An art teacher runs a classroom, a studio and a small gallery at once, often for every grade in the building. A principal hiring for that room wants to know which ages and media you can teach, whether you hold your state's certificate in art, and what your students made and showed. Your own painting or ceramics deserves 1 or 2 lines, not the top of the page. The rest is countable: students and sections, shows hung, competition entries, AP portfolios and a supply budget stretched across a school year.
How to Write an Art Teacher Resume - Key Takeaways
- List schools newest first (reverse-chronological) and fit them on 1 page; a second page fits only after 10+ years with AP, department or district arts roles.
- Put the grade band in each job title line and name your media in the first bullet, such as Grades 6-8 with ceramics and printmaking.
- Count what an art program produces: students and sections, works exhibited, competition entries, AP portfolios and supply dollars.
- List your state art certificate first under Certificates with its grade range, then any National Board candidacy and Praxis results.
- Keep your own exhibitions to 1 or 2 lines and add a single portfolio link to the contact line.
- Run the final file through an ATS resume checker, since district application systems search for certificate and grade-level terms.
What principals look for in an art teacher resume
The Bureau of Labor Statistics notes that some high school teachers specialize in elective courses such as art. O*NET lists preparing materials and classrooms for class activities, and adapting teaching methods and materials to students' varying needs, among the core tasks of secondary teachers.
In an art room those tasks mean kilns, drying racks, a yearly supply order and lessons that work for a beginner and for a student building a portfolio. An art teacher resume carries the usual teaching headings, with a few art-specific choices inside them:
- Name, headline (for example, Art Teacher, PK-12 Certified) and contact details with 1 portfolio link
- A 2 to 3 line profile at the top, which prints without a heading
- Work Experience, newest school first, with the grade band in each job title
- Certificates: your state art certificate first, then National Board status and Praxis results
- Skills: the media you teach, classroom methods and your software
- Education, with your student teaching placements
- Optional: Key Achievements for student or juried-show recognition, or Volunteer Experience for murals and community classes, plus Languages
Best format for an art teacher resume
Use the reverse-chronological resume format: your current school first, then each earlier one, each listing job title, grade band, school and town, plus the MM/YYYY you began and left. Art teachers often move between levels, from an elementary art room to a middle school studio or a high school program with AP courses, and newest-first order makes that path easy to follow. Career changers from design or studio work keep this order too, with every date visible.
- Best for most art teachersReverse-chronologicalYour jobs, newest first, with your results under each one.Best for: A steady work history in your field
- FunctionalSkills grouped up top, with a short work history below.Best for: Gaps or very little experience
- CombinationA skills section first, then your full work history.Best for: A career change with strong skills
1 page holds most art teacher resumes through the first 10 years. Move to 2 pages after 10+ years that include chairing a department, several years of AP Art and Design or district-wide shows, and keep your certificate and current school on page 1. If you split your week between 2 or 3 elementary buildings, list them as 1 job and name each school in a bullet.
| Setting | What to use |
|---|---|
| Length | 1 page; 2 after 10+ years with AP, department chair or district roles |
| Dates | MM/YYYY for every school, and Present on the one you teach at now |
| Job title line | Title plus grade band: Art Teacher, Grades 6-8 or Visual Arts Teacher, Grades 9-12 |
| Portfolio | 1 link in the contact line to a site with student work and a few of your own pieces |
| Typeface | One clean sans serif, 10.5 to 12 pt in the body, with no decorative display fonts |
| Photo, age and family status | Leave the photo off for most US and Canadian schools; a teaching resume never needs your age, marital status or Social Security number |
| File type | PDF, unless the district's application system asks for a Word document |
Most US and Canadian resumes carry no photo. Your visual skill shows in the portfolio, not in the resume layout: a district application system reads a clean file with standard headings more reliably than a heavily designed one, so keep color to 1 accent. A private school or community arts center that reads resumes by eye leaves more room, and one of the creative resume templates can suit there, as long as the headings stay standard.
Art teacher resume summary vs. objective
The test is whether you have taught art under your own certificate. If you have, write a resume summary with your years, grade band, media and 1 result. If you are finishing student teaching or coming over from another career, write a resume objective built on the level you want, your certificate status and the classroom hours behind it. Either version takes its number from a bullet further down.
Art teacher resume summary formula
Art teacher with X years teaching grade band in media. 1 counted program result: a course grown, a show, students recognized. Certificate and the next credential you are working toward.
Example
Art teacher with 9 years teaching grades K to 8 in ceramics, drawing and printmaking. Grew a middle school ceramics elective from 1 section to 4 at a 410-student school. Pennsylvania Instructional II certificate in Art (PK-12) and a National Board candidate in art.
Don't
Passionate art educator who inspires creativity and a lifelong love of art in every student.
Do
High school art teacher with 6 years in painting and printmaking, teaching 5 sections of about 26 students. Started the school's first AP Drawing course, now in its 3rd year.
This version names the level, the media, the class load and something the teacher built.
How to write art teacher work experience bullets with numbers
Your current school gets 3 to 4 bullets; each earlier job gets 1 to 3. Open with the load, meaning how many students, which grades, how many sections a day and the media you cover, because every later number reads against it. Then add what an art program can show: works exhibited, entries and recognitions, electives started, portfolios submitted, money raised or saved. Write achievements on your resume as an action, a count and what changed, and the art room supplies plenty of all three.
| Area | What to count | Example bullet |
|---|---|---|
| Teaching load | Students, grades, sections, media | Teach Art I, Art II and Ceramics to about 140 students in 5 sections. |
| Exhibitions | Shows a year, works hung, venues | Curate 2 student shows a year with 300+ works, including one at the town library. |
| Competitions | Works entered, works recognized | Entered 22 student works in the 2025 Scholastic Art & Writing Awards; 5 earned regional recognition. |
| AP Art and Design | Portfolios submitted, scores of 3 or higher | Coached 12 seniors in AP 2-D Art and Design; 10 submitted portfolios and 8 scored 3 or higher. |
| Program growth | New electives, added sections, enrollment | Launched a photography elective that filled 2 sections in its first semester. |
| Budget and grants | Supply budget, grants won, cost per student | Won a $2,500 arts council grant that bought a second pottery wheel. |
Here is a full entry for a teacher who moved from an elementary art room to a middle school. The current job carries the load, the program and the budget, and the older one keeps 2 lines.
Work Experience
- Teach drawing, painting, printmaking and ceramics to about 410 students in grades 6 to 8, in 6 classes a day of up to 28.
- Added a wheel-throwing unit and a weekly open studio that 31 students attend after school.
- Hang a spring show of 240 works each year, with 1 piece from every 8th grader.
- Manage a $3,200 yearly supply budget; reclaiming about 150 pounds of clay a year freed funds for 2 new printmaking units.
- Taught about 520 students in grades K to 5 and posted about 1,100 works a year to student galleries on Artsonia.
- Started a 6-week after-school clay club for 24 students in grades 4 and 5.
Don't
Organized the annual student art show.
Do
Planned a 2-night student art show of 260 works from grades 9 to 12 that drew about 180 visitors.
The rewrite shows the scale of the show and who came to it.
Don't
Ordered and managed art supplies for the department.
Do
Switched to bulk tempera and reclaimed paper stock, cutting supply cost per student from $14 to $9 in 1 year.
Art teacher skills and software for your resume
Pick 6 to 8 hard skills for your resume from the posting, and keep only those a bullet proves. Put media first, since a principal filling a ceramics opening and one filling a digital art opening want different people. Classroom skills such as studio management and safe tool and kiln use come next.
Hard skills for art teachers
- Drawing and painting instruction
- Ceramics and wheel throwing
- Kiln loading and firing
- Printmaking
- Digital photography
- Digital illustration
- Art history and criticism
- Curriculum and unit design
- Portfolio assessment
- Exhibition planning
Soft skills principals value in art teachers
- Studio classroom management
- Patience with beginners
- Clear demonstrations
- Organization across many media
- Collaboration with grade-level teams
- Communication with families
Write software names the way the posting does, and back each one with a bullet. O*NET's technology list for secondary school teachers flags Microsoft PowerPoint, Word, Excel and SharePoint as hot technologies and also lists Google Classroom. Art rooms add their own tools, such as Adobe Photoshop or Illustrator for digital art courses, Procreate on tablets and Artsonia for student galleries. Leave off any program you only opened once, because a digital art interview may ask you to show work made in it.
Art teaching certificates, Praxis and National Board on a resume
Public schools hire on a state certificate. The BLS states that all states require public school teachers to be licensed or certified in the grade level they will teach, which generally means a bachelor's degree with a minimum GPA, student teaching, a background check and certification tests, including one in the subject. Art certificates often span every grade: Pennsylvania's certificate for Art runs PK-12 and covers courses from ceramics and printmaking to digital media and art history. List certifications on your resume under one Certificates heading, with the state art certificate at the top.
| Credential | Issued by | What it takes |
|---|---|---|
| State art certificate (for example, Pennsylvania's certificate for Art, PK-12) | Your state department of education | A bachelor's degree, an approved preparation program with student teaching, a background check and the tests your state requires. |
| Praxis Art: Content Knowledge (5134) | ETS | 120 selected-response questions in 2 hours, taken in states that list it for an art certificate. |
| Praxis Art: Content and Analysis (5135) | ETS | 85 selected-response questions plus 3 written responses, 1 on art history and theory and 2 on works you made, in 2 hours. |
| National Board Certification: Early Adolescence through Young Adulthood/Art | National Board for Professional Teaching Standards | For teachers of students ages 11 to 18+: a bachelor's degree, a valid state license, 3 years of teaching and all 4 components within 3 years of starting. |
| National Board Certification: Early and Middle Childhood/Art | National Board for Professional Teaching Standards | The same eligibility rules, for teachers of students ages 3 to 12. |
Private schools work differently: according to the BLS, teachers in private schools do not need to meet state requirements. If you apply to them without a certificate, lead Certificates with any Praxis results you hold and let your degree and teaching hours carry the rest.
How to write the certificate line
Write the certificate as your state prints it: level or tier, subject, grade range, the issuing department and the month it was issued. Leave the certificate number off, since districts verify it with the state. Pending items belong on the list too, each with a date: a Praxis pass with its month, a certificate expected in a named month, or National Board candidacy with the year you expect a result.
Certificates
- Instructional II Certificate: Art (PK-12), Pennsylvania Department of Education, 08/2022
- National Board Certification candidate: Early Adolescence through Young Adulthood/Art, National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, since 09/2025; result expected 2027
- Praxis Art: Content Knowledge (5134), ETS, passed 04/2017
How to list an art education degree or a studio art degree
Many public school art teachers hold an art education bachelor's, which combines studio courses, teaching methods and student teaching. The BLS adds that many states require high school teachers to have majored in a content area, and that all states offer an alternative route to certification for people who already hold a bachelor's degree. That route is open to BFA and studio art graduates: list the degree and the certification program as 2 separate entries.
List education on your resume as degree, school, city and date, then add 1 line that only teachers need: your student teaching placements, with grade levels and length. A senior thesis exhibition fits on the same line. After your first few years, keep the student teaching line only when it shows a grade band or medium your jobs do not.
Education
Student teaching: 7 weeks in a K-5 art room and 7 weeks in a high school ceramics studio.
First-year and career-change art teacher resumes
In your first year, the evidence comes from student teaching, camps and any art you have taught to a group. Open with an objective stating the level you want and where your certificate stands, then give each source of teaching experience a number. The first-year teacher resume examples use the same structure for other subjects.
- Student teaching: both placements, the grades, the weeks and a unit you planned and taught on your own.
- Summer art camps and museum programs: a Work Experience entry with the ages, the group size and the number of sessions.
- Unpaid community classes or murals: under Volunteer Experience, with how many people took part.
- Your own juried shows: 1 line under Key Achievements with the show and the year.
Don't
Recent graduate seeking an art teacher position where I can share my passion for creativity.
Do
Art teacher certified PK-12 in 06/2026, seeking a middle school position. Completed 12 weeks of student teaching in a middle school art room and led 2 summers of a community art camp for ages 6 to 10.
A first-year objective still needs a certificate date, a level and a count of teaching time.
Coming from graphic design, illustration or a studio practice, stay with newest-first order and put your certificate or alternative-route program at the top of Certificates. Under earlier jobs, keep the bullets that carry into a classroom: workshops you taught, staff you trained, projects run to a deadline. Our career-change resume examples show that layout, and a cover letter is where you explain the move in 1 short paragraph.
Art Teacher resume FAQ
Should I include my own artwork and exhibitions on an art teacher resume?
Yes, briefly. 1 or 2 lines under Key Achievements, such as a juried regional show or a solo exhibition with its year, tell a principal you still practice what you teach. Keep everything else in your portfolio, so the resume stays about students and classes.
Do I need a portfolio link on an art teacher resume?
Not always, but it helps more here than in most teaching jobs. Put 1 short link in your contact line to a site with photographed student work, without names or faces, and a small set of your own pieces. Check that it opens without a login before you apply.
Should an art teacher resume have a creative design?
Only within limits. A clean layout with 1 accent color reads well in district application systems, and the portfolio link can carry your visual work. A private school or arts center that reviews resumes by eye leaves more room for a designed template, as long as the headings stay standard.
How do I list an art certificate that covers PK-12?
Write it the way your state prints it, with the grade range in the name, such as Instructional II Certificate: Art (PK-12) in Pennsylvania. Then put the grades you have actually taught in each job title line, so a principal sees both your range and your experience.
Which Praxis test do art teachers take?
The one your state lists for its art certificate. ETS offers Art: Content Knowledge (5134), 120 selected-response questions in 2 hours, and Art: Content and Analysis (5135), which adds written responses on art history and on your own work. Write the test name, code and pass date under Certificates.
How do I show AP Art and Design results on a resume?
Name the portfolio type (2-D, 3-D or Drawing), how many students submitted and how many scored 3 or higher on the College Board's 5-point scale. Each portfolio pairs a Sustained Investigation, 60% of the score, with Selected Works, 40%, so a bullet on how you coached the investigation shows you know the exam.
Can I teach art with a BFA instead of an art education degree?
Yes, once you earn a certificate. Every state offers an alternative route to certification for people who already hold a bachelor's degree, according to the BLS. List the BFA under Education, the certification program as its own entry, and the certificate or its expected date first under Certificates.
How long should an art teacher resume be?
1 page for most art teachers, including those with 8 to 10 years in one district. Use 2 pages for department chair, AP or district arts roles, and keep the portfolio link, the certificate and your current school on page 1.
What is the average art teacher salary?
The BLS does not publish a separate figure for art teachers. For secondary school teachers, except special and career/technical education, the BLS reports a median annual wage of $72,040 in May 2025. Leave pay off your resume and raise it once a district makes an offer.
Next steps
Pick the example that matches your grade band and stage, keep its order, and replace the details with your own students, media, shows and certificate. Build it in our resume builder, or open one of our templates and fill it in, add your portfolio link, and pair it with a short letter about the program you would run.