Teacher resume tips
A teaching resume is checked for grade band, subject, and certification. A philosophy statement does not tell a principal whether you have taught that class. The assignment and the certificate do.
What to put first
Put the certificate and the state near your name, then the grades and subjects you have taught. If you are applying to a grade you have not taught, say the one you have taught and do not rewrite it.
The assignment
Name the grades, the subjects, and the kind of classroom: self-contained, a single subject, special education with the credential you hold, or English language support if that was the role. Student teaching should be labeled as student teaching.
Evidence of teaching, not decorating
Describe a unit you built, a way you assessed it, or a responsibility such as a team or a club you actually ran. Bulletin-board language is not evidence.
The certificate line
Write the certificate exactly. If it is pending, say pending. Do not apply to a posting that requires a certificate you cannot hold and hope the letter covers the gap.
An example line
Adapt this only where it is true for you. It is a shape for a bullet, not a claim that a particular person did this work.
Taught middle-school life science, including a lab unit on ecosystems I planned and the short written checks I used before the unit test.
What to leave off
Leave off a long philosophy, test-score claims you cannot source, and duties that belong to an aide or a parent volunteer unless that was your job. Leave off grades you have never taught, written as if you had.
Questions
- Where does student teaching go?
- Under experience, clearly labeled, with the school and the cooperating teacher's classroom. It is not the same line as a contracted teaching job.
- Should I include coaching or a club?
- Yes if you ran it. It shows responsibility beyond a single period. It does not replace the subject you taught.