Over the past year, we’ve amplified the voices of educators as they navigated the fallout from the pandemic through our Voices of Change project, creating opportunities for educators to reflect, share and learn from one another through journalism, storytelling and research. We explored how school communities were adapting to meet the needs of all learners, particularly in response to the pandemic and the national conversation about racial identity and racism.
In 2021, as part of this work, EdSurge launched its first-ever educator writing fellowship and we welcomed seven amazing fellows who, over the course of the year, penned deeply personal essays highlighting the myriad issues educators, school leaders, and learners faced in the midst of the pandemic and political unrest in society.
Our fellows covered issues of teacher burnout, mental health, systemic racism, homophobic legislation and more—issues which continue to impact the American education system.
We are committed to our responsibility to provide authentic accounts of these diverse and challenging experiences, and we will be continuing this work over the next two years as we expand our Voices of Change project. As part of this project, we are excited to announce a call for applications for the second cohort of educator writing fellows.
The EdSurge Voices of Change Writing Fellowship will bring together a cohort of educators to chronicle their school experiences throughout the year by publishing stories on EdSurge. Each fellow will be partnered with an EdSurge editor to work with every step of the way. Fellows will become part of a community of educator fellows and have their voices amplified to drive important conversations about teaching and learning. Fellows should have an interest in sharing their stories through writing, but fellows do not have to be published authors or writers. We’re looking for all types of writers from experienced ones to first timers! The process of writing, editing and publishing a story is a unique and exciting professional growth opportunity. The fellowship will provide an honorarium of $5,000 for their time and hard work. Want more reasons to apply? See here.
As a fellow, you will explore how your needs have changed, how your students’ needs have changed and how your school community has supported student and teacher well-being as challenges in education persist. The stories you write will be rooted in practice and will leverage your personal experience and professional expertise.
As part of the cohort, fellows will explore issues related to the following questions:
- How have the pandemic, economic hardship and racial unrest exacerbated inequities in education, and how are educators and school communities addressing them?
- How has the pandemic and its aftershocks raised awareness around mental health and well-being, and how are educators and school communities responding?
- How are the needs and experiences of educators and students changing during what appears to be an inflection point in the history of American education—and how are school communities responding?
- How are schools supporting students and educators in identity exploration and development and/or relationship-building?
- How are school models, instructional practices and other aspects of teaching and learning changing to meet educators and students where they are?
- How are educators and school communities supporting the whole child by looking at what all children have in common and need to succeed, and addressing what children of different backgrounds, experiences and resources uniquely need to succeed?
- What new challenges have emerged in the teaching profession, what existing ones have become more complex, and how are educators and school leaders navigating them?
EdSurge will select up to 10 fellows through a competitive application process. We will develop a cohort of individuals that represent a wide range of identities, experiences, backgrounds and perspectives. The application will invite applicants to share about their identity, background and the experiences that have shaped their work.
Apply Now
EdSurge invites you to submit your application here. For more information, please carefully review our FAQ page. The application deadline is Wednesday, June 22, 2022. Fellowship recipients will be notified of their status by July 8, 2022. Still have questions? Contact us at fellowship@edsurge.com.
Program Details
Fellowship timeline: This fellowship will run for 9 months from July 2022 to April 2023.
Fellow commitments:
- Participate in a fellowship launch call on Monday, July 18, 2022
- Work with an EdSurge editor to write, edit and publish four stories on EdSurge
- Attend monthly check-ins with your editor to hone your pitch and shape your story for publication
- Attend monthly professional development workshops and group Zoom calls conducted via Zoom outside of teaching hours
- Partner with emeritus fellows and peers to provide constructive feedback on editing, writing, and sharing your story
Interested in sharing your story but not ready to commit to the fellowship? Pitch your idea here. (We now pay $150 for all published submissions).
Like previous years, the Voices of Change project is being produced with support from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative. As always, EdSurge maintains editorial independence over all of our journalism, in keeping with our ethics statement.
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