What’s the biggest obstacle between you and your dream job, igniting young minds with knowledge and young hearts with a passion for chemistry (or whatever it is that you’re teaching)?
Finding a job that’s somewhat better than a year-long occasional assignment in the other part of the country.
Because every decent teaching position in your area seems to be swarmed with so many applicants that you don’t stand a chance.
Or do you?
Try this writing assignment—a job-winning teaching cover letter that will pretty much teleport you straight into a classroom.
This guide will show you:
- A teaching cover letter sample better than 9 out of 10 others.
- Teacher cover letter examples that let you highlight your core strengths.
- The step-by-step guide for writing a cover letter for teaching positions.
- How the right few achievements prove that you’re absolutely worth hiring.
Want to write your cover letter fast? Use our cover letter builder. Choose from20+ professional cover letter templates that match your resume. See actionable examples and get expert tips along the way.
Cover letter sample for a resume—See more cover letter templates and create your cover letter here.
Teacher Cover Letter Example
Mark S. Cardwell
Secondary School Teacher (Math & Special Education)
416-250-3228
mark.cardwell@gmail.com
linkedin.com/in/mark.cardwell
King City, ON, 2/02/2022
Jane D. Boudreaux
Principal
York Region District School Board
2603 Front Street
King City, ON M5J 2N1
Dear Ms. Boudreaux,
I’m more than excited to apply for your job opening for a math and special education teacher at Yellow Creek Public School. In my previous LTO position at Purple Willow Public School, I helped my students achieve 25% better results in math exams and improved the satisfaction of special needs students by 30% (as measured by a survey). I’m eager to apply my experience and skills to improving the education and well-being of Yellow Creek’s students by introducing innovative methods of teaching math and offering a tailored approach to each special needs student.
I see you’re looking for a teacher who will foster the culture of inclusion and diversity that Yellow Creek Public School is so famous for. Here’s what I did for my previous students:
- Created a library of learning activities for students with autism, dyslexia, speech impairments, and other visible and invisible disabilities, which was widely used by other members of the school staff
- Helped three immigrant students with no prior knowledge of English or French get an average math grade of B+ within half a year
- Supervised three B. Ed. student teachers at once and offered them personalized guidance that helped all three graduate with honours
Yellow Creek Public School has an impressive reputation for its inclusive teaching and consistently high grades of its students. Throughout my career, I have followed and admired your successes, and it would be amazing to join your extraordinary staff.
I’d love to schedule a call with you to discuss how my skills and experience can help Yellow Creek’s students achieve their educational goals.
Best regards,
Mark S. Cardwell
Secondary School Teacher (Math & Special Education)
P.S. I can’t wait to tell you how a student of mine, who is diagnosed with a learning disability, won the Canadian Open Mathematics Challenge.
Once Mark sends this letter alongside his resume and references, he can start preparing for his job interview right away.
Want to be like Mark?
1. Make Your Cover Letter Easy To Read
Imagine you’ve got to read two student essays.
The first one consists of a single paragraph, and the handwriting is so bad that your eyes hurt after making it through the first sentence.
The second essay is neatly divided into paragraphs, so you can follow the argument easily. In addition to this, the student did their best to make their handwriting easy to read.
Which one makes a better impression on you?
It’s the same with cover letters.
When writing your cover letter, set the margins to 1 inch on all sides and opt for a classic font that’s easy on the eyes (and please, no Comic Sans, even if you’re an elementary school teacher).
Align all paragraphs to the left and set the interlinear spacing to somewhere between 1 and 1.15. Your employer won’t be marking your cover letter, so there’s no need for the APA-style double spacing you got used to in college.
However, be sure to make double spaces between paragraphs. These extra bits of whitespace will make the structure of your cover letter easier to follow.
Now you’re going to fill this wonderfully formatted cover letter with actual content. Here’s what you should include:
Sample Cover Letter for Teaching Positions—Checklist
- Your contact info
- The school board’s contact info
- Dear (reader’s name)
- Paragraph #1: introduction and a big achievement
- Paragraph #2: key skills and why you fit the job
- Paragraph #3: your passion + why you want in
- Paragraph #4: your CTA
- Best regards + your name + title
- P.S. a nice little extra that adds value
2. Pick the Right Opener for Your Teaching Cover Letter
The opening activity you choose for a lesson can make or break the entire hour.
So don’t neglect the opening of your cover letter, either. A well-written opening highlights your key achievements without bragging, and positions you as a true professional.
Start by putting your name, job title, and contact information in the top left corner of the cover letter. This shouldn’t be hard.
Next, add the contact info of your prospective employer. You can usually find this information in the job ad itself.
It’s a good idea to address your teaching cover letter to a specific person if you know their name. If you don’t, opt for something like “Dear Hiring Team”—but do your best to avoid the dreaded “Dear Sir or Madam”. You’re writing a 21st-century cover letter, not a Victorian novel.
Once you’ve written “Dear” and added the reader’s name, it’s time for the opening paragraph.
How do you phrase it?
Well, you most likely hate clichés in student writing, so do your best to avoid them in your cover letter, too. Write an attention-grabbing opener that tells the reader about your most relevant career achievement (ideally with numbers, if you’ve got those). Then say what you’d like to achieve for your new employer.
Let’s take a look at two examples to make things clearer.
Teaching Cover Letter Examples [First Paragraph]
| RIGHT |
|---|
Mark S. Cardwell Secondary School Teacher (Math & Special Education) 416-250-3228 mark.cardwell@gmail.com linkedin.com/in/mark.cardwell
King City, ON, 2/02/2022
Jane D. Boudreaux Principal York Region District School Board 2603 Front Street King City, ON M5J 2N1
Dear Ms. Boudreaux,
I’m more than excited to apply for your job opening for a math and special education teacher at Yellow Creek Public School. In my previous LTO position at Purple Willow Public School, I helped my students achieve 25% better results in math exams and improved the satisfaction of special needs students by 30% (as measured by a survey). I’m eager to apply my experience and skills to improving the education and well-being of Yellow Creek’s students by introducing innovative methods of teaching math and offering a tailored approach to each special needs student. |
| WRONG |
|---|
Dear Sir or Madam,
I am applying to the position of Math & Special Education teacher. As you can see from my resume, I’m an experienced teacher and I’m passionate about mastering new professional challenges. |
This is wrong on quite a few levels. We’ve talked about outdated forms of address already, but take a look at the second sentence. It literally encourages the reader to stop enjoying your cover letter and go look at your resume.
Also, things like “I’m an experienced teacher” say nothing about how good you actually are. We’ve all had at least one teacher who had decades of experience but was still notoriously bad at their job, right?
Opt for a real, measurable achievement instead.
But what if you’re a freshly certified grad with no accomplishments yet, looking for an assistant job?
Try some of these strategies instead:
- Drop a name (maybe you met the school’s vice principal at a conference?)
- Drop a fact about the school / school district that excites you
- Compliment the school on an award or other honour
- Share a fact about you that communicates your passion
Teacher Cover Letter Template: Entry-Level Opening Examples
| RIGHT |
|---|
Dear Mr. Gordon,
When I heard Ms. Lewis speak about her school’s success in inclusive education at last year’s Bright Minds conference, I knew that I wanted to work at Pink Elephant Secondary School above all else. Now, as a fully certified teacher, I’m eager to use my knowledge of the latest developments in the psychology of learning to make Pink Elephant an even more supportive place for students of all backgrounds. |
This candidate not just applying to a random job opening—they’re clearly passionate about this specific school’s values.
3. Write the Middle Paragraphs of Your Teacher Cover Letter
Now that you’re done with the first paragraph, it’s time for the middle section of your teaching cover letter. It consists of two paragraphs.
The first one offers insights into your relevant experience and professional achievements. It should prove that you’ll be able to master the challenges of the specific teaching position you’re applying to. Re-read the job ad (or do some research) to find out what exactly they’re looking for in a teacher.
The second paragraph shows your passion for this position—not just for teaching in general! Explain why you want to work at this specific school (or in this specific school district).
Let’s look at examples.
Cover Letter for Teaching Positions [Middle]
| RIGHT |
|---|
I see you’re looking for a teacher who will foster the culture of inclusion and diversity that Yellow Creek Public School is so famous for. Here’s what I did for my previous students:
Yellow Creek Public School has an impressive reputation for its inclusive teaching and consistently high grades of its students. Throughout my career, I have followed and admired your successes, and it would be amazing to join your extraordinary staff. |
This cover letter is highly specific. The candidate knows what is expected of them, proves they can fulfill these expectations, and explains why they want to work at this particular school.
| WRONG |
|---|
I’m passionate about helping people learn. Throughout my career, I’ve created learning resources and mentored both students and student teachers, and I want to continue doing this in the future. |
Meh.
Look, if you’re not passionate about helping people learn, you have no business being a teacher. There’s no need to write obvious things, especially if you give zero facts to prove them.
When making a resume and a cover letter in our builder, drag & drop bullet points, skills, and auto-fill the boring stuff. Spell check? Check. Start building a professional resume template here for free.
When you’re done, Zety’s resume builder will score your resume and tell you exactly how to make it better.
4. Call Upon the Reader to Take an Action
Unlike an essay conclusion, an effective cover letter always ends with a clear call to action.
For example, you can ask the reader to schedule a call where you’ll elaborate on your achievements and answer any questions. Or you can straight-out suggest they invite you to an interview.
Be proactive and avoid closings that imply you’re passively “looking forward to a response”. But don’t be needy either—ending your cover letter with “please hire me, I need this job” probably won’t lead to you being hired.
Let’s look at some examples.
Cover Letter for Teaching Jobs [Ending]
| RIGHT |
|---|
I’d love to schedule a call with you to discuss how my skills and experience can help Yellow Creek’s students achieve their educational goals.
Best regards,
Mark S. Cardwell Secondary School Teacher (Math & Special Education)
P.S. I can’t wait to tell you how a student of mine, who is diagnosed with a learning disability, won the Canadian Open Mathematics Challenge. |
This cover letter closing projects confidence and professionalism. Also, the P. S. is just magnetic—no one who works in education could resist the desire to hear this story.
| WRONG |
|---|
Please answer at your earliest convenience because I’m looking forward to hearing from you.
|
More clichés.
Also, note that bossy attitude—it never looks good in a cover letter.
Are you done with your cover letter? Great! Take a break and grab a coffee because you’ve got another writing assignment ahead of you.
Yeah, you’ve guessed it. You also need a teaching resume.
A great cover letter that matches your CV will give you an advantage over other candidates. You can write it in our cover letter builder here. Here's what it may look like:
See more cover letter templates and start writing.
Key Takeaway
Long story short, here’s how to write a teaching cover letter that will land you a job.
- Follow a good format for a teaching cover letter
- Start with a greeting and a big, relevant achievement to hook the reader
- Show that you understand the employer’s expectations and prove you’ve already excelled at your duties in your previous jobs
- End with a powerful call to action
Want more info on how to write a great cover letter for teaching? Wondering how your teaching job cover letter can get you noticed? Leave a comment. We’ll be happy to reply!
