Director of special services vs assistant principal

The differences between directors of special services and assistant principals can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a director of special services and an assistant principal. Additionally, a director of special services has an average salary of $81,779, which is higher than the $73,607 average annual salary of an assistant principal.

The top three skills for a director of special services include social work, business development and mental health. The most important skills for an assistant principal are classroom management, curriculum development, and professional development.

Director of special services vs assistant principal overview

	Director Of Special Services	Assistant Principal
Yearly salary	$81,779	$73,607
Hourly rate	$39.32	$35.39
Growth rate	5%	5%
Number of jobs	70,868	42,186
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 57%	Bachelor's Degree, 46%
Average age	47	47
Years of experience	4	4

Director of special services vs assistant principal salary

Directors of special services and assistant principals have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Director Of Special Services	Assistant Principal
Average salary	$81,779	$73,607
Salary range	Between $56,000 And $117,000	Between $57,000 And $94,000
Highest paying City	-	Redwood City, CA
Highest paying state	-	Oregon
Best paying company	-	Pace University
Best paying industry	-	Government

Differences between director of special services and assistant principal education

There are a few differences between a director of special services and an assistant principal in terms of educational background:

	Director Of Special Services	Assistant Principal
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 57%	Bachelor's Degree, 46%
Most common major	Business	Educational Leadership
Most common college	Northwestern University	University of Pennsylvania

Director of special services vs assistant principal demographics

Here are the differences between directors of special services' and assistant principals' demographics:

	Director Of Special Services	Assistant Principal
Average age	47	47
Gender ratio	Male, 41.7% Female, 58.3%	Male, 47.4% Female, 52.6%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 11.1% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 13.8% Asian, 4.3% White, 66.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%	Black or African American, 13.2% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 13.2% Asian, 4.2% White, 64.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage	16%	16%

Differences between director of special services and assistant principal duties and responsibilities

Director of special services example responsibilities.

Develop and manage a capital budget of $200K, an operational budget of $100K and 50 FTE's.
Coordinate Medicaid billing for the district.
Direct the administrative and clinical operations of rehabilitation services for a two-campus 325-bed acute-care hospital and hospital-base home health agency.
Maintain and supervise all clinical performance improvement systems for JCAHO accreditation.

Assistant principal example responsibilities.

Lead the NCA steering committee to assist with the school improvement process.
Create and manage projects that are research base to improve student success in the areas of mathematics for ESL students.
Manage special education department budget, student programming and IEP accommodations.
Conduct CSE and annual review meetings.
Plan, control, and direct the overall activities for students in grade Pre-K - 8th grade.
Coordinate RtI interventions and implementation at secondary level.

Director of special services vs assistant principal skills

Common director of special services skills

Social Work, 10%
Business Development, 8%
Mental Health, 8%
Securities, 7%
Treasury, 7%
Staff Development, 7%

Common assistant principal skills

Classroom Management, 8%
Curriculum Development, 8%
Professional Development, 7%
Instructional Program, 5%
Math, 4%
Student Achievement, 4%

Director Of Special Services vs. similar jobs

Director Of Special Services related careers

Director Of Special Services related jobs

What similar roles do

Zippia Careers
Executive Management Industry
Director Of Special Services
Director Of Special Services vs Assistant Principal

Updated January 8, 2025

Browse executive management jobs