“Educators are the only people who lose sleep over other people’s kids.”
— Nicholas A. Ferroni
(Educator, Activist & Historian)
According to the OECD, School principals are the link between teachers, students, and their parents or guardians, the education system, and the wider community.
This is why, a principal’s work can have a profound impact on the overall educational system. It is not just about a Payscale but the way you positively influence others, maintaining educational excellence.
From day-to-day schooling operations to handling unforeseen situations, it’s all on the Principal. Along with that, they handle class scheduling, management and creation of the curriculum, evaluating teacher’s performance, school budgeting, and many more.
Handling these critical duties needs a couple of skills to master, which is why in this read, I’m going to walk you through the 5 must-have skills to become a high school principal.
So without further ado, let’s dive right in!
Leadership Skills
As the head of an educational institution, you are in charge of a large team of staff along with a huge crowd of students, acting as a mediator between students, teachers, and their parents.
This is why leadership skills are a must-have to lead from the front because people will always look forward to you in case of a dispute or emergency.
Leadership ability can also be aided by prior experience of the principal in a variety of teaching leadership roles such as department head or organizer of a co-curricular activity. Besides, you can also opt for a master’s degree in educational administration to build a career in educational leadership.
It provides you with the opportunity to develop your leadership skills by managing smaller and then gradually moving on to the role of the high school principal.
IT Skills
Gone are the days when principals used to rely on their secretaries to manage all the technology. Nowadays a principal must be confident with innovative technologies to keep the curriculum and teaching style relevant.
As a principal, you need to be comfortable with the latest techs such as Institution Management Systems along with using Google Workplace or aware of the SIS.
This can help them in a Research process, providing the students with accurate, real-life, and practical examples to help them understand the concepts.
It is important to replace the traditional chalk-talk teaching techniques with a more practical and advanced approach.
By employing the latest technology in the curriculum principal inspires the teachers and students to leverage the advanced technology and do great in their respective fields.
Here’s a fun fact
Do you know? Principals are often first to arrive and last to leave, and they also develop personal connections with teachers and students to show their support.
Communication Skills
According to the School of Education, the most indispensable skill a principal can have is communication skill.
As a principal, you are constantly contacting with a variety of individuals including teachers, students, parents, and other staff.
This is why you need to make sure your communication skills are appropriate, where addressing a student would be different from addressing their parents.
A principal should communicate simply and connect with them naturally while balancing authority and empathy about others.
This is what makes your ability to recognize, interpret, and regulate your own emotions, and understand those of other people a critical aspect of the communication skill.
So if you want to achieve a higher level of EQ (Emotional quotient) Verywell Mind can surely help you with that.
Another best communication practice is to keep all parties informed about what is going on in the schools.
For example, if you want to communicate with the parents effectively you can send them student achievement reports and a weekly newsletter, highlighting the events happening at the schools.
Problem-Solving Skills
As a principal, your job is to deal with a range of problems, from budget allocation issues to students’ home issues. If the concern is related to the personal matters of the teachers or staff, the principal is the one who is supposed to help them out.
Managing the problems according to their necessity is also a must-have skill, where teachers should prioritize the campus needs and concerns and handle each one of them carefully and effectively.
Be Empathetic
Everyone has a story and as a principal, you will encounter a wide range of students, teachers, and staff belonging from diverse socio-economic backgrounds.
This is what makes showing empathy more beneficial than punishing them.
You need to empathize with them even though you have not been through what they have. You need to listen to them carefully, act kind, and provide them with an approachable solution to help them.
Conclusion
In closing, the principal plays a key role in shaping the next generation while affecting the overall education system and the above-mentioned skills can help you create a flourishing educational environment that seeks infinity.
Thanks for reading!
