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Education Administrators, Kindergarten through Secondary
Plan, direct, or coordinate the academic, administrative, or auxiliary activities of kindergarten, elementary, or secondary schools.
Also Known As:
Athletic Director
Curriculum and Instruction Superintendent
Elementary Principal
High School Principal
Middle School Principal
Principal
SPED Director (Special Education Director)
School Administrator (School Admin)
Superintendent
Vice Principal
Wages
Annual wages for Education Administrators, Kindergarten through Secondary in United States
Job Outlook
Below Average
New job opportunities are less likely in the future
United States
2034 Projected Employment
328,100
-2% Change From 2024
Explore Education Administrators, Elementary and Secondary School video
Tasks you might complete in a day.
- Determine the scope of educational program offerings, and prepare drafts of course schedules and descriptions to estimate staffing and facility requirements.
- Recruit, hire, train, and evaluate primary and supplemental staff.
- Set educational standards and goals, and help establish policies and procedures to carry them out.
- Collect and analyze survey data, regulatory information, and data on demographic and employment trends to forecast enrollment patterns and curriculum change needs.
- Prepare and submit budget requests and recommendations, or grant proposals to solicit program funding.
- Prepare and submit budget requests and recommendations, or grant proposals to solicit program funding.
- Meet with federal, state, and local agencies to stay abreast of policies and to discuss improvements for education programs.
- Determine allocations of funds for staff, supplies, materials, and equipment, and authorize purchases.
- Meet with federal, state, and local agencies to stay abreast of policies and to discuss improvements for education programs.
- Establish, coordinate, and oversee particular programs across school districts, such as programs to evaluate student academic achievement.
- Plan and develop instructional methods and content for educational, vocational, or student activity programs.
- Coordinate and direct extracurricular activities and programs, such as after-school events and athletic contests.
- Review and interpret government codes, and develop programs to ensure adherence to codes and facility safety, security, and maintenance.
- Counsel and provide guidance to students regarding personal, academic, vocational, or behavioral issues.
- Confer with parents and staff to discuss educational activities, policies, and student behavior or learning problems.
- Observe teaching methods and examine learning materials to evaluate and standardize curricula and teaching techniques and to determine areas for improvement.
- Collaborate with teachers to develop and maintain curriculum standards, develop mission statements, and set performance goals and objectives.
- Enforce discipline and attendance rules.
- Recruit, hire, train, and evaluate primary and supplemental staff.
- Review and approve new programs, or recommend modifications to existing programs, submitting program proposals for school board approval as necessary.
- Prepare, maintain, or oversee the preparation and maintenance of attendance, activity, planning, or personnel reports and records.
- Direct and coordinate activities of teachers, administrators, and support staff at schools, public agencies, and institutions.
- Prepare, maintain, or oversee the preparation and maintenance of attendance, activity, planning, or personnel reports and records.
- Organize and direct committees of specialists, volunteers, and staff to provide technical and advisory assistance for programs.
- Mentor and support administrative staff members, such as superintendents and principals.
- Set educational standards and goals, and help establish policies and procedures to carry them out.
- Evaluate curricula, teaching methods, and programs to determine their effectiveness, efficiency, and use, and to ensure compliance with federal, state, and local regulations.
- Create school improvement plans, using student performance data.
- Teach classes or courses to students.
- Review and interpret government codes, and develop programs to ensure adherence to codes and facility safety, security, and maintenance.
- Plan, coordinate, and oversee school logistics programs, such as bus and food services.
- Review and approve new programs, or recommend modifications to existing programs, submitting program proposals for school board approval as necessary.
- Advocate for new schools to be built, or for existing facilities to be repaired or remodeled.
- Counsel and provide guidance to students regarding personal, academic, vocational, or behavioral issues.
- Determine the scope of educational program offerings, and prepare drafts of course schedules and descriptions to estimate staffing and facility requirements.
- Recruit, hire, train, and evaluate primary and supplemental staff.
- Plan and lead professional development activities for teachers, administrators, and support staff.
- Create school improvement plans, using student performance data.
- Participate in special education-related activities, such as attending meetings and providing support to special educators throughout the district.
- Collect and analyze survey data, regulatory information, and data on demographic and employment trends to forecast enrollment patterns and curriculum change needs.
- Develop partnerships with businesses, communities, and other organizations to help meet identified educational needs and to provide school-to-work programs.
- Determine allocations of funds for staff, supplies, materials, and equipment, and authorize purchases.
- Plan, coordinate, and oversee school logistics programs, such as bus and food services.
- Evaluate curricula, teaching methods, and programs to determine their effectiveness, efficiency, and use, and to ensure compliance with federal, state, and local regulations.
- Write articles, manuals, and other publications, and assist in the distribution of promotional literature about facilities and programs.
- Direct and coordinate school maintenance services and the use of school facilities.
- Prepare, maintain, or oversee the preparation and maintenance of attendance, activity, planning, or personnel reports and records.
- Establish, coordinate, and oversee particular programs across school districts, such as programs to evaluate student academic achievement.
- Recommend personnel actions related to programs and services.
- Organize and direct committees of specialists, volunteers, and staff to provide technical and advisory assistance for programs.
Subject areas you may need to master.
- Economics and Accounting - Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
- Production and Processing - Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
- Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
- Engineering and Technology - Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
- Mechanical - Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
- Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
- Chemistry - Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
- Psychology - Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
- Therapy and Counseling - Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
- Public Safety and Security - Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
- Telecommunications - Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
- English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.
- Law and Government - Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
- Transportation - Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
- Sales and Marketing - Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
- Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
- Personnel and Human Resources - Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
- Food Production - Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
- Design - Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
- Physics - Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
- Geography - Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
- Medicine and Dentistry - Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
- Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
- Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
- Foreign Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
- Building and Construction - Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
- Biology - Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
- Sociology and Anthropology - Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
- History and Archeology - Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
- Administrative - Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
- Fine Arts - Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
- Philosophy and Theology - Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
- Communications and Media - Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
Strengths you may need in this role.
- Writing - Writing things for co-workers or customers.
- Monitoring - Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
- Persuasion - Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
- Management of Material Resources - Managing equipment and materials.
- Management of Personnel Resources - Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
- Coordination - Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
- Troubleshooting - Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
- Programming - Writing computer programs.
- Mathematics - Using math to solve problems.
- Management of Financial Resources - Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
- Active Listening - Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
- Learning Strategies - Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
- Service Orientation - Looking for ways to help people.
- Operations Monitoring - Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
- Social Perceptiveness - Understanding people's reactions.
- Equipment Maintenance - Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
- Time Management - Managing your time and the time of other people.
- Equipment Selection - Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
- Active Learning - Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
- Instructing - Teaching people how to do something.
- Judgment and Decision Making - Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
- Installation - Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
- Speaking - Talking to others.
- Operations Analysis - Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
- Complex Problem Solving - Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
- Operation and Control - Using equipment or systems.
- Systems Evaluation - Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
- Science - Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
- Repairing - Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
- Critical Thinking - Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
- Negotiation - Bringing people together to solve differences.
- Quality Control Analysis - Testing how well a product or service works.
- Reading Comprehension - Reading work-related information.
- Systems Analysis - Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
- Technology Design - Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
- Gross Body Equilibrium - Keeping your balance or staying upright.
- Visual Color Discrimination - Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
- Response Orientation - Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
- Dynamic Strength - Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
- Speech Recognition - Recognizing spoken words.
- Inductive Reasoning - Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
- Number Facility - Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
- Rate Control - Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
- Finger Dexterity - Putting together small parts with your fingers.
- Speed of Limb Movement - Quickly moving your arms and legs.
- Dynamic Flexibility - Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
- Night Vision - Seeing at night or under low light.
- Sound Localization - Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
- Static Strength - Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
- Glare Sensitivity - Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
- Oral Comprehension - Listening and understanding what people say.
- Problem Sensitivity - Noticing when problems happen.
- Written Expression - Communicating by writing.
- Visualization - Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
- Perceptual Speed - Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
- Flexibility of Closure - Seeing hidden patterns.
- Arm-Hand Steadiness - Keeping your arm or hand steady.
- Reaction Time - Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
- Spatial Orientation - Knowing where things are around you.
- Near Vision - Seeing details up close.
- Hearing Sensitivity - Telling the difference between sounds.
- Peripheral Vision - Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
- Deductive Reasoning - Using rules to solve problems.
- Speed of Closure - Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
- Time Sharing - Doing two or more things at the same time.
- Trunk Strength - Using your lower back and stomach.
- Extent Flexibility - Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
- Auditory Attention - Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
- Depth Perception - Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
- Memorization - Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
- Oral Expression - Communicating by speaking.
- Information Ordering - Ordering or arranging things.
- Fluency of Ideas - Coming up with lots of ideas.
- Mathematical Reasoning - Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
- Category Flexibility - Grouping things in different ways.
- Originality - Creating new and original ideas.
- Far Vision - Seeing details that are far away.
- Manual Dexterity - Holding or moving items with your hands.
- Wrist-Finger Speed - Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
- Control Precision - Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
- Gross Body Coordination - Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
- Multilimb Coordination - Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
- Explosive Strength - Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
- Speech Clarity - Speaking clearly.
- Stamina - Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
- Selective Attention - Paying attention to something without being distracted.
- Written Comprehension - Reading and understanding what is written.
Average Education Attained
Highest level of education earned by people in this career.
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Content sourced from United States Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration ("DOLETA") and the Minnesota Department of Employment & Economic Development ("DEED")