Johnny says to his teacher, “You wouldn’t punish me for something I didn’t do, would you?” She says, “Of course not.” He says, “I didn’t do my homework.” Welcome to teaching.
If you’re an elementary school teacher in search of a job, it’s time to do your homework. You need to write a one-page letter, and it needs to be worthy of an A+.
Because of decreased class sizes, employment of elementary and kindergarten teachers is expected to increase 4% from 2019 through 2029 in the United States, about as fast as the average for all occupations, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Better opportunities are expected in urban and rural school districts than in suburban districts, and your willingness to relocate may increase your job prospects.
But what will certainly doom your job prospects is your failure to write a persuasive cover letter that gets employers’ attention — or that gets their attention for all the wrong reasons.
Of course you also need a resume that summarizes your work experience, education and special skills, and we encourage you to review resume.io’s guide to resume preparation for elementary teachers.
This guide will focus on the crucial second component of a winning job application — a well-written cover letter that hits all the right notes. What we’ll discuss here:
- Why a cover letter is crucial for an elementary teacher
- How this letter should be structured
- How this letter should be formatted
- Tips to writing a persuasive cover letter
- Common mistakes to avoid
Searching for additional inspiration for cover letter writing in the same industry? Check out our related education cover letter examples:
Why an elementary teacher needs a cover letter
The purpose of a cover letter is to highlight the experience, education, skills, and qualifications that make you an ideal candidate for a job as a teacher. Wait, isn’t that what the resume is for?
Yes, but…. A resume is a somewhat impersonal document — it isn’t addressed to anyone, it doesn’t use the words “you” or “I,” it doesn’t tell any stories, and it’s mostly a collection of lists.
A cover letter allows you to highlight your personality, likability, and passion in a way that a resume can’t. It’s a means of establishing a personal connection to someone who has the power to offer you a job.
It’s also a matter of simple etiquette. You are, after all, asking for a job, so you have to ask. Surveys of hiring managers have found that one of the top reasons resumes are rejected is because they weren’t accompanied by a cover letter.
In rare cases, an employer may ask job candidates to send a resume only. But unless you’re specifically asked not to, always include a cover letter when applying for a job. Unless it’s written badly, it can only increase your chances of being invited to an interview.
Let’s dive into the guide below to analyze the details of your elementary teacher cover letter. (You can also check out our library of 125+ cover letter examples.)
Best format for an elementary teacher cover letter
Cover letters have a simple structure that should be followed carefully to make sure you’ve included everything you need to and haven’t included anything you don’t. Here are the basic components:
- The cover letter header
- The greeting / salutation
- The cover letter intro
- The middle paragraphs (body of the letter)
- The ending paragraph of your cover letter (conclusion and call-to-action)
However, a cover letter should be one page only, a maximum of 400 words. So let’s talk about how to fit all this in.
For an idea, read the cover letter sample text below.
Dear Ms. Knoll,
Having completed my first two years as an elementary teacher in Miami, and then moving to Detroit, the role at Lonsdale Elementary would be an ideal next step in my teaching career.
After graduating with a Bachelors in Elementary Education at Florida Tech, I subsequently received my state certification to teach preschool through fifth grade curricula. I taught a mixed-ability third-grade classroom of thirty students and managed to lift average scores by 22% on the state’s milestone exams. Over the year, internal testing averages improved by an average of 1½ grades.
The measure of a teacher is helping their students to progress, and I pride myself in assisting every child to improve their academic ability and boost their confidence as a learner and as an individual. I have an interest in childhood behavioral psychology and led a group of teachers in developing new strategies for dealing with challenging children.
I have adapted my teaching style to incorporate SMART boards and Google classroom and find that technology gives me the time to spend with any pupils with special needs or gifted students, who need to be stretched. I have two years of personalized lesson plans for a third-grade classroom that I would love to share with you. Awakening interest in young students is critical for them to embrace the fact-based learning required at that age.
I also led a project of virtual teacher-parent interactions over videoconferencing that allowed me to speak to guardians on a twice-monthly basis as a group and with individuals as required.
This guardian-school partnership is very important with young learners, and I have twenty-five letters of recommendation from my past students’ guardians.
I would love the chance of an interview to find out more about your school.
Sincerely,
Dana Klein
Cover letter header
This is what used to be known as a letterhead — the space at the top of your letter that contains your name, occupation, address, phone number, and email. Its obvious purpose is to make it easy for employers to reach you if they find your pitch interesting.
A secondary purpose is to give your page some visual flair. Your header might contain a splash of color or creative use of typography, design, and white space. Once you get past the header, you’re going to be writing mostly solid black paragraphs, so it’s important to create a well-designed header to give your page an eye-pleasing design.
Take a look at some of the free cover letter templates provided by resume.io to get some ideas of what a good header can look like. While you’re at it, look at some of the resume templates — because both the resume and the cover letter should have a header that is very similar if not identical.
Align document styles
A resume and a cover letter should be a “matching set,” designed to be paired together. And that means you should use the same fonts, font sizes, and formatting styles in your cover letter and your resume.
This gives you a visual brand, it demonstrates your attention to detail, and it shows that you understand the importance of coherent design. It should be immediately obvious that these two documents came from the same person and were designed to go together.
If your resume and cover letter are done in totally different styles, it might look to employers like you’ve written a new cover letter but pulled an old resume out of your files. Both resumes and cover letters should be customized for each job you’re applying for.
The aim of the cover letter header: Make your document memorable with an attractive header that includes all your contact information.
Cover letter greeting
“Dear Mr. Anderson,” “Dear Ms. Cooper” and “Dear Dr. Monroe” are all examples of proper elementary teacher cover letter greetings, also known as salutations. In formal business letters, this line usually ends in a colon rather than a comma, and it’s followed by a blank space.
If you happen to know the person you’re writing to, it’s acceptable to be more informal and address this person by first name. But if you don’t know this person, beware of being too casual.
Our cover letter example sticks with "Dear."
Always strive to address a cover letter to a named individual — the person responsible for hiring at the school district you’re targeting. (And it goes without saying that if you misspell this person’s name, you’re going to get an F on this paper.)
If you’re responding to a job listing that doesn’t include a hiring manager’s name, it’s often worth calling the school district to find out. A cover letter is an attempt to establish a personal connection to this individual, and that’s hard to do without a name. It shows professionalism, thoroughness and respect if you’ve gone to the trouble of finding out to whom you need to send this letter.
Make sure you are using the correct honorific. Many education professionals hold doctorates and should be addressed as Dr.
The aim of letter greeting / salutation: Show that you understand how to introduce yourself professionally and pay attention to details such as the spelling of the principal or human resource person's name.
Cover letter introduction
The first paragraph of your elementary teacher cover letter should be an intriguing introduction that identifies the job you’re seeking and offers a quick preview of your qualifications. Sometimes it may also be appropriate to suggest a reason you are seeking a job change.
It’s important to find the right tone of voice from the outset — professional yet energetic, never boring or bland. You want to write with a confidence that suggests competence, but never cross the line into arrogance or excessive familiarity.
The aim of the cover letter intro: Start off with a clear message directed at the position that shows you understand what the new role entails.
Dear Ms. Knoll,
Having completed my first two years as an elementary teacher in Miami, and then moving to Detroit, the role at Lonsdale Elementary would be an ideal next step in my teaching career.
Cover letter middle part (body)
The central two or three paragraphs are the “meat and potatoes” of your elementary teacher cover letter. This is where you have to make a persuasive case that you are the person for the job and follow through with any claims you made in your introduction.
Experience is key, so if you’ve been a teacher for years, this might be the first thing you want to mention. And don’t just say where you worked or for how long, but try to get specific with facts and figures — for example, how many students you’ve taught in your career.
Also, use anecdotes to describe specific challenges you’ve faced as a teacher and how you resolved them successfully. Telling a story is one thing a resume can’t do, but a cover letter can.
You can also use the body of your letter to mention where you were educated and obtained your certification, and to highlight any special training or unusual skills you have.
And you get extra points if you can address the specific challenges faced by the school district where you’re applying for a job. It shows that you’ve studied your target and aren’t just applying for jobs randomly.
The aim of the body of your cover letter: Give a verbal picture of your classroom, your style of teaching and your subject expertise.
The body paragraph below details both the teacher's technical knowledge and teaching philosophy.
After graduating with a Bachelors in Elementary Education at Florida Tech, I subsequently received my state certification to teach preschool through fifth grade curricula. I taught a mixed-ability third-grade classroom of thirty students and managed to lift average scores by 22% on the state’s milestone exams. Over the year, internal testing averages improved by an average of 1½ grades.
The measure of a teacher is helping their students to progress, and I pride myself in assisting every child to improve their academic ability and boost their confidence as a learner and as an individual. I have an interest in childhood behavioral psychology and led a group of teachers in developing new strategies for dealing with challenging children.
I have adapted my teaching style to incorporate SMART boards and Google classroom and find that technology gives me the time to spend with any pupils with special needs or gifted students, who need to be stretched. I have two years of personalized lesson plans for a third-grade classroom that I would love to share with you. Awakening interest in young students is critical for them to embrace the fact-based learning required at that age.
I also led a project of virtual teacher-parent interactions over videoconferencing that allowed me to speak to guardians on a twice-monthly basis as a group and with individuals as required.
This guardian-school partnership is very important with young learners, and I have twenty-five letters of recommendation from my past students’ guardians.
How to close an elementary teacher cover letter (conclusion and sign-off)
Conclude your elementary teacher cover letter on an upbeat note, thanking the reader for taking the time to consider your application, and noting that you would be delighted to have an interview. Reiterate your main point using fresh words so that it sticks in your reader’s mind.
It’s important to close with some kind of “call to action,” planting the thought that the reader should do something as a result of your letter and not just lay it aside.
Close with a simple “Sincerely,” “All my best” or the like, and type your full name. If sending this letter electronically, you may choose to insert a digital signature, and if sending a printed copy, you should always sign it.
The aim of the conclusion: Answer the question, "Why should I hire you?" and justify your interview request.
I would love the chance of an interview to find out more about your school.
Sincerely,
Dana Klein
Cover letter design and formatting
Formatting your letter correctly is almost as important as writing it well. It should look as good as it reads. Follow these guidelines for a properly formatted cover letter:
- Fonts: Choose a widely used font that’s easy to read, nothing exotic or splashy.
- Font size: Try to use a font size of 12 points so it’s easy to read. If your letter doesn’t fit onto one page, you can try a font size as small as 10 points, but no smaller. The first draft of almost every cover letter comes out too long, so be prepared to cut your text.
- Text alignment: Text should be aligned left, not justified from margin to margin, so that each line ends at a slightly different place (like the text you’re reading now).
- Paragraphs: Paragraphs should be un-indented, with a space between them. And hold paragraphs to a reasonable length to avoid huge blocks of unbroken text.
- Margins: Use a one-inch margin on both sides of your letter, as well as the top and bottom.
- Save as PDF: If sending your letter electronically, save it as a PDF. This format will preserve your formatting so that it looks the same on any device.
Potential formatting errors are among the reasons we recommend using a professionally designed cover letter template like those we offer at resume.io. It’s all in the details.
Tips to writing a persuasive cover letter
If you assign a paper to your class, savvy students will pay close attention to what you want — and not just write the paper they want to write, but write the paper you want to see. You should do the same in writing your elementary teacher cover letter.
Try to get into the head of the person you’re writing to, and cater to his or her needs, wants, and interests. Remember that you are not trying to convince anyone that you deserve a job — you’re trying to convince someone that you can help solve their problems, not yours.
Your space is limited, so you need to make every word count. Leave out any information that isn’t relevant to what makes you a good teacher. You don’t have space to say everything, so make sure what you do say highlights your most important achievements and qualifications.
Steer clear of “fluff” — fancy language that doesn’t say anything. And avoid clichés often used by job seekers, including “team player,” “self-starter,” “goal-oriented,” and other worn-out phrases.
Read, reread, and re-reread your letter. Make sure that the language flows naturally and logically, and be absolutely positive that you haven’t said anything that could be construed as arrogant or presumptive.
Put yourself in the shoes of the person you’re writing to and ask yourself whether that person would want to call you in for an interview — and perhaps work with you for years to come. Be interesting and likable. If you had to choose between two teachers with the same qualifications, wouldn’t you choose the one you like the most?
How to write a bad cover letter (common mistakes)
Here are some of the common mistakes you need to avoid at all costs:
- Typos, spelling, grammar, and punctuation errors: The fact that you’re a teacher adds a degree of difficulty that people in many professions might not face in writing a cover letter. You can’t afford to make any mistakes. Don’t give your reader an excuse to reach for a red pen.
- Non-customized letters: You can’t just write one cover letter and send it to 50 prospective employers. Every cover letter should be unique and targeted to a specific employer. And you should try to make it obvious that you’ve written a targeted letter by mentioning the name of the school and, if possible, addressing its specific challenges and how you can help address them.
- Fluffy, cliché-ridden language: Lazy writing full of clichés, generic HR-speak or corporate lingo is always a turnoff. Your letter should sound like it was written by a human being, not a robot recycling a bunch of meaningless language.
- Irrelevant info: Your hobbies and personal interests, if not relevant to your qualifications as a teacher, do not belong in a cover letter.
- Formatting and design errors: Strange fonts, tiny text, inadequate margins, excessively long paragraphs, and similar design errors can all sink your chances. You should be able to look at your letter from a distance, without reading a word, and confirm that it looks great.
- Wrong file type: If you don’t save your letter as a PDF, it may look totally different on your correspondent’s computer, with text jumping around the page or turning into garble. Even worse, if you choose an unusual file type, the recipient may not be able to open your letter at all.
Key takeaways
Job growth of 4% is projected for elementary school teachers over the next decade. To get the job that’s right for you, you need an outstanding job application package, and that includes a flawless elementary teacher cover letter that explains why you’re a perfect fit for the school.
- A cover letter is critical because it’s a way of establishing a personal connection to someone who has the power to offer you a job.
- Follow proper cover letter structure to make sure your letter contains everything it needs and nothing that it doesn’t.
- Format your letter properly so that it looks as good as it reads.
- Imagine that you are the person receiving this letter, and make sure it hits all the right notes.
- Avoid common errors like misspellings, clichés, non-customized letters, and bad formatting.
The best start to a successful cover letter is a professionally designed template. So here’s your homework: Take some time to review resume.io’s cover letter templates, find one you like, download it and fill in your information.
We’ve done all the formatting for you — all you have to do is write the letter. With our pre-generated phrases (never face writer’s block again) and powerful spell-checker, you’ll be done in no time!
Go out there and land your next interview!
