School administrators, such as principals, assistant principals, and superintendents, have various duties including managing budgets, planning curriculum, and addressing issues between parents, students, and teachers. They also have different levels of authority and salary expectations vary based on experience and location.
The duties of a school administrator often depend on their actual role within an educational system. School principals, assistant principals, and superintendents work together and all perform administrative functions. Typically, these roles include planning curriculum, planning school budgets, and getting to know parents and other community members to help achieve common community goals for their particular school system.
Most often, the budget is managed by a school superintendent’s office, however, typically, the budget requires input from school principals. Their budgets allocate certain funds for recreational activities, educational tools, and teacher salaries. Different jurisdictions manage their school systems in various ways, but generally a single school district receives funding from many different levels of government, including regional, federal, and state. Most of the time, it is the responsibility of the school administrator to determine the best way to allocate these funds.
Making decisions about the school curriculum is another important responsibility of a school administrator, and these decisions can have lasting implications. Books and related learning tools to advance a core curriculum are often very expensive, and chosen curricula often stay in place for several years. It would be a poor thought for a school administrator if a curriculum was chosen and had to be abandoned due to poor performance. Most of the time, principals and superintendents discuss curriculum changes with teachers, because teachers are often better able to evaluate learning resources.
Another important responsibility of a school administrator is to deal with problems that may arise between parents, students and teachers. Most often, school counselors address these issues first, but in many cases, a principal or assistant principal may need to be involved. When it is necessary for an administrator to be involved in counseling decisions, it is usually because of issues associated with student behavior.
Most school systems have a hierarchy, with the school superintendent having the highest level of authority. Directly below the superintendent levels are the principal directors and assistant directors. All other employees of a school system are under its direct administrative control.
Salary expectations for a school administrator vary greatly based on geographic location and experience. In the United States (US), the average salary for a School Principal is around $95,000 ($95,000 USD), $75,000 ($75,000 USD) for an Assistant Principal and $155,000 ($155,000 USD) for a college dean. A superintendent of schools is normally an elected position, and the voting body usually determines the salary.
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