15 A+ Teacher Cover Letter Examples

Have you ever been told you don't need a cover letter for a teaching position? Well, based on my conversations with many academic hiring authorities you NEED one.

One of the most important parts of the academic job search process is your teaching job application letter. Even a cover letter for a new teacher with no experience is critical.

The sample cover letters for teachers and administrators that we have created show you just what is needed to get the reader to pick up and read your resume.

Sample Teacher Resumes and Cover Letters

Why would you risk not sending an application letter?

It is usually the first thing a school administrator or school district superintendent looks at when hiring a new teaching applicant. A cover letter, also known as an application letter or a letter of introduction, is how you introduce yourself as a teaching candidate. It allows you to convey your passion, relevant expertise, credentials, and teaching skills in a one-page letter.

Make sure when you write a cover letter you are not guilty of writing a long-winded one.

Don't make it too short; you need to communicate your value. It's a balancing act!

How you write your letter of introduction for a teaching job will determine if you can convince the reader to move on to your academic teaching resume and be offered a job interview. It's essential you develop a hard-hitting, attention-grabbing application or cover letter full of relevant keywords, teaching accomplishments, and action words that prove your worth.

Formatting your letter of application properly can be difficult if you are unfamiliar with technology and using word processing programs. It is best to match the resume formatting used to create your resume to keep consistent in your presentation. You will notice that all of our cover letter examples match in the formatting of the matching resume.

In addition to ensuring the letter matches the resume, we have incorporated and highlighted all the key aspects an interviewer is looking for in a teacher or administrator candidate.

Examples of Layout and Content for a Teacher Cover Letter

Education and Credentials

The first paragraph of your application letter for a teaching position should address the position of interest that you are applying for and also state that you are submitting your resume for consideration. A hiring school administrator may be looking to fill several positions; therefore, it is necessary to let the reader know right away which type of position is of interest.

Other topics that should be incorporated into the opening portion of your cover letter include:

Teaching and Administrative Experience

Think of your past positions not simply as jobs but learning experiences that helped you blossom into the person you are today. Provide a brief list of relevant jobs you have done and briefly discuss which skills you have developed as a result. Even though you may not be able to think of many technical skills, you have probably learned how to communicate, work with others, solve problems, etc. These are all relevant to your new position, regardless of what it is you are applying for.

No matter how long you have been teaching, you are bound to have several academic achievements to include in your academic job search documents.

Some questions you can ask yourself to help you come up with your teaching achievements, include:

When developing the teaching accomplishments for your cover letter, use as many facts and figures as possible to demonstrate your aptitude and skill sets concretely. It is also great if you can highlight accomplishments that are different than in your resume. When writing your cover letter, you do not want to rehash and copy your resume. So, either re-word your accomplishments or use different achievements to avoid being redundant.

Also, make sure that the achievements you choose to include in your cover letter are relevant and essential to the position. You can change up the accomplishments you highlight, depending on the teaching position of interest.

Instructional and Educational Leadership Expertise

When writing your cover letter, try to avoid starting each sentence with "I"; use action words and unique descriptors to grab the reader's attention. As well, highlight your accomplishments by explaining how your actions benefited the classroom and enhanced the learning experience.

For example:

Instead of: I designed fun lesson plans to interest students.
Use: Designing creative and exciting lesson plans to spark student interest is just one of my strengths.

Instead of:  I used books and technology to differentiate instruction.
Use:  In the classroom, I enjoy integrating age-appropriate literature and innovative technology to differentiate instruction and facilitate all types of learners.

Instead of: I maintained a well-behaved class at all times.
Use: Cultivating a solid rapport with students and implementing positive reinforcement to keep a focused and well-behaved class at all times is one of my successes.

Instead of: I boosted student reading levels by one level.
Use: By incorporating read alouds, hands-on activities, and literature-based thematic units, I was able to raise student reading levels by one level, while instilling a passion for reading.

Can you communicate in your cover letter that you are innovative or that your new ideas have worked well in your classroom? Some schools can be very choosy when picking a new school teacher, making it imperative to show you are innovative. There will be a minimum of qualifications and teaching experience needed, so the reader will be looking for extra attributes. Can you show them you have a unique selling point? Give examples of how your innovations have helped advance student learning or have enhanced your teaching methods in past positions.

Hard and Soft Skill Sets

Don't forget to use both hard and soft skills in your cover letter. Hard skills are anything you can learn in a course or on the job, such as educational technology, various teaching methods, lesson planning, classroom management, etc.

Soft skills are harder to evaluate or quantify and include your time management, organizational skills, problem solving, empathy, dedication, and listening skills, among many others.

Hard skills can often overshadow soft skills, but both are incredibly important. Your hard skills will have a greater opportunity to shine in your resume, however, your cover letter is your chance to showcase your soft skills as well.

Incorporate the words a school hiring administrator is looking for: passion or passionate, dedicated, committed, goal-driven, hard-working, diligent, and so forth. Whichever words you choose to incorporate in your teacher cover letter, make sure they are accurate. For example, use sentences in your application letter such as:

Greatest Strengths

Analyze the job advertisement,if available, and see how the mentioned requirements correlate with the strengths you have demonstrated in other careers or positions. Perhaps you excel at collaborating with colleagues to assess a situation and devise an appropriate reaction or solution.

Maybe you are great at interacting with parents and working with them to meet students' unique needs. On the other hand, you may be proficient in differentiated instruction to ensure all learners are reached and successful.

Make sure you include these strengths in your letter to communicate what you can bring to the position. This is one of the most important strategies for writing a cover letter.

Passion, Enthusiasm, and Determination

Your academic cover letter for a new position is your chance to make your personality shine for potential schools. The worst thing you can communicate in your teaching application letter is that you are boring. Make the words come alive.
School districts are looking for passionate, energetic go-getters, not unenthusiastic drones who hate coming to work. When developing your cover letter, you must write with enthusiasm, passion, and conviction.

Make the reader feel your true desire to work for the school district and excitement to take on a new teaching or educational leadership role. You may want to use lines such as "As a dedicated and energetic elementary school teacher, I am eager to become a valuable member of your school community" or "As a person who is truly dedicated to educating young children and serving your school district, I am excited to speak with you soon".

Highlighting your desire to go above and beyond the call of duty is another great technique for communicating your passion and dedication. A strong application letter for a teacher should show your belief that the job does not end when the school bell rings at the end of the day.
Communicate you are committed to providing after-school support, seeking out additional resources, and attending extracurricular school events to establish a successful school community. Your passion for the profession should be evident in your actions and words.

…your cover letter should finish off with an "invitation" for the reader to contact the job applicant.

Teachers Resume Writing Process

Additional Tips to Write a Cover Letter

  1. Your cover letter and resume should match each other in formatting and style

As mentioned earlier, your teaching job application letter should use the same format as your teacher resume. Maintain consistency between your documents, ensuring the hiring administrator can match them up quickly.

For example, if you use a border in your application letter, make sure you use the same border in your resume. All fonts and sizes should match. Your academic credentials should be worded in the same manner (i.e. Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education). By maintaining consistency, you will demonstrate attention to detail and organization.

  1. Utilize quotes and testimonials

By incorporating quotes from teachers, administrators, parents, and former students, you can create an excellent application letter for a teacher. These testimonials should convey your passion, diligence, and commitment to the students in your class, as well as the school as a whole. Do not be afraid to ask for a teacher letter of recommendation or supporting words from one of your administrators.

These professional quotes can also be integrated into your teacher resume to substantiate your dedication to education, and definitively portray the talents you possess that make you a versatile and driven teacher. The letters of recommendation themselves can be submitted in your teaching portfolio or during your job interview.

  1. Research the school or district

Show in your letter of introduction you have background information on the school or district to which you are applying. An education cover letter should be tailored to each district, if possible. If the school has a website, which most do, this can be a great starting point to find details about how they are unique.

Find out what you can and make a point of explaining why you are specifically interested in working for their school district. Hiring authorities are impressed when you mention some specifics directly related to their school community. Find out something interesting about their extra-curricular programs, team teaching opportunities, mentor teacher programs, computer technology program, or maybe that they have high test scores or a heavy parental involvement.

  1. Proofread!

Submitting an application letter that contains spelling or grammatical errors will make the interviewer think you didn't care enough to proofread your letter before sending it. Even if you think you are good at writing and have few or no mistakes, always have your letter proofread. Someone else may see errors that you didn't notice. Don't use large or unusual words. Keep it plain, simple and to the point. The easier they can read your letter, the better chance you have against the competition.

After reviewing our teacher cover letter examples, you will see why we make the guarantee of 100% satisfaction.

If you find a sample academic cover letter that just calls out to you, let us know!

Your teacher resume and cover letter are what will sell you as a potential academic job candidate in your absence. You need those two documents to get the reader to pick up the phone and call you for an interview.

Make sure they make an incredible first impression to sell your value!

If you like, you can review A-Z Cover Letter Writing Tips for Teachers and Administrators.

Don't miss these tips to write a cover letter that is tailored to the school district's needs.

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