How to hire a high school assistant principal

How to hire a high school assistant principal, step by step

Here's a step-by-step high school assistant principal hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a high school assistant principal job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new high school assistant principal
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a high school assistant principal do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   The high school assistant principal hiring process starts by determining what type of worker you actually need. Certain roles might require a full-time employee, whereas part-time workers or contractors can do others.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   Hiring the perfect high school assistant principal also involves considering the ideal background you'd like them to have. Depending on what industry or field they have experience in, they'll bring different skills to the job. It's also important to consider what levels of seniority and education the job requires and what kind of salary such a candidate would likely demand.

   Here's a comparison of high school assistant principal salaries for various roles:

   Type of High School Assistant Principal	Description	Hourly rate
   High School Assistant Principal	Elementary, middle, and high school principals manage all school operations, including daily school activities. They coordinate curricula, oversee teachers and other school staff, and provide a safe and productive learning environment for students.	$29-65
   Superintendent	Superintendents oversee the administration of schools in a specific school district. They manage the educational programs of each school and create strategic decisions to ensure that the students are learning important subjects... Show more	$27-57
   Principal Investigator	A Principal Investigator is the primary person who is responsible for designing, conducting, and reporting a research project. They report to a designated official such as the department head or division chief.	$28-57

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Professional Development
   • Curriculum Development
   • Professional Growth
   • Instructional Program
   • Support Services
   • Student Discipline
   • Public Schools
   • Staff Development
   • School Administration
   • Student Attendance
   • Student Achievement
   • Master Schedule
   • Instructional Strategies
   • Classroom Management

   Check all skills

   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.

   More high school assistant principal duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your high school assistant principal job description is one of the best ways to attract top talent. A high school assistant principal can vary based on:

   • Location. For example, high school assistant principals' average salary in oklahoma is 52% less than in new jersey.
   • Seniority. Entry-level high school assistant principals 55% less than senior-level high school assistant principals.
   • Certifications. A high school assistant principal with certifications usually earns a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for an established firm or a new start-up company can make a big difference in a high school assistant principal's salary.

   Average high school assistant principal salary

   $91,217yearly

   $43.85 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level high school assistant principal salary

   $61,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 14, 2025

   Average high school assistant principal salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$109,081	$52
   2	Washington	$103,779	$50
   3	New York	$102,181	$49
   4	Michigan	$96,091	$46
   5	Oregon	$84,956	$41
   6	North Carolina	$79,233	$38
   7	Ohio	$72,429	$35
   8	Arizona	$67,119	$32
   9	Missouri	$66,565	$32
   10	New Mexico	$66,552	$32
   11	Colorado	$63,168	$30
   12	Texas	$60,670	$29
   13	Oklahoma	$54,146	$26

   Average high school assistant principal salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Sweetwater Union High School District	$110,249	$53.00	1
   2	Paulding County High School	$109,981	$52.88	4
   3	Kellogg Elementary	$109,727	$52.75	3
   4	COMPTON UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT	$103,588	$49.80	12
   5	Torrance Unified School District	$102,507	$49.28	2
   6	Rialto Unified School District	$101,829	$48.96	4
   7	Hemet Unified School District	$101,829	$48.96	21
   8	San Marcos Unified School District	$101,687	$48.89
   9	K12	$101,427	$48.76	9
   10	Sacramento City Unified School District	$98,928	$47.56	2
   11	Perris Union High School District	$98,926	$47.56
   12	Irving Isd	$97,733	$46.99	5
   13	State of Connecticut	$96,718	$46.50	4
   14	Brea Olinda Unified School District	$95,470	$45.90
   15	Rowland Unified School District	$95,198	$45.77	4
   16	Visalia Unified School District	$94,265	$45.32
   17	Catholic Diocese of Sacramento	$92,292	$44.37	6
   18	Girard College	$92,134	$44.30
   19	Cornerstone Learning Community	$91,178	$43.84	2
   20	Springfield City Library	$90,089	$43.31	7

4. Writing a high school assistant principal job description

   A high school assistant principal job description should include a summary of the role, required skills, and a list of responsibilities. It's also good to include a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager. To help get you started, here's an example of a high school assistant principal job description:

   High school assistant principal job description example

   First Baptist High School of Charleston seeks to appoint an assistant principal to begin on June 1, 2023 or earlier. First Baptist High School educates 188 high-school students on a sprawling 65 acre campus on James Island, removed from the hurly-burly of urban life yet only a fifteen-minute drive to downtown Charleston. The high-school campus contains two classroom buildings, one of which has a competition gym as well as a practice gym and a weight room. The same building includes instructional space for the arts. The building in which the central administrative offices are located contains two labs, and seven other classrooms. Forty students comprise the Class of 2023, and 55 juniors the Class of 2024. The optimal enrollment envisioned for 23-24 is 50-55 students in a class.
   
   The Assistant Principal reports directly to the Principal. The successful candidate must subscribe to values that align with those of the school: academic excellence with a Christian perspective. The critical character traits for this position are:
   * An abiding delight in working with adolescents
   * Backbone, fortitude, and integrity
   * Strong work ethic
   * Exemplary teaching skills
   * High growth capacity
   * Follow through
   * Genuine interpersonal skills
   
   Success in the position requires the candidate to shift his/her perspective from personal to institutional. The first concern is the current and foregoing good of the school. All administrative decisions must be made with this standard in the forefront.
   
   *Preferred experience: *
   
   * Administrative responsibilities
   * High-school teaching
   * Non public-school familiarity
   
   *Duties: *
   
   * Monitoring attendance and lateness
   * Oversight of behavior referrals
   * Presence at lunch and student performances
   * Arrival and departure supervision
   * Oversight of teacher communication: new student notes; up and down slips; progress reports; summative semester reports
   * Interface with Trident Tech and dual-credit curriculum
   * Scheduling classes
   * Transcript development and production
   * Leadership in professional development and performance review
   
   First Baptist School of Charleston is a high-expectations community. The team works collaboratively and cheerfully, conscious of the trust that parents place in them. Charleston is ranked by many prominent polls the number One destination city in the United States. Charleston is an urbane, edgy, innovative, diverse, dynamic city of 800,000 with spectacular scenic vistas. With an eclectic and enterprising arts scene, including the signature Spoleto festival in the spring, diverse entertainment and sports venues, and restaurants that put Charleston in the forefront of _nouveau cuisine, _the “Holy City” offers a remarkable blend of the _avant garde_ and historic.
   
   Interested applicants should submit a cover letter citing the reasons for interest in the position and briefly enumerating the applicant's qualifications. Applicants will find the application pack on the school website, www.fbschool.org. All applications should be addressed to Dr. Leonard Kupersmith, Principal.
   
   It is the policy of First Baptist School to provide equal opportunity in employment for all persons and to prohibit discrimination in employment because of race, color, sex, national origin, physical disability, and age.
   
   Job Type: Full-time
   
   Pay: $52,819.38 - $117,756.67 per year
   
   Benefits:
   * 401(k)
   * Dental insurance
   * Employee discount
   * Health insurance
   * Life insurance
   * Paid time off
   * Professional development assistance
   * Tuition reimbursement
   * Vision insurance
   Schedule:
   * 10 hour shift
   
   Ability to commute/relocate:
   * Charleston, SC 29412: Reliably commute or planning to relocate before starting work (Required)
   
   Experience:
   * Teaching: 1 year (Preferred)
   
   Work Location: One location

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   To find high school assistant principals for your business, try out a few different recruiting strategies:

   • Consider internal talent. One of the most important talent pools for any company is its current employees.
   • Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and your current work to ask if they know any high school assistant principals they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit entry-level high school assistant principals with the right educational background.
   • Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter have more than 3.5 billion users, and they're a great place for company branding and reaching potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your high school assistant principal job on Zippia to find and recruit high school assistant principal candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites such as k12jobspot, learn4good, serious teachers, teachingjobs.com.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   During your first interview to recruit high school assistant principals, engage with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. During the following interview, you'll be able to go into more detail about the company, the position, and the responsibilities.

   It's also good to ask about candidates' unique skills and talents to see if they match your ideal candidate profile. If you think a candidate is good enough for the next step, you can move on to the technical interview.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new high school assistant principal

   Once you've decided on a perfect high school assistant principal candidate, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, it should include benefits and perks available to the employee. Qualified candidates may be considered for other positions, so make sure your offer is competitive. Candidates may wish to negotiate. Once you've settled on the details, formalize your agreement with a contract.

   It's also good etiquette to follow up with applicants who don't get the job by sending them an email letting them know that the position has been filled.

   Once that's done, you can draft an onboarding schedule for the new high school assistant principal. Human Resources should complete Employee Action Forms and ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc. They should also ensure that new employee files are created for internal recordkeeping.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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