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School administrator skills for your resume and career

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted experts

Dr. Anna Frank,

Dennis Frey Ph.D.

Below we've compiled a list of the most critical school administrator skills. We ranked the top skills for school administrators based on the percentage of resumes they appeared on. For example, 21.0% of school administrator resumes contained student issues as a skill. Continue reading to find out what skills a school administrator needs to be successful in the workplace.

15 school administrator skills for your resume and career

1. Student Issues

Here's how school administrators use student issues:

Oversee classes and deal with any personnel or student issues that arise.
Established a Faculty Advisory Board for addressing student issues.

2. Student Attendance

Here's how school administrators use student attendance:

Monitored student attendance and dismissed students that violated the attendance policy.
Designed attendance process that resulted in increased student attendance.

3. Curriculum Development

Here's how school administrators use curriculum development:

Participated in curriculum development for ninth grade global studies.
Trained teachers on procedures and curriculum development.

4. Classroom Management

Here's how school administrators use classroom management:

Developed and implemented classroom management plan to ensure safety.
Provided structure and classroom management.

5. School Administration

Here's how school administrators use school administration:

Attended school full-time while working 30 plus hours per week assisting in school administration and managing on-campus construction projects.
Performed overall problem solving in regards with the school administration.

6. Payroll

Payroll is the sum of all the compensation that an organization has to pay to employees at a specified time. Payroll is managed by the finance or HR department while small business owners may handle it themselves. Payroll isn't fixed as it varies every month due to sick leaves, overtime, etc.

Here's how school administrators use payroll:

Submitted staff attendance and payroll information accurately and on time.
Record and submit payroll for 245+employees License/Certifications

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7. Administrative Tasks

Here's how school administrators use administrative tasks:

Managed school administrative tasks and supervised teachers and students.
Performed general office duties and administrative tasks, managed the internal and external mail functions and provided telephone support.

8. Professional Development

Professional development means to have the essential training certification or education with the purpose of earning and having a successful career. Every job requires a different set of skills. However, new skills may be needed in the future. Professional development, in this regard, helps people to develop and polish the skills and become efficient workers.

Here's how school administrators use professional development:

Managed and administered professional development through in-service training and other professional development activities.
Provided professional development training for educational staff as well as other staff.

9. K-12

K12 is a term that incldues all 12 years of education in the US education system. It includes the education offered at the primary stage, middle stage, and secondary stage. It includes children of ages as young as 5 to 18 years. The grades included in K12 are Kindergarten, the initial 5 stages, grades 6 to 8, and 9 to 12. This system is followed specifically followed in the US and may vary in other countries.

Here's how school administrators use k-12:

Work closely with students (K-12) to encourage mastery in mathematics, reading, and writing skills.
Created K-12 Health Education Curriculum across three grade schools, one middle and one high school.

10. Mathematics

Here's how school administrators use mathematics:

Included gathering 100 participants from around the United States in order to revise the Mathematics Standards for K12.
Presented at the International Polar Year summer Science Technology Engineering Mathematics Institute at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

11. Educational Programs

An educational program is a program primarily concerned with the provision of education, including but not limited to early childhood education, primary and secondary education, post-secondary education, special education, vocational training, career and technical education, education for adults, and any program managed by an educational agency or institution.

Here's how school administrators use educational programs:

Aligned and implemented the educational programs, plans, actions, and resources with the district s vision and goals.
Created and developed advanced level educational program for all of Osborn School District's gifted students.

12. Student Performance

Here's how school administrators use student performance:

Lead data-driven discussions about student performance.
Maintained data on student performance for measuring student progress and modifying the curriculum according to the collected data.

13. Child Care

Child care means the care, supervision, or guidance of a child by a person other than the child's parent, guardian, or custodian for periods of less than 24 hours. Childcare could be either center-based such as a daycare or a nursery or home-based care such as nannies or family daycare.

Here's how school administrators use child care:

Work with county agencies for financial assistance for child care, as well as process YMCA financial assistance applications.
Maintained compliance with Office for Child Care Services.

14. Oversight

Having oversight of someone means to monitor a process or a situation. If someone has oversight of something, they are responsible for the completion of the project. Oversight is usually given to experts as they monitor their juniors or newbies as they go through a project.

Here's how school administrators use oversight:

Served as Co-Athletic Director with oversight responsibilities of 27 interscholastic athletic teams and coaches.
Executed tenure reviews and faculty search efforts under faculty oversight.

15. Staff Development

Here's how school administrators use staff development:

Coordinate, monitor and deliver district mandated staff development.
Planned and implemented staff development activities.

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What skills help School Administrators find jobs?

Tell us what job you are looking for, we’ll show you what skills employers want.

What skills stand out on school administrator resumes?

Dr. Anna Frank

Exercise Science, DePaul University

First, a degree from a highly respected university. Our graduates have been highly sought after. Experience working with a variety of individuals in a variety of settings is significant. Future professionals must then be committed to social justice, how are explicit in supporting the health and recreational needs of ALL individuals, not just those who can purchase a Peloton.

What school administrator skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?

Dennis Frey Ph.D.

Associate Dean of Curricular Integration, Director of RoseMary B Fuss Teaching and Learning Center, Professor of History, Lasell University

For anyone considering a gap year, I always encourage them to do something they genuinely want to do. Use the time to explore what appears to be a passion, for seeing if it is genuinely something meaningful to your experience. This kind of critical self-reflection produces, in almost all situations, improved and enhanced skills. And, even though following what appears to be one's passion can sometimes lead to disappointment when one discovers that the activity is not a passion, that is OK. Indeed, it is better to learn this about oneself sooner rather than later. One's skills will be enhanced because now there is a better understanding of what one finds meaningful. A favorite quote of mine comes from a novel by Karen Joy Fowler; it comes from "We are completely beside ourselves," and it goes something like this: "You will never learn as much as you will from failure." So, with a gap year, I recommend going out, exploring, learning more about oneself from critical self-reflection, and making sure to record that narrative in some fashion on one's resume.

What type of skills will young school administrators need?

Melissa Freeman Ph.D.

Director Higher Education Administration & Leadership (HEAL) Program, Adams State University

I would like to preface that the nature of the HEAL program is such that we serve a diversity of ages. Not all graduates in HEAL are what the literature considers "traditional-aged" (18-22). With regard to skills, I would say collegiality, cooperation, flexibility, a sense of empathy/compassion, a passion for equity, and social justice are crucial. A sense of humor, along with practitioner-based technical skills (budget, finance, management, communication, etc.) are important as well.

What technical skills for a school administrator stand out to employers?

Jennifer McCreight

Associate Professor of Education, Hiram College

Tech skills have increasingly played a central role in K-12 classrooms, as educators have at their fingertips devices and applications that are incredible assets to learning - from accessibility features, to interactive presentations that gather real-time info on students' understanding of content, to the ability of the students themselves to create videos, podcasts, and more. Teachers entering classrooms must be able to recognize the powerful gains that can be made in students' learning as a result of incorporating technologies, and know when and how to use it to support them. And of course, recent graduates entering classrooms will be expected to move between the platforms of Zoom or Google Meet, to bring in learners who may be at home, and to engage them actively in learning experiences - which is no small task!
Just as importantly, though, as we come out of the pandemic and reckon with children's and adolescents' increased use of screens, educators may also find that we need to use technology in classrooms more sparingly when possible. They will continue to ask themselves, even more urgently than they did pre-pandemic, whether technologies add to educational experiences or complicate them. Graduates will be faced with these questions as they move into their own classrooms, and we joyfully adjust to the eventuality of more in-person learning. This will be a wonderful challenge to face - that is, determining what innovations have resulted from the constraints of the pandemic, and what we will be happy to let go of when we are able. I am sure educators will embrace these conversations with zeal!

What soft skills should all school administrators possess?

Colleen Wilkinson

Associate Professor, Program Director, Medaille College

Teaching is not a silo profession. We are in constant communication and collaboration with many stakeholders. Teacher Candidates need to be flexible in order to work well with all the different players in the game to make sure the student wins!

Do you want to know more?

List of school administrator skills to add to your resume

The most important skills for a school administrator resume and required skills for a school administrator to have include:

Student Issues
Student Attendance
Curriculum Development
Classroom Management
School Administration
Payroll
Administrative Tasks
Professional Development
K-12
Mathematics
Educational Programs
Student Performance
Child Care
Oversight
Staff Development
Student Enrollment
Public Schools

Student Discipline
Student Achievement
K-8
Human Resources
Student Services
PowerPoint
IEP
Student Learning
Data Analysis
School Management
Social Studies
Pre-K
Social Justice
Instructional Program
Test Scores
Community Organizations
State Regulations

Class Schedules
Instructional Leadership
Student Body
Staff Training
Instructional Strategies
Professional Growth
Elementary Schools
PLC
Instructional Materials
Academic Performance
Academic Programs
Curriculum Standards
Teacher Evaluations
Educational Standards
Academic Achievement

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

Updated January 8, 2025

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