If you want to start as a public school-based administrator (SBA), then get the process started right!
(Excerpts from an upcoming book for aspiring to school-based leadership educators)
Part 1: Aspiring to the Assistant Principalship
Being a school-based AP or principal is one of the most critical personal and professional decisions an educator can make. The quality of your career life and the quality-of-life futures of your potential School Family Members (students, staff, parents) are at stake. How you qualitatively start out with the School Based Administrator (SBA) job acquisition process is how you will qualitatively carry out that process and, ultimately, how the process will qualitatively end up for you!
“I am presently a teacher (or: dean, librarian, guidance counselor, staff developer, instructional coach, etc.), and I want to be an assistant principal––what do I do next?”
“What do I do next in my school leadership career journey?”
First, be an excellent, exemplary and highly-efficacious educator in your present job assignment!
Which means, I hope you have professionally distinguished yourself based on objective, operational performance standards in your current job position. In addition, you have received positive competency performance feedback from the district-level leadership (e.g., content directors) team. Further, your school-based supervisory administration team’s formal and informal ratings and evaluations (and maybe even written commendations) are noteworthily positive. You may have been called upon on the school or district level to present yourself or your classroom as a demonstrated example and model of high effectiveness and excellence. Or you have been asked to serve in the role of a professional development presenter? As a teacher, you may already hold a selective, distinguished leadership position in the school (e.g., mentoring, content or grade leader, departmental chairperson, curriculum writer, instructional coach, staff developer, or teacher PD center facilitator). You may be serving on a school or district-level task force or committee or have done so in the past. Your collegial peers consider you eminently respected and highly regarded. And (an excellent sign), when visiting your school, the superintendent, a deputy, or district director/coordinator (privately) ask you if you have ever considered pursuing an AP position! It is a good guess to think that they would only ask you that question if they felt you fit the AP profile and the district would benefit by your being in that SBA position-seeking “pool.” And finally, most importantly, the students under your pedagogical care make significant academic or social progress despite the challenges and deficiencies they may bring to your classroom.
Even if you are committed to pursuing an educational leadership position, remember the real-world impact of your potential role. Strive to be the best in your current role, not just for the sake of your school-building leadership job aspirations but because your actions can shape the future of children. Wait, observe, think, and listen for the authentic ‘heart’ and ‘head’ calling you into a leadership role. If the calling is true and accurate, it will persist until you answer correctly and purposely. Remember, schools deal with real people, not widgets. Your leadership can turn dreams and aspirations into reality; SFMs are not just abstract data points or names attached to official documents.
Perhaps the career advancement grass looks greener on your neighbor’s (appointed AP or principal) side of the fence because you don’t see all the extra time, hard work, planning, and strategic commitment to unpaid hours they put in to make those positions work! —So, be careful and know what you are asking for aspiring school administrators because (after studying this book) you might get that position!
Next: Part 2, The state/local SBA job requirements, the official administrative SBA job posting, and the applying process is the process, so meet and follow them faithfully.
