"The arts, it has been said, cannot change the world,
but they may change human beings who might change the world."
Maxine Greene
The theme for The Ohio Council of Teachers of English Language Arts (OCTELA) Annual Conference is: Celebrating the Language ARTS: The Interconnectedness of Literacy and the Arts. In alignment with theme, the OJELA editorial team invites classroom and community educators to submit manuscripts that explore the relationship of the arts with English education for our Fall 2026 edition of The Ohio Journal of English Language Arts.
We recognize that we live in a world where football stadiums get more funding than our schools, which can lead to difficult decisions such as cuts to arts programs. We want to celebrate what happens when we center arts programs and arts integration in our classrooms, schools, and community spaces. What happens when educators provide their students with a world that connects literature to a painting, a song, a play, or movement? We believe that our students will become change agents when we make space for their self-expression, critical thinking, and creativity through arts integration in our classrooms.
Arts integration brings life to our ELA standards, leading to personal development and opening doors to a world that may not exist yet, but that we hope to one day live in. A world where, “the arts are not just a nice thing to have or to do if there is free time or if one can afford it. Rather, paintings and poetry, music and fashion, design and dialogue, they all define who we are as a people and provide an account of our history for the next generation.” (Obama, 2009).
We encourage you to define the arts broadly as you draft your manuscript. Feel free to be guided by the following questions as you craft your contribution:
How does an arts integrated approach hold space for students to deepen critical thinking and expand creativity? In other words, how can arts integration develop what Maxine Greene (2025) refers to as “social imagination: the ability to look at the world as if it could be otherwise?”
What are ways that the arts can boost a love for reading and writing?
How have arts-based community partnerships enhanced instructional practices and student learning outcomes?
What arts-based pedagogical tools and resources have you implemented in your classroom?
Have you collaborated with an arts teacher in your school, district, or community to effectively engage students?
Dr. Rudine Sims Bishop (1990) advocated for us to think about books as “mirrors, windows, and sliding glass doors;” how might the arts integration and programs in ELA spaces enhance our literacy instruction to include more diversity so that marginalized groups can see themselves in what they read?
How do you use your own creativity to bring life to your ELA classroom?
What kinds of texts and composing support arts-based approaches to ELA?
Your submission could be a research articles. You might also write a pedagogical article that shares teaching ideas or curriculum projects. You could also share stories or reflections from your teaching life. As the arts is centered in this call, you might also consider sharing your work through prose language and/or other expressive forms. All submissions should be no longer than 4000 words (excluding citations).
We welcome works from writers representing all levels of English Language Arts education (PK-College) in Ohio and beyond. Preservice teachers, in-service teachers, teacher educators, and other investors in English education are all encouraged to send in their submissions for consideration. In aligning the call with the OCTELA Annual Conference, we also hope that presenters will consider sharing their presentations in manuscript form. Conference attendees might also share how they took up some of the ideas gleaned during the conference. We also welcome K-12 student perspectives. Please see our Fall 2025 edition for an amazing example of a teacher and administrator who co-authored an article with their eighth-grade students.
Open-themed Manuscripts Also Welcome: In addition to manuscripts that meet the theme of the Fall 2025 OJELA publication, we also welcome general interest manuscripts that speak to English Language Arts topics or issues relevant to the English Language Arts interests of our audience. We also welcome original poetry, artwork, and book reviews.
Please contact Dr. Stephanie Reid, the OJELA editor, with any questions about your submission or the OJELA publishing process. She can be reached at: ojela@myoctela.org. The editorial team is excited to support you in developing your manuscript or creative work for publication, so please also reach out any time for conversation regarding your ideas for publication.
Please see the Submit Manuscripts to OJELA webpage for further details regarding submitting your work for consideration of publication in OJELA.
Ohio Council of Teachers of English Language Arts is a 501(c)6 non-profit organization.
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