Submission Guidelines

We welcome you to share your insights and commentary with our growing community of readers. Here’s what you need to know about becoming a contributing writer for EdSurge.

In addition to the stories reported by our journalists and fellows (see more about our Voices of Change fellowship here), we publish a selection of narrative essays written by individuals who bring unique experiences and perspectives to conversations about teaching and learning.

On behalf of our readers, we are a bit choosy! Below are our editorial guidelines:

We look for pitches that relate to our areas of coverage across early childhood, K-12 and higher education. For 2023, we’re reporting about youth mental health; student growth and engagement in the classroom; the conditions of the modern education workforce; how education is changing to reflect U.S. demographic shifts; and efforts to make quality education more affordable and accessible.

In a nutshell, your piece should offer a fresh, thoughtful narrative on issues relevant to these themes, and should draw upon your professional — and in some cases personal — background and experiences. We’re drawn to personal narratives and evidence-based opinion essays that offer untold perspectives.

Here are some exemplar narrative essays by contributing writers:

• Are Early Childhood Teachers Happy and Healthy? This Research Study Will Find Out by Kyong-Ah Kwon, an associate professor at the University of Oklahoma
• How Monolingual Teachers Can Support English Language Acquisition for Multilingual Learners by Donna Neary, a newcomer specialist and social studies teacher
• America’s Teachers Aren’t Burned Out. We Are Demoralized. by David Stieber, a Chicago Public Schools high school teacher
• Schools Are Seeing More Hate and Bias Incidents. But Educators Are Not Helpless to Address Them. by Derek Francis, manager of counseling services for Minneapolis Public Schools
• As a Student, I Couldn’t Afford a College Sweatshirt. As a Professor, I Keep That in Mind. by Ruby C. Tapia, chair of the women's and gender studies department at the University of Michigan
• Want Students to Flourish? Teach Human Ecology by Sandra Ericson, former chair of the Consumer Arts and Science Department at City College of San Francisco

How to Pitch Your Story

There are a few ways to pitch us.

Have an idea to pitch? Please submit a story pitch — ideally two to three paragraphs including a claim or essential question you plan to explore with a few details about what you plan to include, and why your experience can help to tell this story. Along with your pitch, let us know what your current role is. You can submit here or email to voices@edsurge.com.

Have a draft already? Please submit your draft to voices@edsurge.com. Aim to keep your essay under 1,200 words and please include relevant links to sources (in the body) as evidence for your points and any photographs, videos, charts or graphics that help tell your story. In addition, please include a brief bio, links to your work and a photo of yourself.

If we’re interested in working with you to edit and publish your story, we’ll get back to you within one month with an email outlining next steps. If we accept your submission, we will assign an editor to work with you.

What Could Lead Us to Decline Your Piece?

• Lack of fresh perspective or information
• The writer doesn’t have firsthand experience with the topic
• Lack of clarity
• Not enough substance or evidence for the points discussed
• The piece reads like marketing material or a press release for a product, company or service
• The writer has an affiliation with a company, product or service that creates a conflict of interest
• Excessive vitriol or pandering

We steer clear of conflicts of interest or subtle bias. That means if you’re receiving any perks or compensation for organizations that you’re writing about or that are related to the subject that you’re describing, and that relationship creates a conflict of interest, your pitch will not be accepted.

We’re eager to continue to build our community of readers and writers and are excited to welcome you into it! Please reach out with questions.