What does a school administrator do?
School administrator responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real school administrator resumes:
- Manage social media profiles through Facebook for important details and dates pertaining to HeartChase.
- Provide administrative duties for Pre-K to 7th grade.
- Perform presentations using Smartboard, Powerpoint, and Smilebox.
- Lead teacher for pre-k class specializing in children with special needs.
- Spearhead efforts to raise student literacy and math scores on standardize tests.
- Assist or lead meetings including faculty, IEP, and RTI small group.
- Meet with parents and teachers as needed to address student progress and IEP requirements.
- Recommend changes result in progressively improve test scores in reading, writing and math scores.
- Prepare bi-weekly payroll for accounting.
- Prepare annual budget and provide oversight of program expenditures.
- Submit staff attendance and payroll information accurately and on time.
- Execute tenure reviews and faculty search efforts under faculty oversight.
- Instruct religion education and mathematics, while coordinating all school religious educational events and seasonal activities.
- Establish and maintain relationships with colleges, community organizations, and other schools to coordinate educational services.
- Research and spearhead the PBIS system for the middle and high school.
School administrator skills and personality traits
We calculated that 21% of School Administrators are proficient in Student Issues, Student Attendance, and Curriculum Development. They’re also known for soft skills such as Decision-making skills, Leadership skills, and Problem-solving skills.
We break down the percentage of School Administrators that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Student Issues, 21%
Oversee classes and deal with any personnel or student issues that arise.
- Student Attendance, 19%
Monitored student attendance and dismissed students that violated the attendance policy.
- Curriculum Development, 9%
Participated in curriculum development for ninth grade global studies.
- Classroom Management, 6%
Developed and implemented classroom management plan to ensure safety.
- School Administration, 5%
Attended school full-time while working 30 plus hours per week assisting in school administration and managing on-campus construction projects.
- Payroll, 4%
Submitted staff attendance and payroll information accurately and on time.
"student issues," "student attendance," and "curriculum development" are among the most common skills that school administrators use at work. You can find even more school administrator responsibilities below, including:
Decision-making skills. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for a school administrator to have is decision-making skills. Their role and responsibilities require that "because principals are responsible for students, staff, and the overall operation of the school, they consider many factors when making decisions." School administrators often use decision-making skills in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "direct esi program/hungary - including training, leadership development and professional development resolution of team problems through negotiation. "
Leadership skills. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling school administrator duties is leadership skills. The role rewards competence in this skill because "principals set educational goals and establish policies and procedures for the school." According to a school administrator resume, here's how school administrators can utilize leadership skills in their job responsibilities: "provide overall leadership, representation, and teacher evaluations for the fine & performing arts department. "
Problem-solving skills. This is an important skill for school administrators to perform their duties. For an example of how school administrator responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "teachers, students, and other staff report problems to the principal." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of a school administrator: "maintained daily attendance reports and weekly status reports handled all student issues - advise, counsel and conflict resolutions. ".
Communication skills. A big part of what school administrators do relies on "communication skills." You can see how essential it is to school administrator responsibilities because "principals must communicate effectively with students, teachers, and parents." Here's an example of how this skill is used from a resume that represents typical school administrator tasks: "managed communication with facilities, transportation, and human resources. "
Interpersonal skills. A commonly-found skill in school administrator job descriptions, "interpersonal skills" is essential to what school administrators do. School administrator responsibilities rely on this skill because "principals work with teachers, parents, and superintendents and must develop positive working relationships with them." You can also see how school administrator duties rely on interpersonal skills in this resume example: "provided interpersonal guidance, academic support, and resources for a school of over 700 students. "
The three companies that hire the most school administrators are:
- Soliant10 school administrators jobs
- KIPP Northern California Public Schools8 school administrators jobs
- Kaplan5 school administrators jobs
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Compare different school administrators
School administrator vs. Director of physical education
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.
While similarities exist, there are also some differences between school administrators and director of physical education. For instance, school administrator responsibilities require skills such as "student issues," "student attendance," "school administration," and "payroll." Whereas a director of physical education is skilled in "physical education curriculum," "student athletes," "physical education," and "volleyball." This is part of what separates the two careers.
Directors of physical education tend to reach lower levels of education than school administrators. In fact, directors of physical education are 8.5% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 1.4% less likely to have a Doctoral Degree.School administrator vs. Principal
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. They also supervise school administrators or principals and are responsible for hiring and guiding them. Superintendents should be familiar with their constituents and must always be ready to listen to their needs. It is important that superintendents are good decision-makers and communicators. They are expected to lead their respective districts in achieving their vision. Superintendents drive the team towards their goals and create strategic steps to ensure success.
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, school administrator responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "student issues," "student attendance," "classroom management," and "payroll." Meanwhile, a principal has duties that require skills in areas such as "crm," "project management," "excellent presentation," and "financial services." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
Principals earn a higher average salary than school administrators. But principals earn the highest pay in the professional industry, with an average salary of $130,964. Additionally, school administrators earn the highest salaries in the professional with average pay of $48,511 annually.Average education levels between the two professions vary. Principals tend to reach lower levels of education than school administrators. In fact, they're 6.1% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 1.4% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for school administrators in the next 3-5 years?
Dennis Frey Ph.D.
Associate Dean of Curricular Integration, Director of RoseMary B Fuss Teaching and Learning Center, Professor of History, Lasell University
School administrator vs. Superintendent
An assistant principal is responsible for carrying out administrative support tasks in a school or similar establishment. Most of the duties involve producing reports and evaluations, attending meetings, overseeing daily school operations, monitoring classes and faculty performances, implementing school policies and regulations, and coordinating with the principal, school board, and other members of the institution. Furthermore, an assistant principal participates in devising plans and strategies to improve the school curriculum and organize various activities that will help students develop their skills and potential.
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, school administrators are more likely to have skills like "student issues," "student attendance," "curriculum development," and "classroom management." But a superintendent is more likely to have skills like "osha," "quality standards," "construction management," and "logistics."
Superintendents earn the highest salary when working in the construction industry, where they receive an average salary of $85,679. Comparatively, school administrators have the highest earning potential in the professional industry, with an average salary of $48,511.Most superintendents achieve a lower degree level compared to school administrators. For example, they're 21.7% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 1.8% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.School administrator vs. Assistant principal
Types of school administrator
Updated January 8, 2025
