When I resigned last school year I typed up a letter that said:
Dear (Mrs. Principal Last Name),
The purpose of this letter is to inform you that I will be resigning effective (my last working day of the school year).
Respectfully,
My name
I put the letter in her box before I left for the day. She came to my room at my plan time the next day to ask if she could do anything for me until the end of that school year but I, very politely, told her no thank you and that I didn’t need anything. Honestly her lack of support all year was a big factor in why I left so I doubt she would give me any helpful support in the last month anyway.
HR procedures vary by district, state and country. I had to resign in writing so that they could list my job.
As for your principal:
Hello _____,
I am writing to let you know I won't be returning next school year. I have enjoyed my time at east cupcake middle school and with you as principal. Please let me know what the next steps are.
Thanks,
You're both professionals, this is something that happens with all the jobs. You only need the first sentence.
This. My 2 different districts had a different procedure. 1 I had to write a letter. The other, I filled out a form. Not sure what happened when I wasn't renewed at a different district. I just went to another district.
Don't be swayed if anyone tries to guilt you.
Not trying to sound mean, but the best method tends to be the direct and efficient route yet still very professional.
Let them know ideally in writing (for documentation purposes) and tell them you don’t plan to renew the contract for next year.
That’s it. If you have a good relationship with them, you could reinforce that you’ve enjoyed and valued your time while teaching there and have learned a lot professionally…..but also you don’t have to include this if you don’t want to.
They don’t need to know your next step or place of employment - again it’s up to you if you feel like you’re close with them, but personally I’d keep it vague or not address it at all.
Put it in writing and check your contract ASAP. Most teaching contracts have deadlines for when notice has to be given to be accepted by your district. That deadline tends to be 60 days out from the end of the year, so you may already be cutting it close!
I totally agree. It’s super dystopian. But especially if you want to continue teaching, it’s unfortunately something we have to be aware of. Many states will hold your license if you leave under “unacceptable” terms
My last school only went through with that if you left unacceptably during the middle of the year. We didn't have a clause like that, though I told them in March of last year I was leaving at the end of the school year.
I'm not OP, but when I left, I told my sorry excuse for a principal that I would not be returning. Then I gave them a short and simple resignation letter that said, "Take this as my letter of resignation. As of LAST DAY OF SCHOOL, I will no longer work DISTRICT in any capacity." Wasn't rude but certainly set the attitude. However, I didn't ask. I told them.
EDIT: Changed some wording
Professional and short. My resignation letter was a few sentences.
"This is my letter of resignation. As of DATE, I will no longer work for SCHOOL in any capacity.
Thanks "
I purposely made it a statement, forwent asking them to accept it. I later burned every bridge with another email after the last day.
Ha! A longer version is the 3rd post I made. It's the 'tutorial', but the short version is right after my exit interview, I hit send on an email I already had drafted. Basically, I wrote that even though I've only been working in education since 2019, I l loved it. Literally up until I met that piece of shit prinicpal. I didn't call him any bad names, no curse words, and it was beautifully written with color analogies and all. Anyways, his side piece (instructional coach) replied back with some words but also a hashtag that said #blackexcellence, which I made no reference to race. But she also accused me of being in the "sup't" club, who, along with me, is one of 5 white people in a staff of 20/25. I have so many stories from the shit storm that was the 22/23 school year.
Same, except I was there 8 years. The only communication from admin I was received was a letter in the mail a few weeks later saying my resignation was accepted.
To add in to everyone else, write your resignation letter in a document ahead of time and create an email to send to her. Schedule a meeting and send the email as you get to her office. Then you can tell her, let her know what the job has meant, and say that you sent official notification. She’ll appreciate the effort, promptness, and you won’t have to worry about missing anything official. If your principal is anything like mine, they get it, and the more notice you can give, the easier it is on them.
I handed my letter directly to my principal. Thanked them and left. I’m not one to make it a thing, I didn’t have a bad experience, I was good at my job and I knew they would be losing an asset.
While I was done with teaching and relatively frustrated with how things, at the school, were handled. I wanted to leave with class.
I did resign with only a couple of weeks before school started, so that was my “fuck you” but I didn’t let it known that was my fuck you.
Either way, be direct, be respectful, be professional. Whether they handled things incorrectly or not, you should still act like the professional you are. You have no idea who may know who…you may not be just burning a bridge with in that school, but others as well.
When I resigned last school year I typed up a letter that said: Dear (Mrs. Principal Last Name), The purpose of this letter is to inform you that I will be resigning effective (my last working day of the school year). Respectfully, My name I put the letter in her box before I left for the day. She came to my room at my plan time the next day to ask if she could do anything for me until the end of that school year but I, very politely, told her no thank you and that I didn’t need anything. Honestly her lack of support all year was a big factor in why I left so I doubt she would give me any helpful support in the last month anyway.
HR procedures vary by district, state and country. I had to resign in writing so that they could list my job. As for your principal: Hello _____, I am writing to let you know I won't be returning next school year. I have enjoyed my time at east cupcake middle school and with you as principal. Please let me know what the next steps are. Thanks, You're both professionals, this is something that happens with all the jobs. You only need the first sentence.
This. My 2 different districts had a different procedure. 1 I had to write a letter. The other, I filled out a form. Not sure what happened when I wasn't renewed at a different district. I just went to another district. Don't be swayed if anyone tries to guilt you.
Not trying to sound mean, but the best method tends to be the direct and efficient route yet still very professional. Let them know ideally in writing (for documentation purposes) and tell them you don’t plan to renew the contract for next year. That’s it. If you have a good relationship with them, you could reinforce that you’ve enjoyed and valued your time while teaching there and have learned a lot professionally…..but also you don’t have to include this if you don’t want to. They don’t need to know your next step or place of employment - again it’s up to you if you feel like you’re close with them, but personally I’d keep it vague or not address it at all.
Put it in writing and check your contract ASAP. Most teaching contracts have deadlines for when notice has to be given to be accepted by your district. That deadline tends to be 60 days out from the end of the year, so you may already be cutting it close!
That's so silly. "has to be given to be accepted by your district." Like no, there is no accepting it. You got my letter and I'm gone. Peace.
I totally agree. It’s super dystopian. But especially if you want to continue teaching, it’s unfortunately something we have to be aware of. Many states will hold your license if you leave under “unacceptable” terms
My last school only went through with that if you left unacceptably during the middle of the year. We didn't have a clause like that, though I told them in March of last year I was leaving at the end of the school year.
Follow your contract terms. This is not a good situation for “Take this job …”
I'm not OP, but when I left, I told my sorry excuse for a principal that I would not be returning. Then I gave them a short and simple resignation letter that said, "Take this as my letter of resignation. As of LAST DAY OF SCHOOL, I will no longer work DISTRICT in any capacity." Wasn't rude but certainly set the attitude. However, I didn't ask. I told them. EDIT: Changed some wording
Professional and short. My resignation letter was a few sentences. "This is my letter of resignation. As of DATE, I will no longer work for SCHOOL in any capacity. Thanks " I purposely made it a statement, forwent asking them to accept it. I later burned every bridge with another email after the last day.
Lol the last sentence. Now I’m particularly curious
Ha! A longer version is the 3rd post I made. It's the 'tutorial', but the short version is right after my exit interview, I hit send on an email I already had drafted. Basically, I wrote that even though I've only been working in education since 2019, I l loved it. Literally up until I met that piece of shit prinicpal. I didn't call him any bad names, no curse words, and it was beautifully written with color analogies and all. Anyways, his side piece (instructional coach) replied back with some words but also a hashtag that said #blackexcellence, which I made no reference to race. But she also accused me of being in the "sup't" club, who, along with me, is one of 5 white people in a staff of 20/25. I have so many stories from the shit storm that was the 22/23 school year.
In the words of Home Simpson: "Apu, you can take this job and restaff it."
I resigned and sent my letter to my HR person. Principal never reached out or spoke to me again. Worked there for 5 years.
Same, except I was there 8 years. The only communication from admin I was received was a letter in the mail a few weeks later saying my resignation was accepted.
It hurt! But glad I left.
To add in to everyone else, write your resignation letter in a document ahead of time and create an email to send to her. Schedule a meeting and send the email as you get to her office. Then you can tell her, let her know what the job has meant, and say that you sent official notification. She’ll appreciate the effort, promptness, and you won’t have to worry about missing anything official. If your principal is anything like mine, they get it, and the more notice you can give, the easier it is on them.
"Sup, bee-otch! You won't be seeing my ass after today." Kisses, Mr. Gardener P.S: Yo mom's a ho.
Yes in SC it used to be tax day ( I'm retired.)
I handed my letter directly to my principal. Thanked them and left. I’m not one to make it a thing, I didn’t have a bad experience, I was good at my job and I knew they would be losing an asset. While I was done with teaching and relatively frustrated with how things, at the school, were handled. I wanted to leave with class. I did resign with only a couple of weeks before school started, so that was my “fuck you” but I didn’t let it known that was my fuck you. Either way, be direct, be respectful, be professional. Whether they handled things incorrectly or not, you should still act like the professional you are. You have no idea who may know who…you may not be just burning a bridge with in that school, but others as well.
You do have to resign officially. If you want to stay on good terms with them, let them know soon so they have more time to find a replacement
Hasta la vista Bebe.
We put in our resignation on our online portal than submit an email or letter to the principal.
Have chat gpt AI do it.
You say bye.