Thank you for your interest in writing for our Community blog!
The Educator Collaborative blog typically accepts posts by invitation only. On occasion, we will make an open call for posts. Those will be shared through our mailing list (which you can subscribe to here or at forms on this website) and on social media.
Our primary audience is made up of K-12+ literacy educators, in the US and around the world. Our blog aims to elevate the voices of practicing educators, administrators, consultants, and others who regularly have direct contact with students and teachers and are working to grow and develop the knowledge base of our amazing profession. Our blog is a form of literacy professional development, providing views, ideas, and expertise related to literacy education, concerns and issues facing educators, and often relate to topic such as: social justice, reading workshop, writing workshop, multilingual students, literature, elementary education, middle school education, high school education, technology integration, standards-alignment, and more.
Guidelines:
- Blog posts are generally between 300-1500 words or are primarily visual/digital content joined with written text of at least 150 words.
- Contain at least 1 link to other relevant sources, providing connection to research, additional sources, or a larger conversation, supporting our readers with additional reading or voices to be aware of, and grounding the author’s work in the field.
- Include at least 1 image. Author must own or have permission to include the image, these can include images that the author has created, retained permissions for (submitted with post for our records), or is a fair use image that requires no permission or simple photo credit.
- Posts cannot explicitly sell or market products or services. Recommendations or reflections on books, apps, and ideas that you have used and love may be considered. However, any post that appears to include a main or secondary purpose of sales or marketing is not permitted. The only exceptions are The Educator Collaborative events and services, these may, at times, be contained in posts.
- Post must be inclusive, use bias-free language, and may not include offensive or discriminatory language, including but not limited to stereotypes and libel.
- Must be original work and all aspects must be owned by or rights retained by the author (and co-authors).
- Posts cannot be cross-posted or recycled from other outlets, including one’s personal blog.
- Child subjects’ likenesses or personally identifiable work require permission (download here).
- In most cases, copyrights for works appearing on our blog are held by the named author(s), unless a post is a “position statement” or other work authored by or for the organization in which case The Educator Collaborative, LLC, holds the copyright.
Suggestions for successful submissions:
- We are looking for well written, engaging posts full of fresh ideas or inspired reflections.
- Aim to be inspirational and practical. Our readers love to feel uplifted and/or challenged. They also love to have immediately transferable ideas.
- Concise posts help readers. While the word count is is fairly broad, do consider posts that are information packed and also easy for readers to access.
- Posts must include text, but do not need to be primarily text (options include: infographics, photos, videos and the like that you own the rights to and, preferably, have created).
- Be “loud” with other voices (we love that term from Katie Wood Ray). When you include student, colleague, and/or sources within your post, readers are able to feel a part of a larger conversation.
- More than anything else, write a post full of your heart. Share your voice!
Agreements and Copyright Acknowledgement:
By submitting a post for review with intent to publish, through any means, you agree to the following statements:
I give permission to The Educator Collaborative to publish this work on the organization’s “Community” blog and share via their social media network, including twitter and other company managed outreach, without remuneration.
I understand that submitting a post for review does not necessarily mean it will be posted. I also understand that I may or may not receive a response and that The Educator Collaborative, LLC, reserves the write to accept or deny a post for any reason and without explanation.
Once accepted and posted, if at any time I wish for the post to be removed, I will contact The Educator Collaborative, LLC, at contact@theeducatorcollaborative.com. I understand removal requests will be considered and make take sometime to complete.
I understand that The Educator Collaborative, LLC, may decide to remove a post at anytime without notice. I also understand that The Educator Collaborative reserves the right to edit or revise up to 20% of the submitted work, at anytime, including after posting, without seeking permission, for editorial reasons including, but not limited to, length, clarity, anti-bias review, or the like.
I (and any co-authors) will retain copyright of the submitted work, copyright will at no time transfer to The Educator Collaborative, LLC. The only exception is if the submitted work was created by and for the organization, including, but not limited to, “position statements.”
I acknowledge that the submitted work is original, owned by me, and meets U.S. copyright law. I am granting The Educator Collaborative, LLC, world-wide rights to publish this work online. I shall indemnify, defend and hold the The Educator Collaborative, LLC, and its agents harmless from and against any and all claims, liabilities, damages, losses, costs and expenses, including, without limitation, reasonable attorneys’ fees and expenses and court costs, suffered or incurred by the The Educator Collaborative, LLC, and its agents as a result of any act or omission in regards to my submitted work.