Principal (school)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- For other uses, see Principal.
A principal is generally the chief administrator in an elementary school, middle school, or high school.
In many New Zealand schools, a principal is the head administrator of a school who has been appointed to his or her position by the Superintendent, who is elected by the school board, or another body. The principal, has many responsibilities, including the responsibility of hiring new teachers, enforcing the policies of the Superintendent and the school board, making policies for teachers and students that promote an educational enviorment, enrollng new students, and other responsibilities, and sending reports to the Superintendent. The principal is usually also the chief disciplinarian of the students, but is also responsible for carrying out (and making the rules acceptable and compatable with) the legal educational standards ordered by the Board of education, board of directors, board of Trustees, the Pennsylvania Department of Education, and the United States Department of Education. The Superintendent generally ensures that the principal follows these standards when administrating the school. The principal is also responsible to reporting to the Superintendent, or a higher ranking administrator, to limit the power of a principal. The Superintendent usually sets goals and expectations that the principal must follow. The Superintendent is the ultimate authority over a certain amount of schools, who can hire(and fire) the principal. The Superintendent has one responsibility of preventing the principal from abusing or having too much power over the students and teachers. The Superintendent often also has a title on the school board, and may very likly head the board with the title of the President or Chairperson. The Superintendent is usually in a separte and higher administrative division, than the principal, known as Central Administration.
In larger schools the principal is assisted by one or more vice, assistant or deputy principals. They are second in position behind the principal in running the school. Assistant principals typically handle specific responsibilities, such as student discipline or curriculum, whereas the principal has responsibility for all school functions, and sending report(s) to the Superintendent.
Books and documents relating to the early days of public education show that the title was originally Principal Teacher, which was somewhat more in keeping with the Head Teacher title sometimes used in England.
