As a teacher, you know how valuable your services are within your community. You’ve spent years honing your educational chops and can’t wait to show your next employer what you can achieve. During the job application process, there’s nothing more important than a good resume. Keep reading to find out how you can create a fantastic resume that demonstrates your educational skills and credentials.
As a high school teacher, your primary goal is to guide the education of your students. To help achieve this, you develop engaging lesson plans, assess students’ abilities, and communicate their progress to parents.
If you’re struggling to get the jobs you want, an improved resume might be the key to success. A good resume follows professional formatting guidelines, describes your work experience in detail, and highlights your most valuable skills and accomplishments. We’ll provide a few key tips to help you create a resume that meets these criteria. We’ll also provide an example of a well-written resume that you can use to improve your own. Before you send your application to an employer, compare your resume with our example and ensure it’s properly formatted and includes all relevant information.
Here are a few tips you can use to create your resume:
Start with a professional summary section. This should introduce any outstanding skills, accomplishments, or experiences that make you a good candidate.
While your instructional skills are important, make sure you also highlight your ability to support student development.
As a teacher, your educational background is nearly as important as your professional experience. Make sure to feature your educational history prominently on your resume, along with any relevant certifications.
When describing your achievements in the experience section, use active verbs in your descriptions and briefly explain the results that your actions produced.
Being a good high school teacher requires a wide range of hard (industry-specific) skills, as well as soft skills (personal attributes). Make sure to highlight both in the skills section of your resume. Here are some relevant competencies to highlight:
Classroom management
Conflict resolution
Verbal and written communication
Active listening
Lesson planning
Regulation and policy compliance
Curriculum development
Summary example
Results-oriented, highly organized teacher with proven success in cultivating an engaging learning environment, while meeting school, district, and state educational goals. Effective collaborator capable of building positive, professional relationships with students and parents from diverse backgrounds. Skilled in managing data, providing instructional support to teachers, and writing effective curricula.
Employment history example
Teacher at Pulaski Special School District, Little Rock, AR
2016 - Present
Hold concurrent classroom and administrative responsibilities and deliver excellence in educational program management to support student success. Plan and implement science curriculum for high school students, including lesson planning and ongoing assessments. Maintain student performance and attendance records. Meet with parents regarding academic progress and behavioral concerns. Direct athletic programs, managing athletic events and logistics for visiting teams and groups. Coordinate daily and special-event transportation. Support high-risk ninth graders in adjusting to academic expectations as a Summer Success Academy instructor.
Pioneered technology implementations to increase learning process engagement and generate population of critical readers, thinkers, and writers.
Improved multiple student performance scores on PSAT by creating and launching the PSAT preparation course.
Selected to serve on Blackboard Advisory Board tasked with coordinating program to meet new academic requirements.
Instructional Coach / Instructional Facilitator at North Little Rock School District, North Little Rock, AR
2015 - 2016
Collaborated with program administrators and teachers on to develop and implement curriculum and instructional strategies designed to improve student achievement. Integrated technology into literacy curriculum to personalize learning and differentiate instruction based on student needs. Analyzed data to determine instructional needs within district and feeder pattern area to personalize academic intervention plans.
Led a14-member team of administrators, instructional coaches, and classroom teachers in writing an inclusive and viable curriculum.
Co-managed allocation of $200K in Title I funds by determining instructional support needs and appropriate interventions for students.
Developed survey and compiled data to track faculty professional development needs, resulting in reduced student-to-teacher ratio, higher teacher collaboration time, and additional jobs in two low-performing schools.
Co-managed school-wide implementation of interim assessments for 1200 students by training teachers to use assessment portals, logistical planning, and troubleshooting.
Improved classroom instruction by providing onsite technical assistance, modeling best practices, and coaching teachers to use concise instruction and positive feedback.
Teacher at North Little Rock School District, North Little Rock, AR
2011 - 2015
Instructed students in biology, physical science, ecology, geology, earth science, as well as health and physical education. Prepared effective lesson plans. Maintained classroom and student records. Led parent-teacher meetings and advised parents on student progress and concerns.
Identified areas of improvement and created strategies to overcome obstacles to learning and subject-matter retention.
Orchestrated planning and implementation of school science fair as the event coordinator.
Education example
Master of Education at the University of Arkansas
Bachelor of Arts in English at the University of California
Teaching Certification at Arkansas Department of Education: English Language Arts Grades 7-12
Skills example
Lesson Plan Development
Classroom Management
Team Leadership / Collaboration
Behavior Modification Techniques
Grant Writing / Funds Allocation
Regulation / Policy Compliance
Learning Reinforcement Tools
Data Management / Assessments