Everything You Were Too Afraid to Ask About School Principals

Many people think of school principals as forbidding characters whose sole purpose is to lecture and discipline out-of-control students.

In reality, however, principals operate much like business executives. They are largely responsible for hiring and firing, setting school goals, implementing programs, setting budgets and allocating funds, and monitoring the school’s public image.

Most principals and other school administrators come from the ranks of classroom teachers, and they must complete an extensive credentialing process, which includes graduate study and field work.

Administration credentialing programs differ somewhat among colleges and universities, but there are some basic components included in all programs.

To qualify for admission to a program, for example, applicants must have at least three years of satisfactory classroom teaching experience and must also pass an exam of basic skills in reading, writing and math.

In general, graduate schools grant the administrative credential in two steps: first a Preliminary Administrative Credential, then a Professional Administrative Credential.

Getting that initial credential usually means completing about 36 semester units--about 12 courses--plus field work.

The range of subjects covered by the courses provides a hint of the range of skills expected of administrators.

In education leadership courses, for example, they learn the basics of group behavior. It is here that they learn to lead meetings and to persuade staff to buy into their policies.

This is also where prospective administrators learn techniques for fostering a positive atmosphere on campus and for dealing with teachers, students, parents and members of the surrounding community.

Curriculum and instruction are the primary functions of schools, so administrative candidates study these areas in depth. They learn about the newest strategies for teaching the courses offered at their schools and discover ways to help teachers use them.

Hot topics right now include techniques for keeping low-achieving students from dropping out and ways to mainstream members of various language and ethnic groups into the regular classroom.

Like managers of most companies, school principals must also be adept in managing personnel. This means dealing effectively not only with teachers, but counselors, custodians and cafeteria workers as well.

In personnel management courses, therefore, prospective administrators learn how to recruit teachers, interview and select them, and assign them classes that best use their expertise.

Because most teachers work under collective-bargaining contracts, administrators must also learn the ins and outs of dealing with unions.

Courses on the legal and financial aspects of education are also important because there’s a web of mind-bending federal, state and local laws.

Some tricky legal concerns include the rights of students and teachers, powers wielded by school boards and exact procedures for suspending or expelling students.

As with any government program, our education system is constantly bombarded by special-interest groups that wish to influence every aspect--from the length of the school day to the subjects that are taught.

Accordingly, courses dealing with the political aspects of education help future administrators to understand the motives, methods and power of political groups concerned with school prayer, book censorship, on-campus health clinics, teachers’ rights and other issues.

In addition to classes, the candidates must also complete about 270 hours of field work in which they generally “shadow” an administrator and perform minor administrative tasks.

Completing the course work usually takes two to three years because most have full-time jobs as teachers.

Once the Preliminary Administrative Credential is earned, there isn’t much left to do for the Professional Administrative Credential. The first step is to be hired for an administrative position--the main requirement is completion of three semesters on the job.

A few more courses are also needed, and they typically cover such subjects as computer literacy, designing multicultural programs, and supervising and coaching a staff.

After all this, the new administrators can finally leave chalk and eraser behind and try to shape students’ lives in a less direct but larger-scale way.