High School Teacher Cover Letter Examples
A secondary principal does not have a teacher vacancy. They have a mathematics vacancy, or a chemistry vacancy, and a master schedule with specific sections that must be covered by someone licensed to cover them.
That single fact should shape the whole letter. The example below is written by a licensed mathematics teacher moving districts within Ohio. Every name, employer and figure in it is invented.
It should also change your expectations of how the letter will be read, because a shortage subject and a crowded subject are two completely different hiring markets on the same application form.
High school teacher cover letter example
A licensed secondary mathematics teacher and department lead moving districts. Fictional throughout.
Roland Achebe-Whitmore
High School Mathematics Teacher · Ohio Licensed (7–12)
Toledo, OH · (555) 349-1182 · [email protected]
Greeting
Dear Mr. Petrossian,
Letter
I am writing about the mathematics position at Rossford High School. I hold an Ohio 7–12 mathematics licence and I have taught six years of Algebra I, Geometry and AP Statistics, currently five sections a day at class sizes between 27 and 33.
The result I would put forward is narrow on purpose. Among students entering Algebra I below grade level, the end-of-course passing rate moved from 54% to 71% over two years after I built a structured re-teach block before each unit assessment. That is one cohort in one course, not a claim about the whole department, and the re-teach block cost me a planning period twice a week rather than requiring anything new from the school.
I have also built AP Statistics from 14 students to 41 across three years at a 76% first-year pass rate, and I currently serve as department lead running curriculum mapping and common assessments across six teachers. If it is useful, I can pick up any Algebra, Geometry or Pre-Calculus section, I have taught two years of credit recovery, and I am willing to teach the sections nobody volunteers for.
On the practical side: I would want to keep coaching, cross-country or track if either is open, and I am happy to say plainly that I am not a computer science teacher — I have no endorsement and would not want to be scheduled as one. I could start at the beginning of the year and would welcome the chance to teach a lesson for you.
The letter names courses it can cover and one it explicitly cannot — see below.
In secondary hiring, the subject licence is the vacancy
Secondary teaching licences are issued by subject and grade band, and a principal cannot schedule you outside what you hold. The licence, the state and the band therefore belong in the first sentence, ahead of any description of your teaching.
Say what you have actually taught as well as what you are licensed for. A licence is permission; six years of Algebra I at class sizes above thirty is experience, and the two facts answer different questions.
If you are licensed in another state, name the reciprocity position. Districts near a state line handle this constantly, and a candidate who has already filed is a much easier hire than one who has only read about it.
General information about how districts typically screen, not licensing advice. Your state department of education is the authority on licensure and reciprocity.
Say which courses you can pick up — that is the real negotiation
Course assignment is the substance of a secondary offer and it is usually settled after signing, which is why so many teachers discover in August that they have four preparations and two sections of the course nobody wanted.
Raising it in the letter turns a hidden negotiation into an open one. Listing what you can cover — the example offers any Algebra, Geometry or Pre-Calculus section plus credit recovery — is directly useful to somebody staring at an unfilled master schedule.
The offer to teach the sections nobody volunteers for is worth copying. It is a real concession, principals know exactly what it costs, and it is far more persuasive than a paragraph about being flexible and collaborative.
A second endorsement fills two holes at once
A teacher who can cover two subject areas is worth considerably more to a small or mid-sized school than one who can cover a single one, because it resolves two partial vacancies with one appointment.
Name every endorsement you hold, including the ones you consider secondary. Physics, computer science, world languages, and any English learner or reading endorsement are the ones that most often turn a marginal application into an obvious hire.
Then name the boundary, as the example does with computer science. Declining to be scheduled into a subject you are not endorsed for reads as professionalism, and it prevents the far worse outcome of arriving to a schedule you cannot teach well.
End-of-course data is attributable, so use it carefully
Secondary results are more attributable to an individual teacher than elementary results are, because a subject-specific end-of-course examination maps onto one classroom. That makes the data usable — and it makes overclaiming more visible.
Narrow the claim deliberately. The example reports one cohort in one course, says so explicitly, and gives the mechanism and its cost in planning periods. A principal who has read a hundred applications recognises the restraint immediately.
Avoid department-level or school-level figures unless you led the department and can say what you personally changed. Attaching yourself to a school-wide improvement you did not design is the fastest way to lose credibility in an interview.
Growing a course is visible on the master schedule
Building AP Statistics from 14 students to 41 is not only an instructional achievement; it is a staffing and scheduling fact that the principal had to accommodate, which means somebody in the building already knows it happened.
Enrolment growth in an elective, an advanced course or a dual-credit offering is among the strongest evidence a secondary teacher can present, because it shows students choosing you when they did not have to.
Pair it with the outcome. Growth with a poor pass rate is a recruitment story rather than a teaching one, and giving both numbers is what makes the first believable.
Coaching and duties: say what you will genuinely take
In many secondary schools, particularly smaller ones, a coaching or activity assignment is close to a requirement, and an unfilled coaching post can decide between two equally strong candidates.
Name what you would take and what you would not. A teacher who says they will coach cross-country is answering a question the principal has on a separate list; one who says they will do "whatever is needed" is answering nothing and will be disappointed in October.
Be equally clear if you cannot take a season. There are legitimate reasons, they are better stated than discovered, and a school that needs a coach more than a teacher is one you would rather not join under a misunderstanding.
A shortage subject and a crowded subject need different letters
Mathematics, the sciences, special education and world languages are frequently understaffed, and an application in those areas is often read quickly and favourably. Social studies and English routinely draw dozens of applications for one post.
In a shortage subject the letter can be direct and can raise practical terms — course load, preparations, start date — because the district is competing for you.
In a crowded subject the letter has to earn its reading in the first two lines, and the differentiator is usually something narrow and checkable: a course you built, a certification, a second endorsement, or an outcome with a mechanism. Enthusiasm will not do it, because everyone in the stack has that.
Practical points for a secondary application
- Apply through the district portal exactly as instructed and name the specific school in the first line.
- Address the principal by name; secondary buildings publish it and a generic salutation is noticed.
- State licence, grade band and every endorsement with the issuing state.
- Name the curriculum or platform the district uses if you have taught it — it is real onboarding cost.
- Offer a demonstration lesson and say what you would teach, so the offer is concrete.
- Keep it to one page; principals read applications in batches during a short hiring window.
Frequently asked questions
Subject licence, grade band and state in the first sentence, every endorsement you hold, the specific courses you can cover, one narrow result with its mechanism, and what coaching or activity assignment you would take.
Yes — course assignment is the real substance of a secondary offer and it is usually settled after signing. Naming what you can cover, including credit recovery, is directly useful to a principal with an unfilled master schedule.
One narrow claim with its cohort named. Secondary results are more attributable to an individual teacher than elementary results, which makes the data usable and also makes overclaiming far more visible to an experienced reader.
It often decides the hire. A teacher who can cover two subject areas resolves two partial vacancies with one appointment, which is worth more to a mid-sized school than any additional experience in a single subject.