Pitches wanted (media, education) | $600 per piece

COMPANY/PUBLICATION: THE GRADE

The Grade is a foundation-funded independent effort to improve media coverage of schools. We cover education journalism like education journalism covers schools.

We’re looking for people who can produce high-quality opinion pieces. Recent examples of our work include pieces about the coverage of learning loss, Black homeschooling, rural schools, school board protests, and SEL — as well as commentary on the coverage from the New York Times and the Seattle Times and the newsroom response to the George Floyd protests.

We can pay $600 per 1,200-word piece or slightly more for pieces that feature original reporting. No journalism degree or beat experience required, but you do need to be brave about expressing strong opinions, quick at writing them down, and responsive to editing.

Send clips & story pitches to thegrade2015@gmail.com with “OPINION” in the subject line.

Contributors have written some of the best and most popular pieces we’ve published (or republished).
Some contributors take on a big magazine or newspaper article that got a lot of attention, for better or worse:

• The problem with the New York Times’ “impoverished rural schools” narrative (Mara Casey Tieken and Sheneka Williams)
• Praise and a wish for more from ‘Raising Kings’ (Joe Williams on an NPR series on an all-boys HS in DC)
• A cautionary tale about linking school choice and segregation (Gail Cornwall on the NYT)

Some contributors focus on a region or local news outlet where things aren’t as good as they could be:

• In Connecticut, fewer reporters, more missed stories (David DesRoches)
• How the Seattle Times’ COVID coverage missed the mark (Alexandra Olins)
• 2 education reporters … for a metro region of nearly 8 million people (Joanne Jacobs)

Some contributors focus on the importance of journalist-source relationships and reporter training:

• Why education reporters need antibias training (Issac J. Bailey)
• An open letter to education writers (Sarah Carpenter on parent-focused journalism)
• Parents, here’s how to talk more effectively with reporters (Amy Silverman)
• Student voices missing in coverage of NYC specialized schools debate (Teens Take Charge)

Some contributors take on a coverage topic that’s important enough to get right:

• Why white journalists need to stop focusing on ‘learning loss’ (Ray Salazar)
• Better ways to cover Black homeschooling (Khadijah Z. Ali-Coleman)
• 5 tips on how to cover teacher layoffs (Chad Aldeman)
• How do we get Black kids’ literacy to matter? Have more journalists cover it. (Colette Coleman)
• Writing better stories about students with disabilities (Amy Silverman)
• Too vulnerable to fail? (Amy French on lax grading policies during remote)
• Including English learners in COVID-19 coverage (Barbara Gottschalk)
• What’s missing from back-to-school news? (Kei-Sygh Thomas)

CONTACT INFORMATION:

• Questions / submissions: thegrade2015@gmail.com
• Website: https://kappanonline.org/category/the-grade/

TO HELP YOU CRAFT YOUR PITCH:

• Learn more about the publication: The Grade provides independent analysis of media coverage of education, helping to promote and improve the quality of that coverage. The Grade publishes weekly columns, a free newsletter featuring timely media commentary, and an annual update on newsroom diversity in education journalism.
• Read through a selection of recent articles/stories on its website.
• Check out our collection of pitch excerpts on this page and find more sample pitches at The Open Notebook Database and at SuccessfulPitches.com.