- Jobs
ResumeCreate your job-winning resume using our free resume builder.
PortfolioShowcase your skills and projects with a professional portfolio.ResumeCreate your job-winning resume using our free resume builder.Resume BuilderMake a resume for free.Resume TemplatesAccess our extensive library of professional & ready-to-use templates.Resume ExamplesGet inspired by real resume examples to create your own.Occupation GuideAccess resume writing guides tailored for different professions.Resume HelpGet expert advice on all things resume from our team of recruitment specialists.- ResourcesSuccess StoriesBusiness ExcellenceAbout CakeResumeFeatured Reads
- Hire
- Download our App
Teacher Cover Letter: The Complete Guide with Templates
You'll learn how to:
Are you on a job search to become a teacher?
Before sending out your resume, you might need a teacher cover letter (or teaching application letter) to win your audience over. Attaching a professional teacher cover letter will win the principal’s attention and even bring you an interview!
A cover letter is a letter that outlines your skills, qualifications, and experience to support why you are the best candidate for a job role. A well-crafted cover letter for teachers (application letter for a teaching job) will differentiate you from other candidates who only have a resume.
In this article, you’ll learn how to write a teacher cover letter with tips for different roles, teacher cover letter template, and a teacher cover letter example.
✍🏻 Note: If you are writing a letter of introduction or letter of interest for a teaching job, you can adjust the content in the cover letter. The point is to address your strong interest and availability without targeting a specific job role!
Example of a teacher application letter
Sandra R. Addison
[email protected]
+1202-555-0967
www.Sandra-Addison.com
Tuesday, May 11, 2021
Principal Donald P. Jaynes
Golden Sierra Elementary School
3459 Horizon Circle
Tacoma, WA 98444
Dear Principal Jaynes,
I am thrilled to see your opening position for an English teacher. With my 8 years of experience in Wagon Junior Preschool and Eulogia Elementary, I believe my skills and qualifications will serve as a substantial addition to your school and the students.
During my former position as an English teacher with Wagon Junior Preschool and Eulogia Elementary, I improved 50 students’ average grades by 10% by reorganizing the former syllabus’s information structure. In 2018, I introduced an instructional material co-share system with students now adopted by the entire school to facilitate learning efficiency.
Moreover, I worked together with colleagues to design new learning structures for classes with different needs. This resulted in comprehension improvements, and discussion time reduction by 30%. My passion for teaching also drove me to found an after school creative writing club, in which I volunteered to provide additional resources to 15 talented students with less accessibility.
I greatly admire your school’s teaching guidelines, which are to: cultivate critical thinking, inspire team spirit, and initiate respect among childrens. My commitment is to provide students with dynamic resources to pursue their capabilities, and develop essential perspectives to be a healthy human being. I believe my experience and skills will align with your goals and provide support to nurture the passion for learning.
Thank you for the time, and I am ready to elaborate more in an interview about how my experience and knowledge of subject matter can translate into your asset at Golden Sierra Elementary School.
Sincerely,
Sandra R. Addison
What to include in a teacher cover letter
1. Cover Letter Header
List your information: name, email, and phone number on the top of the teacher cover letter. You can add optional information like a previous teaching document portfolio, or LinkedIn profile URL. Then insert the date, which is necessary for a formal document like a teacher cover letter.
2. Salutation (with the Recipient's Name)
Start the teacher's cover letter with appropriate greetings. A simple “Dear +Position + Last name” such as “Dear Principal Miller” will do.
3. Use a Strong Introduction to Start the Teacher Cover Letter
Before you get down to business, you should further introduce yourself and the purpose of the teacher cover letter.
💡 Tip: Create a hook in the introduction to make the principal or hiring manager interested: mention your status, previous teaching experience, and key attributes that make you a great candidate for the teaching position.
Example:
As a professional Math teacher with 7+ years of robust experience, I am thrilled to apply for the Mathematics Teacher position at Seacoast High School. My experience aligns well with your requirements. My passion, communication, and organizational skills will bring a real contribution to your team and bring personal growth to your students. I believe these qualities make me a more-than-ideal candidate.
4. Key Qualifications: Why It's Got To Be You
In the second paragraph of the teacher cover letter, it’s time to show how exclusive you are. This is the crucial paragraph in the teacher cover letter. Bring out the most impressive achievements, skills, and academic experience to persuade them.
💡 Tip: Align closely with the original job description to write a tailored cover letter for the education position. Besides describing previous responsibilities, use numbers to support your efforts in bringing effective education to learners.
Example:
In the previous roles, I focused on solving repetitive problems with the students while delivering key concepts. In addition, I am passionate about motivating and supporting students, not only academically but also socially. My students’ progress reflected on the 20% grade improvement and 97% passing rate, and I was voted the Teacher of the Year in 2017 and 2018. I also founded an after-school creative writing club to create opportunities for talented students’ college applications.
5. Motivation: Why It’s Got To Be Them
After demonstrating your abilities, switch the topic to the school. Research the school and their style or culture, and how it matches your expectations.
💡 Tip: Explain your understanding of the school, what you can bring to the table, and moreover, the reasons for the application are shown here in the teacher cover letter.
Example:
I admire Sunset High School’s modern teaching method to create a task-based and collaborative learning environment. I believe a task-based method is a more effective approach to learning, and having a teamwork spirit is a great facilitator. As a result, I am more than excited to work for your team and impart positive strategies to the school.
6. Additional Information
This paragraph can be optional for a teacher cover letter, depending on whether there is supplementary information.
You can bring about recommendation letters, certificates, instructional design portfolio or projects, or personalities.
7. Closing Conclusion
Before you sign off, add a compelling closing to your teacher's cover letter. Use one or two-sentence to call-to-action for an interview. Wrap up the teacher cover letter and leave some breadcrumbs for an interview.
Example:
Thank you for reading and please review the attached resume for additional details regarding my education experience. I would welcome an interview to discuss and share how my teaching philosophy can best serve Sunset High School and its students.
8. Sign-off & Signature
Leave a closing sentiment, your name, and your signature at the end of the cover letter for teaching positions.
Example:
Sincerely,
Diana Jones
How to write a great teacher cover letter
In your teacher's cover letter, don’t write without an aim. Everything in your cover letter should fit with the institution’s goals and value in the job description.
Here are 5 tips you need to know to write an exceptional cover letter for any teaching positions:
✅ Tip 1: Include teacher job posting keywords in the cover letter.
Look into the school’s job posting, and mark the keywords that are used to describe the role requirements. Insert keywords in your teacher cover letter as you did in the teacher’s resume to make the letter immediately appealing.
✅ Tip 2: Tailor to the job and educational institution/facility.
Your teacher cover letter should be tailored to match individual schools, instead of using the same content for each application. You should be honest in the teacher's cover letter, but try to describe your achievements in different aspects.
✅ Tip 3: Highlight specific skills.
Your cover letter for the teaching position should imply your personality and your key strengths. Mentioning your skills will help the principal decide if you are the right fit for their school who matches the school culture.
Example of essential skills on a teacher cover letter:
- Critical thinking
- Conflict resolution
- Communication skills with students and parents
- Clear expression and explanation
- Observation
- Problem-solving
- Strong organizational skills
- Strong patience and empathy
- Time management
- Positivity and encouraging
✅ Tip 4: Proofread.
Find a colleague or trusted friend to proofread your teacher cover letter. Make sure everything is free of grammatical errors and typos.
✅ Tip 5: Include volunteer experience, after-school or extracurricular activities.
If you are a fresher substitute teacher or teacher assistant writing a cover letter with no experience, highlight your volunteer teaching experience as solid evidence of your passion for education to separate you from other applicants.
Extra application letter tips for 5 different education positions
Looking for a teacher cover letter for one specific subject? Are you a fresh graduate with no experience writing a cover letter? Or are you struggling to craft a teaching assistant cover letter?
See some teacher cover letter extra tips for different circumstances:
Teacher with No Experience
When writing a teacher cover letter for freshers with no experience, focus on delivering the soft skills you’ve developed in extracurricular activities or volunteering in an educational institution. Give real examples in the teacher cover letter to make your experience intriguing.
Elementary Teacher
A cover letter for an elementary teacher should focus on why you enjoy teaching and spend time with children. Explain how you foster a friendly environment for different diversity.
Talk about your passion with personal examples or measure your accomplishment with numbers.
Assistant Teacher
If you are writing a teaching assistant cover letter or application letter, explain how you can assist the teacher and student’s learning, and why you can get along well with students to establish positive learning support.
The cover letter for any educational assistant should explain the extra advantage of having you as an assistant. If you are familiar with the professor, your cover letter for a teaching assistant in university can address their teaching style and your admiration.
Substitute Teacher
If you are writing a substitute teacher cover letter, you should address your flexibility to pick up interrupted learning circumstances, and your reliability to be a friendly backup.
💡 Tip: Mention you are stable and will stick around to be a responsible teammate in the application letter for a substitute teacher.
English Teacher
A cover letter for an English teacher needs to be compelling about your qualifications and strategies or approaches applied to meet learner’s needs.
Mention your strong English proficiency certificates or test score in the letter, and attach them with the teacher cover letter and resume. Focus on the instructional resources you have and the self-learn encouraging environment you built.
Cover Letter Template for Teachers
Below is a cover letter template for teachers to help you save time.
[Your Name]
[Your email]
[Your Phone Number]
[Your Location (optional)]
[Date]
[Principal Name]
[School Name]
[School Address]
Dear [Principal Name]:
- [Opening]
As a teaching professional with [years of experience], I’m enthusiastic to read your new job posting for a [Teacher Position]. I believe my [skill 1], [skill 2], and [skill 3] match perfectly with your requirements and will be a valuable resource to both the institution and the students.
- [Body1] During my previous role as a [previous experience],
- [Achievement 1] These achievements will align with the skills you’ve mentioned
- [Achievement 2] Use quantified results to be precise and persuasive
- [Achievement 3] It’s optional to use bullet points
- [Body 2] I greatly admire your school’s well-known value and vision to [school feature]. I believe my teaching philosophy aligns with the values you believe in, and I am eager to join your team and committees to integrate your values with my academic knowledge.
- [Closing] Thank you for your time, and please review the attached resume for further details on my previous working experience. I would welcome an interview to elaborate on how I can work with your team to be a supportive member and valuable resource for students and the school.
Sincerely,
[Sign-off Name & signature]
--- Originally written by Wu Chao Min ---
More Career and Recruitment Resources
With the intention of helping job seekers to fully display their value, CakeResume creates an accessible free resume/CV/biodata builder, for users to build highly-customized resumes. Having a compelling resume is just like a piece of cake!
