Teacher cover letter example
A complete letter — not a template with blanks in it. Read it, then replace the evidence with your own. The structure is what matters.
Thomas Lindqvist
t.lindqvist@example.com · (555) 402-1176 · Bristol
Hiring Manager
Ashworth Academy
Dear Hiring Manager,
I am applying for the secondary mathematics teaching position at Ashworth Academy. I hold a current state licence in mathematics for grades 7 through 12 and have taught for seven years, most of it in Title I schools.
Over three cohorts I raised Algebra I state proficiency from 54% to 79%. The change that mattered most was not a new curriculum but weekly standards-based retakes, which took our Geometry failure rate from 22% to 9% because students stopped writing themselves off after one bad test.
I would be glad to discuss how I could support your mathematics department, and I am happy to teach a demonstration lesson.
Sincerely,
Thomas Lindqvist
Why each paragraph works
- 1
Phase, subject and key stage come first. A head teacher is checking timetable fit before anything else, and no amount of pedagogy matters if the fit is wrong.
- 2
Attainment data does the persuading. It is the currency of teaching applications, and a letter that avoids it reads as a letter avoiding something.
- 3
The closing paragraph names a contribution beyond the classroom, which is what separates two candidates who both fit the timetable.
Who reads a teacher cover letter
A head of department or head teacher, often reading a stack of applications in one sitting.
What to lead with
Subject, key stage and a result you can name. Attainment movement, a curriculum you rewrote, or an intervention that changed a cohort.
The mistake that costs teachers interviews
Writing about a love of teaching without naming a single outcome. Every applicant loves teaching. Not every applicant moved a grade boundary.
Terms to work in naturally
These are the terms employers most often screen teacher applications for. Use the ones that are genuinely true of you — a letter stuffed with keywords reads as a letter stuffed with keywords.
- lesson planning
- classroom management
- curriculum
- differentiated instruction
- student achievement
- assessment
- iep
- state standards
- parent communication
- professional development
Your resume needs them more than the letter does — see the teacher resume example for where they belong.
Before you send it
- Replace every number with one that is genuinely yours. A borrowed achievement collapses at interview.
- Find the hiring manager’s name if you can — two minutes on LinkedIn is usually enough.
- Check the company name appears correctly. Sending a letter with the previous employer’s name in it is the most common fatal error.
- Keep it to one page. If it runs over, cut the second half of paragraph two.
Teacher cover letter questions
What should a teacher cover letter include?
Phase and key stage, subjects and exam boards, attainment or progress data you contributed to, and behaviour or intervention work you have led. In the UK add your QTS status and whether you have ECT years remaining. Heads read for timetable fit first and everything else second.
How long should a teaching application letter be?
Most schools ask for a supporting statement rather than a letter, and one to two sides is standard — considerably longer than a commercial cover letter. Follow the person specification point by point if the school publishes one, because that is usually how it is scored.
Should a teaching cover letter mention my subject specialism first?
Yes, with the key stages or year groups you have taught. Schools recruit against a specific timetable gap, and a head reading applications is matching you to it before anything else. Pedagogy and philosophy matter, but they are read after the fit is established, not instead of it.