Middle school principal vs director of special services

The differences between middle school principals and directors of special services can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a middle school principal and a director of special services. Additionally, a middle school principal has an average salary of $92,607, which is higher than the $81,779 average annual salary of a director of special services.

The top three skills for a middle school principal include professional growth, instructional program and student achievement. The most important skills for a director of special services are social work, business development, and mental health.

Middle school principal vs director of special services overview

	Middle School Principal	Director Of Special Services
Yearly salary	$92,607	$81,779
Hourly rate	$44.52	$39.32
Growth rate	5%	5%
Number of jobs	59,247	70,868
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 50%	Bachelor's Degree, 57%
Average age	47	47
Years of experience	4	4

Middle school principal vs director of special services salary

Middle school principals and directors of special services have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Middle School Principal	Director Of Special Services
Average salary	$92,607	$81,779
Salary range	Between $62,000 And $137,000	Between $56,000 And $117,000
Highest paying City	Oakland, CA	-
Highest paying state	Connecticut	-
Best paying company	Paulding County High School	-
Best paying industry	Education	-

Differences between middle school principal and director of special services education

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

	Middle School Principal	Director Of Special Services
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 50%	Bachelor's Degree, 57%
Most common major	Educational Leadership	Business
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	Northwestern University

Middle school principal vs director of special services demographics

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

	Middle School Principal	Director Of Special Services
Average age	47	47
Gender ratio	Male, 56.4% Female, 43.6%	Male, 41.7% Female, 58.3%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 11.7% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 13.9% Asian, 4.3% White, 65.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%	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%
LGBT Percentage	16%	16%

Differences between middle school principal and director of special services duties and responsibilities

Middle school principal example responsibilities.

Lead the NCA steering committee to assist with the school improvement process.
Establish and maintain relationships with colleges, community organizations, and other schools to coordinate educational services.
Collaborate with special education teachers and direct all IEP conferences.
Support CTSO participation and advocate for the increase of more organizations on campus by building partnerships within the community.

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.

Middle school principal vs director of special services skills

Common middle school principal skills

Professional Growth, 6%
Instructional Program, 6%
Student Achievement, 5%
Curriculum Development, 5%
Staff Development, 5%
School Administration, 5%

Common director of special services skills

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

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Middle School Principal vs Director Of Special Services

Updated January 8, 2025

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