Secondary school principal vs director of special services

The differences between secondary 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 secondary school principal and a director of special services. Additionally, a secondary school principal has an average salary of $92,688, which is higher than the $81,779 average annual salary of a director of special services.

The top three skills for a secondary school principal include curriculum development, student achievement and staff development. The most important skills for a director of special services are social work, business development, and mental health.

Secondary school principal vs director of special services overview

	Secondary School Principal	Director Of Special Services
Yearly salary	$92,688	$81,779
Hourly rate	$44.56	$39.32
Growth rate	5%	5%
Number of jobs	58,245	70,868
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 50%	Bachelor's Degree, 57%
Average age	47	47
Years of experience	4	4

Secondary school principal vs director of special services salary

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

	Secondary School Principal	Director Of Special Services
Average salary	$92,688	$81,779
Salary range	Between $63,000 And $134,000	Between $56,000 And $117,000
Highest paying City	Menlo Park, CA	-
Highest paying state	New Jersey	-
Best paying company	Jefferson County Public School	-
Best paying industry	Education	-

Differences between secondary school principal and director of special services education

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

	Secondary 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

Secondary school principal vs director of special services demographics

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

	Secondary School Principal	Director Of Special Services
Average age	47	47
Gender ratio	Male, 70.8% Female, 29.2%	Male, 41.7% Female, 58.3%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 11.6% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 13.9% Asian, 4.3% White, 65.5% 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 secondary school principal and director of special services duties and responsibilities

Secondary school principal example responsibilities.

Lead the NCA steering committee to assist with the school improvement process.
Provide oversight of significant curriculum changes design to better meet the needs of the diverse student body.
Develop academic curriculum, prepare budget, execute in-service teacher training, oversight for discipline and athletic programs.
Establish and maintain relationships with colleges, community organizations, and other schools to coordinate educational services.

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.

Secondary school principal vs director of special services skills

Common secondary school principal skills

Curriculum Development, 11%
Student Achievement, 11%
Staff Development, 9%
School Administration, 9%
Instructional Program, 8%
Classroom Observations, 7%

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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Secondary School Principal vs Director Of Special Services

Updated January 8, 2025

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