Kyle Carter, CJE

Kyle Carter, CJE, is the business and journalism teacher at Richland R-1 School in Essex, Missouri. His photography work has been featured in: Sports Illustrated, USA Today, Time Magazine, The Oprah Winfrey Show, the National Enquirer, The Telegraph (London), Los Angeles Times, U.S. State Department publications, and on various companies’ Major and Minor League baseball cards as well as other national and international publications. Carter was a JEA national Rising Star Award recipient in 2016 and the MJEA Rising Star Award recipient in 2015. He continues his freelance photography work around his “day job” as a high school teacher. Carter also teaches photography on the side, some children through retired adults. He has two children: Kylee, 13, and Ryan, 11.

What is your approach to recruiting students for your journalism program?

I have several. First, I teach one hour a day of junior high computers, in which I get to interact with every junior high student in our school. I learn their likes, dislikes, abilities, quirks, and temperament. The kids learn about computers (software and hardware) and I learn about the kids. These students learn in the computer lab that is my classroom that is designed each year by my EIC [editor in chief]. I give my EIC the authority to redesign my room at any time they'd like to make it more effective, or for holidays, or anything else they'd like. They are also taught in the same room that is covered from floor to ceiling tiles with photos. They get to use some of our lighter equipment as well when creating projects for the class. This always gives a sense of wonder and excitement to 8th graders in my room because they want to be a part of it. They want their own stocking on the wall, their name and face on my classroom door and want me to trust them as I do my staff. My yearbook staff also has the ability to recruit. In February our applications go out and are available to any student, 8th grade through juniors. Any staff member can go to any student and tell them to fill one out and turn it in. We do the interviews in the end of Feb. (myself, the incoming EIC, and their number 2 are all in on the interviews) and post the new staff for the next year on March 1. This gives them roughly three months to work with the old staff and learn before officially taking over.

How do you go about making sure you recruit diverse students to make sure your program reflects your community?

Please understand that I do understand the question, but there is much more to diversity than race, gender, or religion. In 10 years at Richland, we have had four black students in the high school. Two had no interest in our program - the third was in my program for two years before graduating. The fourth joined her first day and we all wept the day she moved because we loved and appreciated her so. Like most yearbook and journalism programs, we are heavily female. It's just not cool to be a yerd sometimes. One of the major diversity issues for our school is the haves vs have nots. For the majority of our school, most of our students are on or below the poverty line, however we do have a few that come from well-off, well-established families. This often causes a rift between students. In our program however, each student's voice is equal. We tell them during the interviews and my editors stress it to them, we don't care if you are poor, rich, white, black, purple, straight, LGBTQ+, worship God, Alla, Budda, Vishnu, or Jobu - if you can make us a better staff and are willing to work, we want your help and input. If you want to complain, cause drama, or simply do nothing, we are not the club for you. Our yearbook staff members are held to a higher standard, even higher than our athletes.

How has recruiting improved your program?

I believe that our recruiting has greatly helped our program. Every March when the newbies begin it's like a shot of adrenaline in the arm for our staff. The months of January and February often have a lull, but once we include the new staff everyone catches fire and finishes strong. The older staffers see the excitement in the newbies and seem to recapture some of that for themselves each year. Also, recruiting from the junior high like I do, I am able to learn very early on those students that I think will be good staffers and those that aren't mature enough yet for the job.

What challenges have you faced in recruiting students for your program?

Due to the heavy job load that my staffers often choose to bear, I have had a couple of teachers not want their students to join our staff. Also, of course, I occasionally have a student that I believe would be a great fit, but they simply don't desire to learn or do the work. Usually, I or my staff, are pretty good recruiters, but recruiting against a students' own apathy or lackadaisical attitude is nothing something we can always win over.

What is your best piece of recruiting advice for other advisers?

GET OUT OF YOUR CLASSROOM!!!! Get to know the students BEFORE you start recruiting them. Let them see you on a good day and a bad day. See them on good days and bad days. Don't just teach 5 hours of the same class because it's easy. Teach younger kids - let them get to know you and help them. Go to the junior high and help out in an English class or an art class. Don't worry about who is a jock, a nerd, a gamer, or whatever - look for a kid with a creative mind, one that can express themselves, and is inquisitive. Be inquisitive, not judgmental.