Public School Administrator
Public school administrators provide instructional leadership and manage the day-to-day activities in elementary, middle, and secondary schools, often carrying the title of principal. They set the academic tone and hire, evaluate, and help improve the skills of teachers and other staff. These administrators visit classrooms, observe teaching methods, review instructional objectives, and examine learning materials, as well as confer with staff to advise, explain, or answer procedural questions.
Increasingly, decision-making authority has shifted to individual schools, offering public school administrators greater flexibility while requiring them to interact with and pay more attention to the concerns of parents, teachers, and other community members. They prepare budgets and reports for other administrators, become involved in public relations and fundraising, set the tone regarding issues of diversity and multicultural respect, and ensure that students meet national, state, and local academic standards.
Strong interpersonal and communication skills are essential because much of an administrator’s job involves working and collaborating with others.
JFKU’s School of Education and Liberal Arts (SELA) offers programs that develop outstanding public school administrators who employ humanistic methods in their work. You’ll be immersed in approaches that are interdisciplinary, multicultural, community-based, and visionary as you prepare for whole-community educational leadership to develop racial equity, social justice, and democracy in diverse educational settings.
To learn more, contact the School of Education and Liberal Arts.