Jostens, the leading producer of yearbooks and student-created content, announced that Vestal Middle School’s yearbook program has achieved the Jostens 2023 National Yearbook Program of Excellence award at the Bronze Level. The National Yearbook Program of Excellence recognizes engaging yearbooks that reflect a broad representation of the student body while helping students develop 21st-century skills such as communication, collaboration, and information & communication technologies (ICT) literacy.
Vestal Middle School’s award-winning yearbook program is led by Yearbook Committee officers Sayeh Hajinazar, Yih Hui Lim, Samantha Miller, and Sophia Smith, under the direction of Advisor Doneen Saar.
“I had an excellent yearbook staff for the 2022-23 yearbook with many sixth-graders and some returning students. All of them worked together very well to make sure that we included as many students as possible in the yearbook and to make it as appealing as they could to all students,” said VMS Yearbook Advisor Doneen Saar. “Our seventh- and eighth-graders on staff really took their leadership seriously and were excellent guides to the sixth-graders. I am hopeful that we will have many returning staff this year, and we will continue to improve!”
Jostens’ National Yearbook Program of Excellence Awards are presented twice a year, in spring and in fall, based on the yearbook’s arrival date at the school. The award was presented to the Vestal Middle School yearbook program for achieving defined criteria in between one and three of the following categories: creating an inclusive yearbook, generating school engagement, and successfully managing the yearbook creation process.
“Jostens is proud to recognize those individuals who have created an exceptional yearbook for their school and community,” said Tammy Whitaker, Jostens VP and COO Yearbook Division. “These schools did an exceptional job on multiple levels. Yearbooks are a critical part of capturing and telling a school’s story, and Jostens is dedicated to supporting yearbook staff members as they do their important work.”
Founded in 1897, Jostens has produced school yearbooks for over 60 years. Schools rely on Jostens to provide a combination of journalism education and technology tools to deliver a learning experience that helps students develop skills in journalism, photography, writing and design, leadership and business while creating the permanent record of the school year.