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Principal vs school principal

The differences between principals and school 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 principal and a school principal. Additionally, a principal has an average salary of $111,719, which is higher than the $97,138 average annual salary of a school principal.

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

Principal vs school principal overview

PrincipalSchool Principal
Yearly salary$111,719$97,138
Hourly rate$53.71$46.70
Growth rate5%5%
Number of jobs84,01560,093
Job satisfaction-5
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 63%Bachelor's Degree, 46%
Average age4747
Years of experience44

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.

What does a school principal do?

A School Principal supervises and directs education and teaching programs within a school. They develop and implement policies, programs, curriculum activities, budgets, and more.

Principal vs school principal salary

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

PrincipalSchool Principal
Average salary$111,719$97,138
Salary rangeBetween $69,000 And $179,000Between $71,000 And $131,000
Highest paying CityNew York, NYNewark, NJ
Highest paying stateNew YorkNew Jersey
Best paying companyKKR & Co. L.P.Lexington School and Center for the Deaf
Best paying industryProfessionalNon Profits

Differences between principal and school principal education

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

PrincipalSchool Principal
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 63%Bachelor's Degree, 46%
Most common majorBusinessEducational Leadership
Most common collegeUniversity of PennsylvaniaUniversity of Pennsylvania

Principal vs school principal demographics

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

PrincipalSchool Principal
Average age4747
Gender ratioMale, 65.6% Female, 34.4%Male, 44.6% Female, 55.4%
Race ratioBlack 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%Black or African American, 11.6% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 14.4% Asian, 4.4% White, 64.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage16%16%

Differences between principal and school principal duties and responsibilities

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

School principal example responsibilities.

  • Lead school in partnership with local high school to promote higher math, science and technology achievement.
  • Create a PBIS system for teachers on how to manage behavior on a daily basis and reward positive outcomes.
  • Train volunteers to reach kids for Christ.
  • Experience with the Scott Foresman mathematics series for second grade.
  • Interview and hire summer school teaching staff in grades Pre-K through 5thgrade.
  • Design and implement the district's transition to``all-day kindergarten".
  • Show more

Principal vs school principal skills

Common principal skills
  • CRM, 7%
  • Project Management, 7%
  • Financial Services, 6%
  • Healthcare, 6%
  • Professional Services, 5%
  • ERP, 5%
Common school principal skills
  • Professional Development, 12%
  • Curriculum Development, 8%
  • Student Achievement, 6%
  • Professional Growth, 5%
  • Student Learning, 5%
  • School Administration, 4%

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