Submission Guidelines for Commentary Writers

Education Week

Commentaries should be written on issues that affect K-12 education and are of interest to a broad range of people. Our readership is made up of school administrators, policymakers, and teachers, but also includes lawmakers, scholars, government officials, business leaders, professionals in fields such as health and social services, parents and community advocates, and others with an interest in young people and their development.

Submissions should be opinion essays, not scholarly reviews. They should present a point of view on a specific topic and be written in clear, jargon-free prose. No footnotes, graphs, or illustrations should be included, and subheadings and bullets are discouraged. Keep quotations brief—the essay should discuss your views, not summarize others’ opinions. Though footnoted material and parenthetic citations will not be published, you should provide sources of quotations and factual information for copyediting purposes.

Essays should be no more than 1,200 words in length. There is no minimum length, and shorter pieces are encouraged. On very rare occasions, Education Week reprints with permission essays from other publications, but as a rule we do not accept manuscripts that have been published or accepted elsewhere.

Submissions will be edited for clarity and length, and to conform to the Education Week style manual. When substantive changes are required, authors may review the edited copy before publication. An e-mail address and telephone number should be provided with manuscripts. Minor revisions are made at the discretion of the editors.

Submissions will be acknowledged by e-mail or postcard. Typically, you will be notified within two weeks if your essay is accepted or under serious consideration. If you have not been contacted by the date specified in our acknowledgment, you may assume that we cannot use your submission.

If your essay is accepted for publication, you will be contacted about possible publication dates and the amount of your honorarium. The editors decide when and where the essay will be published in the paper and/or online. Payments are made within two weeks of publication. Your honorarium covers the publication of your essay in Education Week and any reprint of your work in an Editorial Projects in Education publication. You retain the right to publish your essay subsequently. Reprint requests from other publications will be referred to you.

Commentary submissions can be e-mailed to either as an attachment or embedded in the message. Submissions sent by mail should include a copy on compact disc, and be sent to: Commentary, Education Week, 6935 Arlington Road, Suite 100, Bethesda, MD 20814. Manuscripts and discs cannot be returned.

If you wish to respond to a Commentary or article published in Education Week, please do so with a letter to the editor. Guidelines for submitting a letter can be found here.

Please e-mail with any questions not answered above.

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Teacher Magazine

Opinion Pieces

The editors of teachermagazine.org encourage submissions for the magazine’s Web site’s op-ed/personal essay section, “First Person.” The Web site aims to challenge, provoke, connect, and entertain teachers. To do this, we'd like to hear from a variety of voices.

In organization and tone, these pieces should take the form of opinion essays rather than scholarly papers, research reports, or lesson plans. Essays may touch on local or state issues but must not focus solely on regional matters. Submissions should describe a particularly meaningful or moving personal experience, discuss issues of teaching or education policy, or reflect on teaching methods or other pedagogic issues. These essays are generally school-related, and they are often light in tone. We do not print poetry or fiction.

Submissions should run between 700 and 1000 words. If your essay is accepted, you will be contacted about its publication date by phone or mail. An honorarium will be paid upon publication.

Essays may be submitted at any time. Email them to: teachermagazine@gmail.com . Note clearly in the body of your email your name, phone number, address, and e-mail address. Alternatively, you may mail to Teacher Magazine, Comment Editor, 6935 Arlington Rd., Bethesda MD 20814.

Best Practices

Teachermagazine.org also accepts short pieces on successful classroom practices. Best Practices essays should be no longer than 500 words and should describe your experiences with an effective lesson plan idea or instructional method, along with tips for other teachers. Essays should be emailed to teachermagazine@gmail.com. Please include the words “Best Practices” in the subject line and include your name position, grade level, school name, and contact information in the email.