The vice principal is responsible for promoting a vision of learning, creating a safe and ethical environment, managing resources, and influencing education regulations. They must understand educational outcomes, build consensus, and communicate effectively. They also oversee disciplinary issues, extracurricular activities, and teacher evaluations. Additionally, they work on the day-to-day operation of the school and can be an agent of change by participating in committees or influencing education policy.
Several important professional standards provide a framework for the roles of an education administrator, such as a deputy principal. The vice principal, also known as the assistant principal, promotes a vision of learning supported by the entire school community. She is responsible for creating a fair and ethical environment in which students and staff feel safe enough to learn. The assistant director is tasked with managing current human and monetary resources, as well as determining future needs. Keeping abreast of education regulations, and possibly working to influence them, can also be part of the job.
To create a vision of learning that is accepted in practice by school staff, the administrator must understand what educational outcomes are important to students in a pluralistic society in the 21st century. She must know how to build consensus among peers, negotiate when necessary, and firmly believe that all students can learn. By speaking at monthly school board meetings, for example, she can keep families informed about the direction she wants the school to move in, as well as progress toward that goal.
The safety and motivation of staff and students can rest primarily with the assistant director. Dealing with disciplinary issues fairly, recognizing student and staff accomplishments, monitoring the school climate, and overseeing extracurricular activities are four job tasks that help keep the school a place where people want to be. The assistant principal can also participate in team development presentations on service days and help teachers set professional goals each year. Conducting annual teacher evaluations can be part of the job shared with the principal. The Vice Principal must professionally and respectfully provide relevant positive and negative feedback to teachers following their evaluations.
The vice principal must have strong communication skills. Part of the administrator’s job may be writing newsletters or school website updates that keep families informed and strengthen community ties. Developing connections with community resources, including businesses and social organizations, can be a shared responsibility between the assistant principal, principal and guidance counselor.
The day-to-day organization and operation of the school rests with the administration. The assistant principal can work with the principal to develop the school’s annual budget. Along with this, she may be tasked with solving day-to-day and unexpected administrative issues and seeing that they are resolved quickly and fairly.
Education administrators can be an agent of change by participating in committees or by reaching out and meeting with policymakers to change education laws. For example, the vice principal can defend students’ legal rights related to privacy in legislative hearings. Influencing broader local or national education policy is a sometimes overlooked but very important part of the deputy principal’s job description.
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