my writers either have to have it or they don’t. Even if they are absent, they still have to submit their angle, copies, etc. on time.

8. Angle deadline:I give my writers about 3-4 days to research and develop angles for their copies. My writers submit their angles verbally, typed, or hand-written. • Interview question deadline:I believe that writing interview questions shouldn’t take three days to write, so on average I give my writers 1-2 days. When my writers submit their questions, it is delivered to me typed or hand-written. 

9. Interview completion deadline:This is a new deadline I created because many of my writers waited until the last minute to conduct their interviews for their copies. I love this deadline because it helps my writers with their time management skills and also helps me know that they’re on track and who they interviewed. I supply my writers with a signature list they have to get signed by their interviewees. I usually give my writers a week to complete this deadline. Once a writer completes this deadline, they hand me their handout with all the required signatures on it. • Copy deadline: The copy deadline follows after the interview completion deadline. I like to set this deadline 3-4 days after the interview completion deadline. This is because my writers have all their information for their copy, so all they need to do is plug it in. The writers submit their copy via email or they print me out their copies.

10. What it looks like….

11. What it looks like…

12. Hardest part of your leadership role? • The hardest part of my leadership role is grading. One reason why is because when I grade, I have to look at every detail of the copies and the captions. It requires a lot of time, dedication, and reading. Also sometimes the spreads don’t come out exactly the way the editorial board wants it, so I have to correct tons of errors.

13. How do you resolve conflicts among staffers? • I usually do not have problems with my writers and their grades. Majority of the time if there is a conflict, I talk the staff member who is having issues. If the issue is too hard for me to resolve, I report the problem to Mrs. Sellors.

14. What lessons have you learned? • I have learned that I need to stay on top of things at all times. There are many details that I have to keep up with my writers. If I don’t stay on top, I tend to get lost and confused. I have also learned that not everyone will understand what I am saying. Some people understand Yearbook writing, but some don’t understand. The AP style guide, my personal writing rules, and other things – some of my writers don’t click with it. Lastly, time management and communication is crucial. Without good communication with my writers, many deadlines are missed. Having good time management will help my writers not be stressed and also myself not stressed.

17. How to grade: Designers

18. How to set and manage mini deadlines • For mini deadlines, the only ones I tend to set are for modules. I look at the calendar and the amount of time before the deadline and I determine when the designers will present their modules ideas to me for check-off, and then I put a day into place that I want their module designed by. The module design is subject to change but I like to have an idea of what it will look like to prevent scrambling.

19. Hardest part about your leadership role? • The hardest part of my leadership role is fixing the mistakes on the page after they are turned in to me. Even though the designers have a checklist and I answer the questions they have before the deadline, there are still a lot of errors on the page when they are turned in to me. This ultimately makes my job a lot harder because I am under a time crunch to pass the pages along to our editor, and for her to turn all of the pages in to our teacher to make our final deadline for the editors as a whole.

20. How do you resolve conflicts among staffers? • I don’t really have many conflicts with staff members over grades. However, if one were to arise, I would sit down with them and put their rubric alongside their checklist and they would see where the points were taken off of their spreads and why.

21. What lessons have you learned? • I need to focus on time management. With a hard course-load and a job it is often difficult to balance all of the activities I am involved in while trying to keep a social life, and I sometimes put yearbook things to the side until I can get to it. I am getting better at time management as the year goes on though. Professionalism and how to manage a team is definitely a lesson I have learned through this experience of being design editor. You have to know how to deal with a team and deadlines while also being respectful to your team members.

24. How to grade: Photographers

25. How to set and manage mini deadlines? • As photography editor I do not have a lot of mini deadlines, and only set them according to how my photographers are doing. Since we had to transfer over captions to the photographers due to conflicts with writers, I have had to set a caption deadline. I set this deadline based on the writing editor's copy deadline to ensure enough time for the writer to help my photographer and enough time to work on captions before the deadline. The day a mini deadline is due I go onto eDesign right after school and check who has met or not. If they do not meet, then obviously they have missed their deadline and I take note on what they have and have no done yet.

26. Hardest part about your leadership role? • The hardest part of my role is watching my photographers. I can see my photographer's process very clearly and if they are not getting a lot done, then I just watch them crash and burn. It hurts me to see them struggle at the very end and then also get a bad grade for their lack of effort. It is also hard having to pick up the pieces at the very end because I only have about a week to fix everything when I know my photographers and other staff members had three more weeks than me to perfect what I now have to do.

27. How do you resolve conflict among staffers? • Whenever there is a conflict with a single staff member I will take that staff member into the computer lab next door, out in the hallway, or somewhere somewhat secluded and discuss with them about what is happening….. • For example, I had to talk to one of my photographers about organization. I took her to a computer lab and asked her questions about her organizational skills during the past deadlines and then added in my advice to help her see a better way of organizing her time in yearbook. I also made a organization handout for her to reinforce what I had spoken to her about. If it is about a grade I will take the staff member to a separate room as well and first ask why they may think I graded them unfairly.

28. How do you resolve conflict among staffers? • Depending on the situation I will give them my reason why I graded them not just from a personal perspective, but also with as business perspective. For example, a staff member recently was confused why she got 10 points off for not having all component of her captions on her page. I told her that she got 10 points off not just because the rubric said that all captions and photo credits must be there and completed, but also because if the book was printed without those components that it would look very inconsistent and very noticeable to our consumers. It would just ruin the whole book and everyone's hard work. If it is a conflict between two or more staff members then I get each of the individual staff member's side of the story and then put them together and try to find a solution that will put both ends at ease.

29. What lessons have you learned? • Next time I would be more onto my photographers on their progress rather than watching them crash and burn. I would also be quicker on my changes on errors when pages where in my hands, especially for minor details. I have learned that I need to stay true to myself and no matter how much a photographer argues with me I have almost every right to grade them the way I want to grade them. I also learned that being assertive, not mean, is pretty much the only way to get what I need out of my photographers.

32. Editor-in-Chief & Assistant Creating the editor’s deadlines

33. How to set and manage editor deadlines • The other editors are in charge of checking every technical aspect of the book (fonts, sizes, margins, spelling and capitalization, etc.). Our editor deadline was basically set up into mini deadlines too like this: • Monday- staff pages due at the end of class; design, photography, and writing editors work on grading • Tuesday- specialized editors finish grading pages, beginning editing • Wednesday- specialized editors edit any changes to the pages • Thursday- specialized editors finish editing pages, Ed in asst begins check • Friday- Whole editorial board meets in the morning to look over pages together and make sure there is nothing big we need to change over the weekend; Ed in Asst finishes checking pages, I begin checking

34. How to set and manage editor deadlines • Weekend- Editor-in-Chief tries to finish editing and checking the pages by Saturday • Monday morning- Editor’s meet as a group with adviser to go over any errors, etc….Adviser spends this week editing pages and submits the following Monday.

35. A typical deadline week (for editors)

37. How do you resolve conflicts among staffers? • I do not have to deal with much of the grading, but in dealing with conflicts I try to just keep my cool. There is no reason for someone to still be mad if I am calmly explaining to them what needs to be fixed and why. They would have a reason to be mad if I was abrasive and ill tempered. So I've just learned that the best way to resolve conflicts with upset staffers is by remaining calm and understanding

39. So, how are editors graded? • Editor’s earn a total of 250 points for every deadline • Part of their grade is what I call an “Employability” grade (100 points) • Leadership skills • Conflict resolution • Part of their grade is what I call a “Performance” grade (100) • Follows technical aspects • Creativity • Making deadlines/setting deadlines/ managing deadlines • Final pages to me are error free • I use a very simple checklist and rubric to assess my editors (see next slides)

41. You can use this rubric for all staffers as well

42. Self-Assessment or Peer-Assessment • I have gone back and forth on these….I typically do one or the other but have also done both (a little too time consuming). These assessments are an additional 50 points for the staffers.

43. Any Questions??? Thank you!!