Wichita high school students created yearbook spreads despite pandemic challenges
This past year-plus, the pandemic created unique opportunities and challenges for young reporters in the region as they worked to cover how their schools and communities responded to the coronavirus crisis. This spring, The Eagle published its first-ever roundup of high school student journalism online to highlight those efforts.
Now, as many look to emerge from the pandemic with the availability of vaccinations against COVID-19, these students reflected on the last school year. They wrote the first rough draft of history with their stories, as some journalists say.
A high school yearbook is a particularly telling image of how the 2020-21 school year played out — for sports team, band practices and classrooms alike. To spotlight how high school students across Wichita remained resilient in the face of remote learning and canceled events, The Eagle compiled a roundup of yearbook spreads for its second collection of high school journalism.
I cover workplace issues and employment for The Eagle with support from Report for America, a national service program that places journalists into local newsrooms to report on under-covered issues and communities. Part of my work as a corps member is to mentor young people in the Wichita area and help them grow their journalistic interests. This round-up is part of that effort.
As the students take a well-deserved break for the summer, so will this roundup. Keep an eye out in the fall for future highlights from young reporters in our communities.
Derby High School
Reese Cowden and Nik Shay for Panther yearbook
Photographers: Kaitlyn Jolly, Mya Studyvin, Nik Shay, Hailey Jeffery, Talia Ransom, Janeah Berry, Kiley Hale
Headline: Kyli Bailey
Joanna Chadwick, journalism adviser at Derby High School, said:
“Early in the school year, yearbook editors asked junior Kyli Bailey to stop in daily and show us her epic looks. She is a natural in front of the camera, and we wanted to showcase her fashion, makeup and variety of looks throughout the school year. Multiple photographers took these photos, and Reese Cowden and Nik Shay captured Bailey’s presence in this design.”
Yearbook Editor-in-Chief Sara Brown said:
“Our book was born in the midst of chaos. We changed our mindset and execution of coverage because we couldn’t rely on specific events happening. We shifted from spreads that primarily cover one subject to two chronological spreads a month that focus on reporting what is actually occurring, focusing on a wider variety of students and covering topics overlooked in the past. Not everyone was in the same place at the same time and the barrier of virtual learning presented challenges technologically and mentally. We defeated these obstacles and produced amazing work. When the football team was quarantined the week of homecoming, the game postponed mere hours before it was scheduled, we quickly adjusted even though it was the dominant module on a spread. We became accustomed to being patiently, yet efficiently flexible. This year was different from all of the rest and our book directly reflects that.”
Maize High School
Mia Hennen and Meredith Frahm for Regal Red yearbook
Headlines: Gettin’ Spooky, In Review, Building Skill
Dan Loving, journalism adviser at Maize High School, said:
“Many students on the staff contributed to the page, but the overall look of the page was done by co-editor Mia Hennen and co-editor Meredith Frahm did the photos in the main module.
“I thought this spread was visually exceptional. The colors in the center spread are so vivid. It was also newsworthy because it really illustrates the lengths the staff and students have gone to this year to keep things as normal as possible. This page shows a choir concert that was recorded without an audience and everyone wearing masks.”
Rose Hill High School
Aislin Burnison for The Flame yearbook
Headline: Boys Soccer
Matthew Browning, journalism instructor at Rose Hill High School, said:
“Aislin Burnison, who is the editor of The Flame yearbook, created this page from scratch. Simply put, she is just fantastic! Not only as an editor and designer, but as a person as well. I would love to have 10,000 Aislin’s in my classes!”
Wichita Southeast High School
Chloe Bruyere and Thu Nguyen for Hoofbeats yearbook
Headline: Masks, Masks, Masks; Profile Pictures
Nathan Christner, journalism adviser at Southeast High, said:
“This spread represents an early attempt at trying to find creative ways of both referencing the coronavirus pandemic and soliciting content during remote learning. We had to figure out how to get pictures when no students were in the building so selfies and profile pictures were one way of accomplishing that.”
Wichita West High School
Madison Knoll, Arely Zapata, Alyssa Hayes and Jocelyn Vargas for The Trail yearbook
Headline: A new approach to learning
Jacob Wilken, journalism teacher at West High, said:
“This year has been exceptionally difficult for almost every subject in the school. For yearbook, we have had an exceptionally hard time. Due to the four-by-four schedule we only had yearbook as a class for one semester, but somehow a handful of students have given it their all to make it work. I am always very surprised and happy by the designers and their ability to make spreads colorful and make them pop, I have been ecstatic at the students who have gone out of their way to take photos. Managing editor Arely Zapata and first year staff member Madison Knoll have taken on a massive amount of the work and are really going above and beyond to make sure that the book gets finished and looks great.”
This story was originally published May 19, 2021 at 4:07 AM.
