Write for ASCD Express

ASCD Express is our free email newsletter. Published twice a month, Express provides practical, actionable strategies from teachers, school leaders, and education researchers around the world—straight to your inbox. We develop each themed issue with an eye for relevance to the real experiences of working educators.

We seek articles for each issue's topic from classroom teachers, leaders, researchers, and specialists. Submissions typically range from 600 to 1,000 words and have actionable takeaways. We welcome research-based strategies and solutions, examples from your own classroom, and advice about how to overcome specific challenges. 

In your submission, please include your name, a brief professional bio, links to any sources, and the issue theme. Because of the volume of submissions we receive, we ask that you wait one month after the submission deadline to send any inquiries.

We look forward to reading your work!

How to submit: We are now accepting submissions through Submittable. If you have questions or suggestions, please send us an email. 

2020–21 Call for Submissions

Ongoing: Respond and Reimagine 

On a rolling basis, we are accepting submissions for a recurring monthly issue that will address the challenges educators are facing related to COVID-19, distance and hybrid learning, health and safety, and equity, as well as the promising practices that will help re-envision teaching and learning post-pandemic. 

January 28, 2021: Mental Health for Educators

The majority of U.S. teachers report that their work is "always" or "often" stressful. Many are also vulnerable to secondhand trauma and compassion fatigue. Recognizing these as urgent issues in K–12 education, this issue will highlight ideas and programs for promoting teacher well-being and mental health and explore ways schools can provide better supports to help stave off burnout, depression, and anxiety. Educator mental health need not be the "elephant in the classroom" any longer.

Submissions due: December 15, 2020

February 25: Making PD Stick

Educators have no shortage of professional development offerings, but do they always have a lasting effect in the classroom or on school leadership? This issue will explore how and why effective PD works, highlighting successful programs as well as the science of adult learning and knowledge transfer. It will also provide tips and ideas for creating and facilitating effective PD sessions and look at how school leaders can build thriving cultures of professional learning.

Submissions due: January 1, 2021

March 25: Equity in Action

Maya Angelou once said, "Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better." We know what the data say about inequities in education—now we need to do better. But how do educators actually change their practices to be more equitable? This issue will unpack how biases and legacy policies can shape everything from pedagogy to curriculum to assessments to relationships and expectations—and offer real and practical ways to take action at the school and classroom level. A central focus will be on identifying strategic steps to improving learning opportunities and support for all students.

Submissions due: February 1, 2021

April 22: The Empowered Principal

If it's true, as Simon Sinek says, that leadership is a way of thinking and a way of acting, what do effective school principals look like in action—and how do they get that way? What training, system supports, and school structures help principals feel empowered, capable of leading schoolwide instruction, and equipped to create thriving learning environments? This issue will look at ways to strengthen school leadership pipelines, build capacity, and support principals at all career stages. We welcome stories about or by successful school leaders describing their development and their professional needs.

Submissions due: March 1, 2021

May 27: From Research to Practice

Everyone wants to see evidence-based practices in schools. But how can educators and scholars do a better job of translating research findings into classroom instruction and school decision making? This issue will highlight effective ways to bridge education research and practice, exploring promising models and opportunities to address knowledge gaps, identify relevant findings, and integrate best practices in schools. Possible topics to be explored include teacher research, professional development initiatives, school and higher education partnerships, and technology-based solutions to the gap between research and practice.

Submissions due: April 1, 2021

June 24: Innovative Lesson Planning

This issue will explore how to plan well-designed, innovative lessons that can boost student engagement and learning retention—whether you are teaching in the classroom or through a computer screen. Special attention will be paid to the changing context and priorities for lesson development and delivery in light of the pandemic, including technology issues and potential learning gaps. Key topics to be addressed include planning methods and structures; deeper learning; cultural relevancy; differentiation; and personalization. The issue will also look at methods for evaluating lesson materials and ideas and the role school leaders can play in powerful lesson planning.

Submissions due: May 1, 2021

July 22: Families as Co-Teachers

Partnering with families has taken on new dimensions—and new promise—as caregivers have assumed a greater role in their children’s learning during the pandemic. This issue will explore what schools and families have learned about how caregivers can support their children’s academic growth and ways schools can stay connected to a child’s home life, to build relationships and relevancy. Stories will focus on new models for supporting families and tapping family members’ skills or wisdom to better serve students.

Submissions due: June 1, 2021

August 26: Schools as Centers of Healing

From providing meals, counseling, and health screenings to offering safe, reliable spaces for kids to grow and play, schools are so much more than just places for academic learning and testing. This issue will look at ways schools can more fully embrace their role as care-giving, whole child-focused institutions and the impact that a culture of nurturing and empathy can have on students and a school community. Articles will draw on the latest and best strategies and research to help educators support the whole child and ensure all students have an equal chance at success.

Submissions due: July 1, 2021

September 23: Education's New Era

The COVID-19 pandemic—along with concurrent societal tensions and inequities—has had profound and likely lasting implications for schools. This issue will explore what comes next for K–12 education, examining how schools are recovering and building on lessons learned. Topics to be addressed include equity and inclusion; learning loss and instructional priorities; technological and school structural changes; crisis management and leadership strategy; school cultural change; and whole child and whole educator needs. What gaps has the pandemic exposed in education? What possibilities and new pathways has it opened up?

Submissions due: August 1, 2021

October 28: Compassionate Discipline

"My humanity is bound up in yours, for we can only be human together," said Nobel Peace Prize winner Desmond Tutu. What does it look like to take a human-centered, whole child approach to classroom management? To emphasize care over control, skill-building over finger-pointing, and prevention over emotional reactivity? Key areas of emphasis in this issue will be proactive approaches to social-emotional learning and strategies to get to the root of—and respond to—challenging behaviors. The goal is to highlight classroom management strategies and programs that promote positive relationships, support learning, and help educators improve overall effectiveness.

Submissions due: September 1, 2021

November 25: Cultivating Educator Efficacy

Educator efficacy is a self-fulfilling prophecy: The more a teacher believes in his or her ability to positively impact student learning, the more he or she will do so and feel a sense of thriving in the profession. This issue will explore how schools can strengthen educators' and leaders' sense of efficacy—through instructional improvement initiatives, coaching, collaborative professional learning approaches, data collection, cultural competence, and culture-building strategies. A central emphasis will be on developing collective efficacy in schools—researcher John Hattie's number one factor for improving student learning—as a way of empowering educators.

Submissions due: September 15, 2021