Assistant Principal

Interviewers want to find out why you are moving on from your past position. If you were fired or let go from your previous school, you shouldn’t lie about this. A background check will easily find you out, so you need, to tell the truth from the start. If you were fired as the result of a school closing, downsizing, or layoffs, explain this and tell them that you were not fired for your mistakes or poor performance. If you were fired due to a more serious issue like breaking a school policy, not meeting your teaching goals, or due to not getting along with your principal, tell the interviewers why you were asked to leave but try to paint it in as positive a light as possible. Don’t elaborate.

If you left of your own accord, be direct in your answer and focus your answer on the future, especially if your leaving wasn’t under the best circumstances. Regardless of why you left, don’t speak badly about your previous employer. If you do, this may cause the interviewer may wonder if you will bad-mouth his district/school next time you’re looking for work. Although it’s

The stakeholders are first and foremost the parent or guardians. I believe that they are key in their child's education. As educators we must reinforce that we are on the same team working towards the growth of children and helping them reach their full potential. Another stakeholder is the administrators working to facilitate these relationships either academically or behaviorally. Including community members is another way to increase stakeholder participation through the use of SEM clusters. Each member of the stakeholder team is important but when they are all working together for the same purpose, student achievement and empowerment for life long learning, then it becomes a well oiled machine.

Interacting with parents is another important part of an assistant principal’s day. Most parents are eager to be involved in their child’s education and are heavily invested in their success. You might participate in formal and informal meetings and conferences with parents whose children are not meeting academic or behavioral standards. Parents can become very angry or upset in these meetings, particularly if they feel their child is being treated unfairly. You will need to be adept at handling an emotionally charged situation. If you have ever dealt with this type of situation, give your interviewer some context for what was happening and why the parent was upset. Explain how you handled it, how the parent responded, and what you learned from the situation that you can apply to future conflicts. If you have never deal with an angry parent, provide an example of another time when you were able to diffuse a tense situation.

This question offers a prime opportunity to differentiate yourself by presenting a vivid description of your life outside of work. Schools are interested in balanced, likable applicants. Your professional life is only part of an interrelated whole. Schools expect you to demonstrate the same level of dedication and passion in outside activities as you do in administration. They are also well aware that many of the best work-related ideas occur when people are not at work, so what you do out of the school has a measurable impact on what you can do on the job. Besides, funny, offbeat, interesting people make work and school more exciting and often are better at out-of-the-box thinking. Communicate feelings of passion, commitment, and devotion. Wherever possible, demonstrate the leadership abilities you have developed in these activities.

To answer this question, make a brief statement about your interests and hobbies. If you have a family, mention that you enjoy spending time with them. Do not mention parties, drinking, or other pastimes that will give a poor impression of you. Reading and sporting activities are also good to mention.

One or more teachers have positively influenced most of us in our educational career. We get into education because some teacher made a profound difference in our lives. Let the interviewer know about the best teacher you know, what makes them great and how they have influenced your education beliefs. This is the time to be passionate, sincere, and complimentary. Make sure the interviewer knows precisely how you’ve been influenced and precisely how you will affect others.

The same method will work when describing the best parent you know. What characteristics does this parent have? What makes them so great? He/she is probably very involved in their child’s life, incredibly supportive and encouraging, and provides a very structured environment. This parent will no doubt also be actively involved in their child’s academic lives, be participating in school activities, volunteering in the classroom, and staying up-to-date with school work and their child’s progress.

Finally, you will need to describe the best student you know. This student will probably represent the very reasons why you wanted to enter education in the first place. He/she is likely to be enthusiastic and eager to learn, is cooperative and helpful with other learners, is social and friendly, respects the rules and the learning environment, and puts forth a strong effort in their education.

You will have many duties as an assistant principal, so being able to perform many tasks all at once is imperative. In some cases, your interviewer will provide you with a hypothetical scenario in which the principal is out of the office and you are in the cafeteria supervising lunch break. During this time, you receive not only a report about a fight in a classroom, but you are also notified of an angry parent in your office demanding a meeting. Here, your interviewer is asking you to prioritize these tasks efficiently. Your answer should be short but precise. “I would ask another teacher to supervise the cafeteria long enough to bring the fighting students into my office and schedule a meeting with the parent.”