Early College wins national award for second time
Gaston Early College wins national yearbook award for second time
English teacher. In 2014, his
staff was one of 19 schools
in the state to win. “I am
extremely proud of this staff of
students,” Paul said.
In 2016, Jostens published
yearbooks for 30,000 high
schools across the United
States. Only 555 of them, or
slightly less than two percent,
earned the company’s National
Yearbook Program of Excellence
Award.
The award program has a set
of strict criteria, and one of
the biggest challenges is the
requirement to meet every
publishing deadline through the
school year.
Gaston Early College High
School was one of these. They
were the only high school
in Gaston County to win the
award and one of just 27 in
North Carolina.
The staff had the award in
their sights from the first day
of school, said editor Yuliana
Melendez, who is now in her
13th year at the Early College.
“It was our main goal, our
focus from the very beginning,”
she said.
It was the second such award
for Russ Paul, the Early College
yearbook adviser and an
6
One day earlier this year while
the rest of Gaston County
Schools took a snow day,
Melendez and several other
editors realized they had a
deadline to meet. They went
into the college to work, editing
from 9:00 a.m. until midnight.
“We definitely wanted this
award,” she said.
The Gaston County Board of Education honored the Gaston Early College High
School yearbook staff for winning the Jostens National Yearbook Program of
Excellence Award. It is the second time the school has earned the recognition.
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Then, as they were getting
ready to send the pages to
Jostens, the WiFi went down.
“I was freaking out,” Melendez
recalled. She ended up going to Books A Million to use the Internet.
“We had to get that deadline,” she explained. “That’s one of the
memories we always talk about.”
To win the award, the staff also had to increase sales from the
previous year by 10 percent. The 2016 staff sold 25 percent more
than last year and had the first yearbook to ever sell out. In addition,
they sold $6,000 in sponsorship advertisements to local businesses.
The group headed out to knock on doors and ask for sales once a
week.
“That was definitely an adventure, to be out in the real world,” said
Melendez.
Paul said he was impressed by the staff’s talent and work ethic: “The
determination to exceed the standards for a National Yearbook of
Excellence and the skills learned by creating a publication for our
school will carry these young adults into successful lives.”
Melendez agreed. She credits the experience she gained as editor
with helping her earn a manager role at her afterschool job at Ben &
Jerry’s.
“I don’t think I would have gone for something like that if I hadn’t
been editor,” she said. “It definitely taught me a lot of leadership
skills.”
GastonEYE.com
4 • November/December 2016 • Parent Teacher News