Contribute
We welcome practicing educators 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 school and college instructors and administrators 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. We’re reporting about student growth and engagement in the classroom; what teachers need to thrive; student well-being and mental health; instructing today's diverse learners; literacies for the future; 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 and center educator experiences.
Here are some exemplar narrative essays by contributing writers:
We Need Better Pathways for Becoming an Early Childhood Teacher by Jay Lee, an early childhood teacher
How a Holden Caulfield Chatbot Helped My Students Develop AI Literacy by Mike Kentz, a literature and writing teacher
Most Students Think History Is Boring. Here's How We Change That. by Alex Brouhard, a high school social studies teacher
Joy Oozed From My Classroom When I Was a Teacher. As a Principal, I’m Carrying That With Me. by Damen Scott, a high school principal
Black Literature Gave Me the Freedom to Learn, and Now I’m Giving It Back to My Students by Deaunna Watson, the director of diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging at a Montessori school
My School Gave Me Hope, but Our Superintendent Shut It Down by katie wills evans, a humanities teacher
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 email your pitch 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 with an email outlining next steps. If we accept your submission, we will assign an editor to work with you.
Please note that our editors work directly with writers, so we prefer for each writer to submit their own pitch. If someone else is submitting a pitch on behalf of a writer, they must disclose and explain the relationship.
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 a profile of an individual, school or organization
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 also prioritize human stories told by humans. At this time, EdSurge does not intend to publish material written by, or with the aid of, generative artificial intelligence, and any exceptions will be disclosed to readers. If you have used generative AI to write or aid your story, you must disclose it when you pitch.
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.
EdSurge editors retain final editorial control over all aspects of essay publication, including but not limited to headlines, art and text.