Head teachers are the highest ranking employees in schools. They are responsible for supervising and evaluating school policy and taking action when necessary. They also develop creative and responsive approaches to teaching and learning, design the school's aims and objectives, implement policies, and ensure policies and practises meet national, local, and school standards. In addition, they assess, organize, and execute flexible curriculum plans and effective assessment frameworks.
Head teachers support and assess individuals and teams. They ensure a reasonable school/work balance for teachers and staff, sustain effective staff performance management systems, and incorporate teachers' appraisals and targets for the school's achievement into the school's development plan. They also strategize ways to use emerging technologies to expand the learning experience.
Head teachers need to have leadership, communication, interpersonal, problem-solving skills and be good role models. A position as a head teacher requires a minimum of a bachelor's degree in education and significant teaching experience. However, a master's or doctoral degree may be preferred. The average head teacher earns $21.62 an hour, which translates to $44,977 a year.
What is a Head Teacher?
What Does a Head Teacher Do
There are certain skills that many head teachers have in order to accomplish their responsibilities. By taking a look through resumes, we were able to narrow down the most common skills for a person in this position. We discovered that a lot of resumes listed physical stamina, communication skills and patience.
How To Become a Head Teacher
If you're interested in becoming a head teacher, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 57.0% of head teachers have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 13.6% of head teachers have master's degrees. Even though most head teachers have a college degree, it's possible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.
Head Teacher Career Paths
As you move along in your career, you may start taking on more responsibilities or notice that you've taken on a leadership role. Using our career map, a head teacher can determine their career goals through the career progression. For example, they could start out with a role such as student teacher, progress to a title such as lead teacher and then eventually end up with the title center director.
Average Salary for a Head Teacher
What Am I Worth?
States With The Most Head Teacher Jobs
Mouse over a state to see the number of active head teacher jobs in each state. The darker areas on the map show where head teachers earn the highest salaries across all 50 states.
Number Of Head Teacher Jobs By State
| Rank | State | Number of Jobs | Average Salary |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | California | 2,160 | $58,934 |
| 2 | Texas | 1,741 | $42,790 |
| 3 | Illinois | 1,494 | $46,815 |
| 4 | Florida | 1,421 | $40,988 |
| 5 | New York | 1,208 | $68,859 |
| 6 | New Jersey | 1,104 | $58,572 |
| 7 | Pennsylvania | 958 | $54,566 |
| 8 | Arizona | 887 | $41,039 |
| 9 | Massachusetts | 815 | $70,587 |
| 10 | Maryland | 792 | $59,927 |
| 11 | Colorado | 761 | $48,673 |
| 12 | Michigan | 756 | $58,729 |
| 13 | North Carolina | 746 | $45,754 |
| 14 | Georgia | 746 | $45,525 |
| 15 | Virginia | 710 | $55,359 |
| 16 | Ohio | 691 | $49,597 |
| 17 | Minnesota | 596 | $53,198 |
| 18 | Connecticut | 532 | $60,745 |
| 19 | Washington | 512 | $57,534 |
| 20 | Tennessee | 458 | $42,766 |
| 21 | Missouri | 431 | $34,654 |
| 22 | Indiana | 417 | $42,342 |
| 23 | Nevada | 414 | $49,960 |
| 24 | South Carolina | 369 | $38,656 |
| 25 | Wisconsin | 341 | $48,179 |
| 26 | Oklahoma | 263 | $41,043 |
| 27 | Oregon | 255 | $51,767 |
| 28 | Iowa | 248 | $44,994 |
| 29 | Kansas | 242 | $49,567 |
| 30 | New Hampshire | 238 | $51,266 |
| 31 | New Mexico | 234 | $49,660 |
| 32 | Louisiana | 183 | $42,152 |
| 33 | Alabama | 167 | $41,909 |
| 34 | Nebraska | 160 | $49,579 |
| 35 | Kentucky | 157 | $46,531 |
| 36 | Utah | 153 | $46,864 |
| 37 | Arkansas | 147 | $40,626 |
| 38 | Delaware | 122 | $51,469 |
| 39 | Montana | 116 | $39,377 |
| 40 | Mississippi | 111 | $42,268 |
| 41 | Idaho | 88 | $44,334 |
| 42 | Rhode Island | 79 | $63,948 |
| 43 | Maine | 61 | $49,680 |
| 44 | Vermont | 47 | $51,508 |
| 45 | Wyoming | 37 | $44,384 |
| 46 | West Virginia | 25 | $44,402 |
| 47 | Alaska | 24 | $48,472 |
| 48 | North Dakota | 22 | $39,607 |
| 49 | South Dakota | 19 | $38,054 |
| 50 | Hawaii | 14 | $46,337 |
Top Colleges for Head Teachers
1. Northwestern University
Evanston, IL • Private
2. University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA • Private
3. University of Washington
Seattle, WA • Private
4. New York University
New York, NY • Private
5. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, NC • Private
6. Harvard University
Cambridge, MA • Private
7. Columbia University in the City of New York
New York, NY • Private
8. Johns Hopkins University
Baltimore, MD • Private
9. Boston University
Boston, MA • Private
10. California State University - Dominguez Hills
Carson, CA • Private
Top Skills For a Head Teacher
The skills section on your resume can be almost as important as the experience section, so you want it to be an accurate portrayal of what you can do. Luckily, we've found all of the skills you'll need so even if you don't have these skills yet, you know what you need to work on. Out of all the resumes we looked through, 25.7% of head teachers listed classroom management on their resume, but soft skills such as physical stamina and communication skills are important as well.
Choose From 10+ Customizable Head Teacher Resume templates
Zippia allows you to choose from different easy-to-use Head Teacher templates, and provides you with expert advice. Using the templates, you can rest assured that the structure and format of your Head Teacher resume is top notch. Choose a template with the colors, fonts & text sizes that are appropriate for your industry.
Head Teacher Demographics
Head Teacher Gender Distribution
After extensive research and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:
- Among head teachers, 86.2% of them are women, while 13.8% are men.
- The most common race/ethnicity among head teachers is White, which makes up 72.5% of all head teachers.
- The most common foreign language among head teachers is Spanish at 49.3%.
Work Experience Programs For Head Teachers
Virtual work experience programs replicate work at top companies and help you gain the skills to be successful when applying and working there. In only a few hours, learn the relevant tools necessary to complete a typical work day at that company. Virtual work experience programs are 100% free, open-access, and self-paced. No experience or application is required!
Company: ANZ Australia
Cost: Free
Duration: 5-6 hours
Company: Standard Bank
Cost: Free
Duration: 4.5-5.5 hours
Company: Sydney School of Entrepreneurship
Cost: Free
Duration: 7-9 hours
Company: Two Sigma
Cost: Free
Duration: 5-6 hours
Company: Clyde & Co
Cost: Free
Duration: 4.5 hours
Company: Matheson LLP (“Matheson”)
Cost: Free
Duration: 4-4.5 hours
Company: JPMorgan Chase
Cost: Free
Duration: 8-12 hours
Online Courses For Head Teacher That You May Like
Social and emotional learning, or SEL, programs have flourished in schools during the last decade. These programs vary widely but most share a concern for five individual, student competencies: self awareness; self-management; social awareness; relationship skills; and finally responsible decision making. It is important for teachers and parents to know about and understand these programs. While lots of SEL programs emphasize K-12 student social and emotional learning, only a very few programs e...
Social and emotional learning, or SEL, programs have flourished in schools during the last decade. While this growth has been impressive, inadequate attention has been paid to teachers' social and emotional learning. In this course Dan Liston and Randy Testa introduce you to various rationales for why teacher SEL is needed as well as examine and reflect on various emotions in teaching and learning. This course is a part of the 5-course Specialization "The Teacher and Social Emotional Learning (S...
Many Deaf children around the world still leave school functionally illiterate. In some cases there is no allowance made for education of Deaf children at all. This 4 week course provides you with invaluable knowledge and skills about teaching Deaf children. You will learn about the importance of Deaf culture and community, the need for a language rich environment for the Deaf child from as young as possible, and that having access to sign language can help Deaf children academically, emotionall...
Best States For a Head Teacher
Some places are better than others when it comes to starting a career as a head teacher. The best states for people in this position are Massachusetts, New York, Rhode Island, and Connecticut. Head teachers make the most in Massachusetts with an average salary of $70,587. Whereas in New York and Rhode Island, they would average $68,859 and $63,948, respectively. While head teachers would only make an average of $60,745 in Connecticut, you would still make more there than in the rest of the country. We determined these as the best states based on job availability and pay. By finding the median salary, cost of living, and using the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Location Quotient, we narrowed down our list of states to these four.
1. Connecticut
$60,745
Avg. Salary
2. Massachusetts
$70,587
Avg. Salary
3. New York
$68,859
Avg. Salary
How Do Head Teacher Rate Their Jobs?
Top Head Teacher Employers
Most Common Employers For Head Teacher
| Rank | Company | Average Salary | Hourly Rate | Job Openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jewish Community Center Inc | $52,994 | $25.48 | 22 |
| 2 | LePort Schools | $52,957 | $25.46 | 16 |
| 3 | Huntington Learning Center | $49,290 | $23.70 | 62 |
| 4 | University Settlement | $48,962 | $23.54 | 13 |
| 5 | The Rivers School | $47,868 | $23.01 | 22 |
| 6 | Kiddie Academy | $44,885 | $21.58 | 82 |
| 7 | Bright Beginnings | $43,390 | $20.86 | 16 |
| 8 | Play & Learn | $38,667 | $18.59 | 25 |
| 9 | Educational Playcare | $34,104 | $16.40 | 19 |
| 10 | The Malvern School | $30,913 | $14.86 | 48 |