Students at the Austin Area Learning Center are completing the final touches on their very own scrapbook of memories.

Twenty-two teens are preparing to send the fifth edition of the “ALC Chronicles” yearbook to press before school ends.

Advisor Derik Gustafson said his students take pride in having their own yearbook apart from Austin High School’s publication, the “Austinian,” which they are also included in.

“A lot of our kids are in the ALC because they want to be here, away from the mainstream environment,” Gustafson said.

The yearbook staff is not merely participating in an activity; they take responsibility and receive hands-on instruction in writing, photography, design and graphics in this elective class.

“They get a lot of discretion, a lot of control,” Gustafson explained. “They generate the ideas. They each take a piece of that yearbook and make it their own.”

For one semester, ALC students are involved in almost every aspect of the process — even binding; printing is done by the AHS graphics department, the only step not completed by the staff. Students who have good attendance and are not behind in credits are eligible for the class.

The ALC Chronicles is produced free because it is published in-house, Gustafson said.

During class, staff learn how to take and upload digital photos; Adobe Photoshop, a photo editing software; Adobe InDesign, the latest layout program; and other educational applications like writing and grammar.

“We are learning a ton and taking skills they can bring into the market,” Gustafson said.