Blog Post Submission Guidelines

Thank you for submitting a blog for the GradNation.org website. You can re-purpose other materials used for your Summit for the blog so long as you have approval to do so from the original content producer. However, please keep in mind that the blog should NOT be a press release. At its core, the blog should tackle the question: How the summit will or has helped you to accelerate progress on increasing high school graduation rates in your community, what will your next steps be and what you need from others to reach your goal?

In order to publish your blog on our site, please make sure the following is included in your submission:

  • Blog should be nomore than 700 words
  • A short title for the blog
  • The name, title and organization of the author (usually the convener)
  • A one sentence biography – especially as it relates to your blog
  • Headshot (at least 300px wide, no borders); and/or another optional image such as a logo or candid photo
  • Twitter handle and/or any hashtags you’d like us to include
  • Select which channels you’d like to have tagged (see below)

Please submit your materials at least five (5) days BEFORE your OR no later than (5) days AFTER your Summit has been completed. Should we make any substantive changes to your draft, we’ll send back our changes for your final approval. Otherwise, we’ll correct any spelling or typographical errors before publishing.

We tag each entry with subject matters that we discuss on GradNation.org. You may select which channel (or channels) you’d like to tag in association with the blog, or we can do it for you. The channel options are:

Attendance. Chronic absence is a critical early warning sign.

College and Career Success. The 2nd Grad Nation goal is regaining America’s standing as first in the world in college.

Early Childhood. The foundation of skills needed for 21st-century jobs is established in the earliest years

Expanded Learning. These programs take a number of forms, such as a longer school day or year or afterschool.

Family Engagement. Parents and caregivers play an important role in a child’s educational success.

Grad Rate Data. Understanding facts and research on graduation rates is vital to the Grad Nation effort.

Health and Wellness. From physical to mental health issues, communities are implementing a variety of programs.

Literacy. Reading proficiency by third grade is a key predictor of high school graduation.

Mentoring. Mentoring is a positive youth development strategy that increases graduation rates.

Re-engaging Youth. Youth disengage from school for a variety of reasons.

Risk Behaviors. Engaging in risk behaviors is a predictor for poor academic performance.

Social and Emotional Learning. Effective SEL programming begins in preschool and continues through high school

Special Populations. Programs that support groups including foster youth, incarcerated youth, teen moms, etc.

STEM. STEM refers to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education.

Using Data. Communities and schools are tasked with using data to effectively impact youth outcomes.

Youth Involvement. Programs and strategies to help increase youth voice and involvement.

Finally, in order to create a blog post for our GradNation site, you have to join our GradNation web community. We will use the author’s business/org email address to set-up a profile. This process requires nothing from you and you will not receive any spam email as a result, but we want to make sure you are aware of it.

Once we post your blog, we’ll be sure to share it on our Facebook and Twitter (@americaspromise) feeds. We’ll use the hashtag #notdropouts and/or #GradNation. We encourage you to share it with your network as well.