TreeRing's Guide to Helping You Create Your 2020-2021 Yearbook During COVID-19/Distance Learning

With the massive disruptions to ordinary school life and distance learning from home, Editors may be struggling with how to capture their 2020-2021 yearbooks.  First, we believe that once in your students' hands, this will be the most looked at yearbook ever with how much time many students are spending apart from their friends.  Additionally, many years from now, this will be the yearbook that stands out.  Second, it's OK that the yearbook won't be the same as previous years.  Capture this year as best you can however it happens.  That may mean: fewer pages, less than ideal photos, pages with lots of Zoom meeting screen captures.  Last, TreeRing is here to help you complete your yearbook and get it to your students.

TreeRing will help guide you through:

1. Filling your yearbook (lots of ideas!)
2. Shipping books to home (we can do it!)
3. Adjusting deadline dates (no problem!)
4. Signing Yearbooks (can be done online!)
5. Additional options (there's more!)

Filling Your Yearbook (lots of ideas!)

We know many events and sports will not be included in this year's yearbook.  We have added some great blog posts to help you fill in extra yearbook pages which you may now have.  You can find our blogs here:

• 4 Steps to Get You Started on the 20-21 Yearbook
• Pandemic/Distance Learning Yearbook Page Ideas
• Capturing the impact of COVID-19 in your Community
• Capturing Back-to-School(ish) in Your Yearbook
• Virtual Classroom Yearbook Ideas: What to Cover when School is Closed
• Tips For Sourcing Yearbook Photos From Your Community When Distance Learning
• Create a Timeline of the Year's Changes
• Student Designed Yearbook Cover Contest
• Recruiting Your Perfect Yearbook Team From a Distance
• 30 Virtual Spirit Week Ideas & How to Cover It In Your Yearbook
• Yearbook Theme Ideas for 2020-2021
• Yearbook Sports Spreads When Game Day’s Canceled
• 4 Yearbook Photography Tips to Capture the Students Behind the Mask
• 3 Ideas to Capture Learning Pod Memories in a Yearbook
• Yearbook Portrait Ideas during the Pandemic: When Professional Photography is Not an Option
• Covering the New Normal of Student Clubs in the 2021 Yearbook
• COVID-19 Pandemic Summary & "What I did During the Pandemic" filler pages 
• Get Parents & Students Amped Up About Yearbook to Increase Sales
• Yearbook Sales: Make Your 2021 Yearbook a Sell-Out Success
• Professionally designed 20-21 Year in Review Pages  (Will be available by the end of March)

You may also want to use our new Recognition Ads feature to help highlight people and groups who have really helped guide your school community through this crisis.  You can fill A LOT of pages if you allow all of your graduating class to include a 1/4 or 1/2 page "recognition ad" about themselves.  You can even use it as a fundraiser to help your program! Our guides on Recognition Ads can be found here:

• Recognition Ads for All Seniors/8th Grade/5th Grade/Everyone

If you find yourself missing portraits of students, due to Portrait taking being missed, we have some ideas on how to fill in those missing spots:

• Options for Missing Student Portraits in Portrait Auto Flow

Shipping to Homes (we can do it!)

If your school will be closed for the rest of the school year, or your local social distancing mandates will keep you from being able to distribute yearbooks to your families, we have an available Ship-to-Home option.

We've always had this option, but you previously had to select this option before selling books.  Now you can turn this option on and have all orders collect a mailing address.  There's a flat rate $4.99 per order shipping option.  You can update previous order's ship to home mailing address from the app.  

Chief Editors can change to "All Books Ship to Home" at any time. A guide for making this change is here:

• Enable Shipping All Orders to Students' Homes & Update Address for Previous Orders

Once you've enabled your school for Ship to Home,

• Chief Editors can edit the address of previous orders by following these instructions
• Parents can add/edit their own address on their orders by following these instructions

Changing Deadline Dates (no problem!)

If you need some extra time to complete your yearbook, no problem! You can change your print ready date by following this guide: 

• Changing deadline dates

Remember to review the timing of our guaranteed delivery and recommendations for Custom Page deadline dates:

• An overview of TreeRing deadline dates

Signing Yearbooks (can be done online!)

With school closures and shelter-in-place directives becoming the new normal, yearbook signing days at your school may not happen this year. Not to worry! TreeRing has had the Signatures feature available for a while now which allows students to e-sign each other's books. The instructions are easy and you can work with your parents and students to have them sign each other's books!

• Sending & Requesting Signatures
• Adding Signatures to Custom Pages

Additional Options

Hopefully as a last resort, but if you simply don't need all of your pages, you can reduce your number of pages.

• Decreasing the page count in the yearbook

Lastly, if there are families in your community who can no longer afford the book they purchased or you simply have no way to finish the yearbook, you can cancel any or all of your book orders anytime.  (But we hope you don't!)

• Canceling orders before the deadline

We know this year has turned into even a bigger challenge for all of our Chief Editors and schools. We'll keep offering ideas and help so you can complete your yearbook. More than ever it is important to capture memories and create a yearbook for your school community. No matter when or where they get their yearbook, everyone will still love it!

Remember that TreeRing has your back!

Can't find your answer in our Help Center? Our agents are available to assist you Monday - Friday from 6AM to 6PM Pacific Time.

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(877) 755-TREE