is being an assistant principal worth it is being an assistant principal worth it

Community. Still, most students attend schools with only one AP, and schools with higher enrollment of students of color were more likely to have APs than those with higher percentages of white students. Pressure came from the district, politicians, and micromanagers. Writing About Resistance: A Q&A with author Rann Miller. In its districts, there was little coaching and mentoring for assistant principals, few PD opportunities for principals on how to mentor APs, and a dearth of PD tailored to or differentiated for APs, Casserly said. It is a harsh reality, but I could not fix everything nor save them all. Trustworthiness. . It is a 24-hour gig. The five reasons why this principal left her school were, l social issues, lack of funding, micromanagement, politics, and stress, and burnout. Practicing Self-Care to Avoid Teacher Burnout, Using Your Teacher Expertise to Become an Educational Consultant. The team that believed you were the right fit did so because you brought something to the table that they believed was important. Through articles, events, and social media we will advocate for honest dialogue with teachers about how to improve public education. High school was especially fun because there is a lot going on. I liked it. Assistant principals often have to deal with heated situations between students, parents, and teachers. There are many similarities for assistant principals, regardless of the education level, but there are some structural differences in academics and best practices for dealing with students of various age groups. So I have been looking into a coordinator job as well. Am writing my masters so that I can A Valdosta elementary school assistant principal is being hailed a hero after saving a second-grader from choking. A second reason principals leave is the lack of funding and resources. Melissa Kelly, M.Ed., is a secondary school teacher, instructional designer, and the author of "The Everything New Teacher Book: A Survival Guide for the First Year and Beyond. Understanding and addressing principal turnover: A review of the research. Thank you for sharing!!! The median expected annual salary of a principal is over $100,000, while the median expected annual salary for a teacher is under $60,000. Therefore, assistant principals in secondary schools also have an extra level of responsibility to monitor truancy. Field Tip: Develop personal professional growth goals each year. I honestly don't think people should be principals unless they seriously want to provide students with a better educational experience. MTSS is a powerful framework for supporting student success, but implementation can be challenging. Use the opportunity for informal conversations. Reston, VA: National Association of Secondary School Principals. I have had various experiences with people who support and help and those who are trying to blame and move up on others hard work. Determined to work towards success. Soon, the weight becomes too heavy, and a decision must be made. Andrew Houlihan, the superintendent of the Union County schools in North Carolina, led the development of a high-dosage tutoring strategy to combat student learning loss. Check out our being an assistant principal is easy selection for the very best in unique or custom, handmade pieces from our digital shops. Balance requires creating communications that are easy to read and ensuring they have a purpose. Looking forward to retiring in about 28 months. When I left my principal job, the scores on the state test declined 10 percentage points on most every exam but the new admin didnt care because the person who replaced me was friends with the new Supt. This includes time each day to be present in classrooms and hallways. In high-poverty schools, the turnover rate was 21 percent. Possible Range. There is no downtime, either physically or emotionally. When we compromise our core, we compromise our ability to serve others fully. We have all received emails that resembled dissertations or appeared to be sent just to send something. You can make a big impact on them when trying to get/keep them on track with discipline or grades. Field Tip: When you need to communicate, start by identifying the purpose and critical information. Although many private schools may not require a school administrator license to be an assistant principal, a masters degree can increase employment opportunities. Assistant Principal Svg . Designer tags . Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics. Turns out he was very depressed and it was misplaced anger. My health was also heading in a negative direction. Create an account to follow your favorite communities and start taking part in conversations. These include: Insuring the safety of students and staff. Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide elementary, middle, high school and more. The Editorial Team, Campaign for Trauma-Informed Policy and Practice (CTIPP), Teaching Careers and Professional Development, National Association of Elementary School Principals, National Association of Secondary School Principals, American Federation of School Administrators, Research Education Specialist Degree Programs, Research ALL Degree and Certificate Programs, Psychology Teacher: Job, Education and Salary Information, Special Education Teacher: Job, Education and Salary Information, Health Teacher: Job, Education and Salary Information, School Principal: Job, Education and Salary Information, Art Teacher: Job, Education, and Salary Information, Adjunct Professor: Job Outlook, Education, Salary, Masters in Trauma Education and Trauma-Informed Care. Being a school leader is difficult. Eventually, politics won, and I was pushed out and left the job. Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more. Assistant principals deal with the issues of school management, student activities and services, community relations, personnel, and curriculum instruction. Your email address will not be published. Then, the same people wanted to make unannounced or announced visits to complete walk-throughs and observations. May require a master's degree. Spent 8 years as an assistant/associate principal at a k-6 and at a 9-12. Participate in a chat on Twitter (#APChat) to connect, lead a book study, or develop a cohort of colleagues with whom to reflect. Theres limited empirical evidence that having worked as an AP leads to better school outcomes or effectiveness as a principal. [Accessed 16 May 2020]. -there arent a lot of daily pats in the back and you have to take personal satisfaction in a job well done, not in a lot of public praise. Before You Quit Education, What's Your Plan? Thats just my perspective as an AP. Secondary trauma becomes a reality for many educators, including myself. Whether a principal is in an urban, suburban, or rural district, the job is tough. Dear Administrators: Dont Move Ineffective Teachers to a Lower Grade; Help Them Improve. View job description, responsibilities and qualifications. Think about it -- it would be impossible for one person to be accomplished at a long list of "principal tasks" that includes. While many people see the assistant principals as the disciplinary arm of the administrative staff, their main goal should be to help students achieve to their greatest potential. Goldring, R., & Taie, S. (2018). Are there any real pros of the job? I loved the job, but I didn't love it every day. The days were spent putting out fires, handling emergencies, disciplining students, and communicating with district liaisons and reading too many emails with last-minute requests or directives. Develop standards and tasks that are consistent with the AP job and responsibilities; Create evaluations for APs that are separate from those for principals; Ensure principals have the skills, training, and professional development to mentor APs and that they offer APs experiences to develop their leadership skills; Prioritize people of color and women in leadership pipelines and plans. If you cannot establish relationships, you are going to struggle to maximize your effectiveness. This communication is imperative to the process of building capacity to promote student growth. Do you have to work as a principal before you can work at the central office? Practicing Self-Care to Avoid Teacher Burnout- An 8 Week Course, Teacher Branding 101:Teachers are The Experts. These five issues beat me down and pushed me out of the profession. --dealing with people who are largely not glad to see you, --dropping your work anytime a child decides that it's time to misbehave, --listening to parents defend actions by their children which are indefensible, --being caught between overpaid (but well-meaning) central office staff and underpaid (but well-meaning) teaching staff. The brutal truth was that I did not have balance. Many spend more time with disciplinary actions and less with instructional leadership. Interpret and implement the educational and administrative programs of the K-8 school . The Role of Assistant Principals: Evidence and Insights for Advancing School Leadership. Who is selected to be principal is part of the problem, said Beverly Hutton, the chief program officer at the National Association of Secondary School Principals. But as Dave Burgess says in. The pro side of being a principal though, is that you have a much bigger influence on the school, and have more opportunities to influence students' educational experience. Student population is another difference for elementary assistant principals. This content is provided by our sponsor. A Brief Look at the U.S. Department of Labor, A Comprehensive Breakdown of the Roles of School Personnel, Examining The Role of an Effective School Superintendent, How Principals Can Provide Teacher Support, Guidelines for Establishing Effective School Discipline for Principals, 10 Pros and Cons of Being a School Principal, An Educational Leadership Philosophy for School Leaders, Twelve Reasons I Love and Hate Being a Principal of a School, End of the School Year Checklist for Principals, M.Ed., Curriculum and Instruction, University of Florida. They need to ensure the safety of students, as well as fulfillment of federal and state student and teacher performance guidelines. My advice to those people is to not go back to school because you have unfulfilled feelings but because you are setting yourself up to do something you are actually passionate about. Afterward, a principal job was a few years away, but I quickly found an assistant principal position. Working with everyone at the company. Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles. I don't think I'd want to be a principal or a superintendent. [ONLINE] Available at: https://learningpolicyinstitute.org/product/nassp-principal-turnover-insights-brief, Principal attrition and mobility: Results from the 201617 Principal Follow-up Survey First Look. Thank you for sharing your story. ThoughtCo. A survey by the National Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESP) found principals averaged 10 years as a teacher before moving into an administrative role. Most administrative certification tests evaluate organizational skills, instructional knowledge, and help to prove individuals to be effective in the positive growth and change within the school system. Thank you for reading and responding to the story. Its always worth it because most states give a pay raise yearly for masters degree and it opens possibilities. Keep track of all activities on the school calendar. Kelly, Melissa. Contact: Maria Valadez-Munoz. Then one day, the stress pushed my blood pressure to 199/120. Most elementary schools also have a parent organization that works closely with the school and, in turn, the assistant principal. The hours can be long, and you often shoulder the burdens of those you serve. curriculum/professional development. Average base salary Data source tooltip for average base salary. In high-poverty schools, the turnover rate was 21 percent. You can't please one without pissing another off. But my friend who is on the board there said that they told the sup that the principals who he hired to replace the ones he fired had better be higher than when they started or he would lose his job it caused a ton of issues. Im at a central office job now. pros or cons? The stress of knowing I could be fired at any moment if my job stepped on anyone elses toes was hard. Thanks for sharing!! Central office administrators wanted to see data every quarter for attendance, on-track grades, behavior, and suspension numbers. Seriously, though, it's the job I had that I felt like did the most good for the most kids. I was an AP for three years at a relatively wealthy school and principal at a very poor middle school for three. They need to be proficient in the use of different media platforms (audio, visual, e-mail). school safety. Cassandra Washington is a Chicago-based educator. you have to be very good or ready to learn at lots of things. ET. Eventually, I began to suffer from secondary trauma and a few health issues. Some offered after school tutoring, sports programs, chess teams, etc. (NCES 2018-066). Executive Assistants touch on all key aspects of a company's operations, including scheduling . Elementary school assistant principals' duties will most likely differ from that of a middle or high school assistant principal. My school building served as the hub of the community, so many neighborhood agencies wanted to be partners. Effective communicator. Communication, relationships, management, data, instruction, money. every day is a new adventure. Its a way different skill set than teaching, however. But the research is nascent, Rubin said. Employment growth may depend on state and local government budgets. there are also campus specialist jobs that require masters degree. Though the teaching profession is largely femalenearly 80 percent of teachers are womenthey were less likely than men to become both APs and principals, according to the report. The actual responsibilities of the assistant principal are often at the discretion of the schools principalmeaning that two assistant principals in the same district can leave their jobs with vastly different experiences and readiness for the next step in their careers. Phone: 209-933-7065 2121. But, he said, theres not enough research to fully answer the question. Next, I did not expect the amount of politics and pressure from outside sources. At the end of the week, check your percentages to make sure you are fulfilling your goals. . Assistant principals can play an important role in improving school culture and equity through their work with students and families. Additionally, Assistant School Principal typically reports to a school principal. When the master schedule is developed, observe the process and ask how the schedule is designed to balance needs. I always looked at the job of being the CEO of the school. My responsibilities as a school principal were many. Understanding and addressing principal turnover: A review of the research. While no two days are the same, typical job duties for an assistant principal include: Then there are those miscellaneous special projects, which run the gamut of buying decorations for the eighth-grade dance, organizing a talent show, or writing a grant for a literacy program. wide instructional . Watching him graduate gave me great joy. Check out our books on teaching and learning! Much of the instructional and academic and school improvement priorities are delegated to department chairs, who are then under the supervision of the assistant principal. Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more. The interviewer wants to know that you understand how your skills match those required in the role. 2019. The 10th annual Rhythm and Ribs Festival kicks off. they are the reason we started this job, and it becomes easy to forget they are in the building if you get swamped in paper work. Enrolling in professional organizations provide opportunities to network and access to journals and research. Despite adapting, the weight of dealing with social ills that enter into the school classrooms becomes too much to handle at times. One common role is to support the principal, which can look different in every setting. At some point, it becomes a losing and stressful battle. This is reality,i have faced the same. Unfortunately, the central office administrators hardly ever said anything positive. Assistant principals deal with sensitive information every day. The staff, students, parents and I worked hard and deserved some praise about the academic gains our students made. While growth in the number of elementary schools offers some explanation for the rising numbers, Goldring and colleagues found that the increase outpaced student enrollment, with the ratio of APs to students higher in urban and suburban schools. 1. Most states require teaching experience. Levin, S., & Bradley, K. (2019). The goal was to get me away from the leadership style of guiding dialogue and toward the style of actively listening. Sometimes, it was possible to make their lives easier, but often that was not the case. Example answer: 'An assistant principal requires several different skills and qualities to help them succeed and be an effective member of the senior leadership team. For comparison, the expected percent change in employment for all occupations is 7 percent. The number of assistant principals grew from close to 44,000 to nearly 81,000 between the 1990-91 and 2015-16 school yearsat about six times the rate of principals, according to the report. The average salary range for an Assistant Principal is from $81,900 to $109,700. As VP/P I couldnt. It's not as hard as being a principal and it pays a little better. We worked through it together and formed a special bond. In Educational Leadership from National-Louis University. Find teaching jobs and other jobs in K-12 education at the EdWeek Top School Jobs virtual career fair. They conceptualize the goals of their school and identify objectives for instruction and extracurricular programs. I was always good at working with staff and earning their respect. It was a wake-up call for me. Occasionally a few helpful colleagues shared or donated used materials or resources. this helps a lot. Thu., March 30, 2023, 2:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. Elementary school assistant principals also interact more with parents than their secondary school counterparts. Parents, students, and teachers may try to drive a wedge between you and the principal by asking leading questions. How to become an Assistant Principal in 6 steps: Step 1: Explore assistant principal education Step 2: Develop assistant principal skills Step 3: Complete relevent training/internship Step 4: Research assistant principal duties Step 5: Prepare your resume Step 6: Apply for an assistant principal job Education Top Majors And Degrees document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. then the principalship and/or vice-principalship might be for you. Updated: 5 hours ago. Its a big decision to go the admin route, but I think its worth it! District mandates and directives usually had a one size fits all approach that did not work well for my students. In Political Science. Ask The Educator's Room: I cried in front of my students. Not a principal but have had this conversation with principals. Is the Assistant Principal the Most Overlooked, Undervalued Person at School? Manipulatives provide a physical representation of the issue being addressed, leading to a more meaningful, hands-on experience. Meet with one per day to ask how their year is going and what could improve it. Hello world! Why Become an Assistant Principal in a Middle or High School? Learning mathematics cannot be achieved through memorization alone. Prep programs, for example, can work with districts to sequence courses to match the work that APs are doing. I'm in my 15th year as an administrator and I could have written that piece because it is exactly what I'm living as a principal. As you complete them, mark them off, but make sure you keep your nonnegotiables at the top. I was an AP before becoming a principal at a different school. Each year I watched my school budget decrease by $100,000 or more. Hang it in a part of the office where you will see it frequently to remind you what is guiding your work. Those jobs are low admin level, pay better than teaching, and are out of the line of sight. Additional Keywords, teachers, students, education, Press J to jump to the feed. I am an aspiring leader in grad school for my Administrative License and this article offers a wake-up call for what it means to be a leader. program/mission evaluation and strategic planning. They must also be well-versed in collaboration and negotiation in order to effectively advocate for policies that benefit the school. During budget season, ask to review the budget and discuss how priorities were set and allocated. If there is a staff concern that needs resolution, ask if you can observe the process to better understand the policies and procedures. Both are important functions for a school to function, but can take a toll on the people in those roles. Its unclear whether the assistant principals role is a career goal itself or a stepping-stone to the principalship. The assistant principalship is one of the most misunderstood and pivotal roles in our schools. They are involved in overseeing teaching staff, and must ensure that the school standards for curriculum and discipline are followed. What I see them go through is not worth any amount of money or 'prestige.' However, the principal job is where real change can be made, but also, everything ends at you; which means some headaches that cant always be solved, but youre always to blame) Setting up and developing key leaders within your building is crucial to making an impact. Another reasonis that the assistant principal's position can be a stepping stone to the principal's job. While this strategy has its advantages, it can also be a hindrance, as each of us carries strengthsand weaknesses. But being a hero in a world of dragons is deadly, and even without a hero complex, most administrators barely keep their heads above water in their first few years. The study states, Principal turnover is a serious issue across the country. Categories . I'm at a central office job now. U.S. Department of Education. That is a significant increase in salary and can have a substantial impact on your family's financial status, as well as on your retirement. Cassandra Washington graduated from Rockford University with a B.A. Principals and vice principals typically need a masters degreeand several years of teaching experience to qualify for employment. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/what-is-an-assistant-principal-7652. A 2017 national survey of public school principals found that, overall, approximately 18 percent of principals had left their position since the year before. Each assistant principalship carries a different set of expectations and challenges. Thank you for your vulnerability. Cassandra also publishes the blog,www.teachandtaketime4u.com, and she speaks at national conferences about teacher and principal wellness. You'll be miserable and the people you serve will be miserable. Principal Turnover: Insights from Current Principals. Email: mvaladezmunoz@stocktonusd.net. Principal attrition and mobility: Results from the 201617 Principal Follow-up Survey First Look(NCES 2018-066). Having worked in a lot of schools, my impression is that most often assistant principles get most of the "dirty work" - particularly discipline and scheduling. Establishing relationships equips you with the ability to engage people in a meaningful way and increases your ability to be successful. I could not sleep at night, and the doctor diagnosed insomnia. True reflection of the job.Thought the last minute directives and unending data was only in Kenya.We look forward to quiting. I felt like I was continually robbing Peter to pay Paul. An assistant principal, also known as a vice principal, is an education administrator responsible for facilitating the day-to-day requirements of their school. I feel leaving today!!! Typically, mid-size to large schools employ more than one assistant principal. Alpha Public Schools. I had to save myself and walk away. See if you qualify! It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff. I was very close to having a stroke. I am looking forward to be one. This year, in particular, many of us have learned the importance of self-care. Are assistant principals the most overlooked, undervalued people in schools?While their numbers have exploded over the last 25 years, schools have little to no idea of whether this sizable group of second-in-command administrators influence student learning.Often, they dont have clearly defined roles. Its also possible that Black assistant principalsparticularly Black menwho are often steered toward student discipline, may not be getting the instructional leadership experience necessary for the principals job, Mollie Rubin, a research assistant professor at Vanderbilt and a co-author, said during a panel discussion and presentation of the reports findings. Most assistant principals start their careers as teachers.