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High school assistant principal vs principal

The differences between high school assistant principals and 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 high school assistant principal and a principal. Additionally, a principal has an average salary of $111,719, which is higher than the $91,217 average annual salary of a high school assistant principal.

The top three skills for a high school assistant principal include professional development, curriculum development and professional growth. The most important skills for a principal are CRM, project management, and financial services.

High school assistant principal vs principal overview

High School Assistant PrincipalPrincipal
Yearly salary$91,217$111,719
Hourly rate$43.85$53.71
Growth rate5%5%
Number of jobs63,37684,015
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 52%Bachelor's Degree, 63%
Average age4747
Years of experience44

What does a high school assistant principal do?

The High School Assistant Principal handles the educational growth of all enrolled students. They provide help to the principal in all administrative duties and molds students' behavior. Included in the tasks are instilling discipline in the youth and readying them to face the world upon graduation. Other tasks are organizing activities, instructor and teacher scheduling, subject, and other extracurricular activities. It is also the Assistant Principal's job to take the helm once the principal is absent or unable to perform duties.

What does a principal do?

A principal is responsible for maintaining the orderliness of the school premises and supervising school operations, enforcing strict safety standards, and reiterating regulatory procedures. Principals' duties also include managing and monitoring school budget and expenses, improving security plans, conducting regular meetings and sharing updates with teachers and other school personnel, creating reports for school funding, and setting academic goals for everyone's compliance. A principal must administer excellent leadership, communication, and decision-making skills to handle major administrative tasks in maintaining the school's growth.

High school assistant principal vs principal salary

High school assistant principals and principals have different pay scales, as shown below.

High School Assistant PrincipalPrincipal
Average salary$91,217$111,719
Salary rangeBetween $61,000 And $136,000Between $69,000 And $179,000
Highest paying CityNovato, CANew York, NY
Highest paying stateNew JerseyNew York
Best paying companySweetwater Union High School DistrictKKR & Co. L.P.
Best paying industryEducationProfessional

Differences between high school assistant principal and principal education

There are a few differences between a high school assistant principal and a principal in terms of educational background:

High School Assistant PrincipalPrincipal
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 52%Bachelor's Degree, 63%
Most common majorEducational LeadershipBusiness
Most common collegeUniversity of PennsylvaniaUniversity of Pennsylvania

High school assistant principal vs principal demographics

Here are the differences between high school assistant principals' and principals' demographics:

High School Assistant PrincipalPrincipal
Average age4747
Gender ratioMale, 67.4% Female, 32.6%Male, 65.6% Female, 34.4%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 12.2% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 14.1% Asian, 4.3% White, 64.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%Black or African American, 10.9% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 14.0% Asian, 4.3% White, 66.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage16%16%

Differences between high school assistant principal and principal duties and responsibilities

High school assistant principal example responsibilities.

  • Facilitate teacher lead PBIS committee to implement effective school wide discipline campaigns and activities for students.
  • Co-Design kindergarten readiness program that will bring in-home and wrap around services to academically at-risk kindergarten students.
  • Provide effective oversight of the distribution and accuracy of report cards, course credits and transcripts.
  • Provide oversight for all content areas, with special focus on history, math, and special education.
  • Result in international interest in available ESL programs.

Principal example responsibilities.

  • Manage all documentation associate with FMLA, ADA, & DOL requests.
  • Develop schedules, payroll, and manage recruiting, hiring and company standards to ensure customer satisfaction.
  • Launch, continue to manage, and act as primary portfolio manager and trader for boutique investment consulting firm.
  • Manage the RFP process for a new medical plan TPA delivering a savings of almost $1MM in fix costs.
  • Achieve 7-digit annual revenues from start-up in one year by capitalizing on accurate niche market gap and consumer demand identification.
  • Manage all human resource matters, including payroll and benefits administration.
  • Show more

High school assistant principal vs principal skills

Common high school assistant principal skills
  • Professional Development, 9%
  • Curriculum Development, 7%
  • Professional Growth, 6%
  • Instructional Program, 6%
  • Support Services, 5%
  • Student Discipline, 5%
Common principal skills
  • CRM, 7%
  • Project Management, 7%
  • Financial Services, 6%
  • Healthcare, 6%
  • Professional Services, 5%
  • ERP, 5%

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