Middle School Principal - Job Analysis

Middle School Principal

Job Analysis

In today’s ever changing educational systems the middle school principal is expected to be the instructional leader of the school. They are looked upon to provide leadership, be innovators and shape the image of the school they oversee. They serve as the liaison between the education system and parents of the children they supervise and nurture. They perform a myriad of jobs and require a lot of different skills and knowledge to carry out their mission.

There are estimated to be over 230,000 middle school principals in the United States. Shortages are consistently reported across the country because of the unique requirements that are expected of the principal. There are ever present expansions of cities and towns and these require schools to support the education of our children.

In an effort to standardize the requirements for a middle school principal, many school boards across the nation have compiled their requirements into a National job standard. There are however, State and local county/parish requirements added to the national standard. The example we have used is for the State of Louisiana. There are state and parish guidelines that differ from other states, but the overall standard is kept and added to for this state. The ultimate responsibility of the children’s safety and education falls on the principal. This is a big responsibility for any one person, so careful screening and requirements are called for.

The middle school principal must foremost be an educator, that is to say, they must have a minimum of five years’ experience as a teacher with in the past five years. They must have a valid teacher’s certificate (Type A or level 3). They must be current in teaching skills and be able to effectively teach algebra and/or geometry, English and literature, the sciences and social studies as well as age appropriate reading and writing. They must ensure the Louisiana state test score minimums exceed the national requirements and provide a challenge to the principal to ensure these requirements are consistently met.

The principal must be certified as a principal or educational Leader at Level 1, 2 or 3. They must also meet all state and parish requirements such as completing principal training. They are certified by their state and parish school boards and require continuing education to keep current in the functions and requirements of a principal. They must also possess a Master’s Degree in Education.

The principal is also responsible for the safety of each child during school hours and at any and all school sanctioned functions such as sporting events and field trips. They are required to be certified in Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation and First Aid. The principal is also required to ensure that safety drills for natural disasters are current and verify that they meet stringent