NaNoWriMo is almost here! We’re finally complete with our updated website infrastructure and are now ready to talk about changes to educator accounts. Please read this message in its entirety for information about what’s new for this year and what we need from you to let you get started.

But first…why are educator accounts changing?

In 2023, we received legitimate community concerns about the lack of safety controls in place for educator accounts. Under the previous policy, any adult could create an account of this type and call themselves an educator. Though our intention had been to create a space for school teachers, librarians, and home school parents to manage curriculum, hold class discussions, and to view their students’ progress and review their work, we did not have sufficient policies and technical infrastructure in place to support that intention, and to fully support the safety of minors.

In early 2024, we temporarily disabled the creation of new educator accounts, pending program overhaul. We announced to our community via several messages throughout the spring and summer that we would implement an educator verification process in 2024. The process we are releasing now is the culmination of a yearlong effort to transform the way this important program functions.

What is the big change to educator accounts in 2024?

Our new policy allows only credentialed adults to operate educator accounts. This means that any new-to-us educator who wishes to use classroom features will need to be verified prior to gaining access to educator permissions. Returning educators with existing accounts will need to be verified as well.

• For new-to-us educators, we have now re-enabled our “Create an Educator Account” feature. New educators who sign up through this mechanism will be provided with provisional accounts until verification is complete.

• Returning educators will find that certain permissions have been temporarily revoked. These permissions will be reinstated once the account holder has been verified as an educator. Returning educators can begin the process of verification by filling out this form: https://forms.gle/Xmc5Pr2zkYvWbXSx7

How can educators be verified?

We are currently set up to verify credentialed teachers, librarians, and homeschool parents.We’ve listed some of the kinds of documentation we’ll accept below. Or, If you believe you have other documentation that demonstrates your current-year status as an educator, please send what you think is relevant.

• Teachers can provide licensure information, a teaching credential, or evidence of employment as a teacher for the concurrent academic year, as well as information about the accredited institution in which they currently teach. Moving forward, we will require that teachers use their school email address with their YWP educator accounts.

• Librarians or library employees with program responsibilities will be asked to provide information about the library in which they currently work, and to use their professional email address with their accounts. Librarians or MLIS candidates could also submit documentation showing transcripts or a degree. Non-librarian employees chould submit something showing their title and outlining their program responsibilities.

• Homeschool parents will be asked to provide evidence that they are educators with a registered home school. This may be a private school affidavit or the equivalent documentation required according to the student’s locality.

We recognize that a small number of special circumstances may not be represented here (e.g., you teach in an afterschool program for a nonprofit that helps students complete writing projects). If you believe your special circumstance warrants review, please write to us about your circumstances at ywp@nanowrimo.org. We will grant educator accounts to those with special circumstances on an ad hoc basis.

What if I currently hold an educator account and don’t meet these requirements?

If we cannot verify your educator status, your educator permissions will not be reinstated. However, there are many ways to help a young person you know complete NaNoWriMo and to take advantage of resources for young writers, without having an educator account.

• Young Writer Program resources are readily available, whether you are logged in or not. Even without creating an account, you will still have access to numerous tools and resources for adults and young writers.

• Parents of children who are 13+ who are not homeschool parents may participate on our main website, NaNoWriMo.org. Writers who are 13-17 can create accounts that are specifically designed for minors. They have less visibility than adult accounts (e.g., accounts for minors are no longer searchable/findable) and fewer permissions than adult accounts (e.g., minors no longer have access to social features that would expose them to strangers). If you would like to participate as a family, we recommend 1) having each family member create a separate account on NaNoWriMo.org, 2) becoming a buddy of every participating member of the family, and 3) having the parent create a family writing group. This will give you access to a social space to discuss your projects. Plus, you will be able to see the progress of those in your buddy group and cheer them on.

We hope this is helpful. Though we are available to field questions at ywp@nanowrimo.org, we ask that if you have questions about whether we will accept a specific credential, you simply fill out the form. We will let you know if the credential you provided cannot be accepted.

Thank you again for your interest in this program and for your partnership in helping to make it safer.

The NaNoWriMo Programs Team