Requirements to Become a Principal in NYC
What is the role of a school principal?
Elementary, middle, and high school principals oversee all school operations, including daily activities. They coordinate curriculums, manage staff, and provide students with a safe and productive learning environment. - Source: U.S Bureau of Labor
What is the description of the role of a school principal?
They set and oversee academic goals and ensure teachers have the equipment and resources to meet them. Principals may establish and supervise additional programs in their school, such as counseling, extracurricular activities, and before- and after-school childcare - Source: U.S Bureau of Labor.
How do you become a school principal? - Source: Department of Education
The Principal Candidate Pool (PCP) is the screening process for all aspiring principals for New York City Schools. The PCP process ensures consistent, standards-based criteria for hiring decisions citywide by:
- Aligning the screening process to clear, high standards consistent with the expectations for which principals will be held accountable. Learn more: Education Law 3012-d
- Offering a unique opportunity to engage every prospective school leader in high-quality professional activities and tasks about the NYCDOE’s expectations of principals
- Providing hiring managers with multi-dimensional information to help enhance strategic placement and hiring decisions for principal vacancies
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PCP Series - Source: Department of Education
The PCP conducts approximately fifteen (15) screening series each year. A series includes four (4) hours of synchronous online professional activity sessions over two (2) days, followed by three (3) online performance tasks. Candidates must complete all components in the PCP process to be assigned to the pool.
Eligibility Requirements: Eligible
New York State Administrative License
- School Administrator and Supervisor (SAS) - historical license
- School District Administrator (SDA) - historical license
- School Building Leader (SBL)
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Seven or more years of teaching experience as outlined in Chancellor’s Regulation C-30
- Source: Department of Education
On Curriculum Decisions:
- How has the school curriculum evolved over the years, and what factors have influenced its development?
- To what extent are teachers encouraged to incorporate creativity into the curriculum, and what support is provided to foster this creativity?
On the Leadership Role of a Principal:
- How would you describe the job of a principal?
- How does someone become a principal?
- What exactly dictates the funding each school receives from the DOE?
On School Responses to Migrant Students:
- Do you believe Mayor Adams and the DOE have handled the influx of migrant students appropriately?
- What steps has this school taken to ensure the acculturation of migrant students from across the border?
On Allocating School Funding:
- Where does the funding that the principal control go other than to the necessities?
- Could you explain the process involved in making fiscal decisions for the school?
Here are some email templates you can borrow to reach out to your own school and faculty leaders, if you want to conduct your own interviews to learn more about how resources are allocated at your school.
Email Template for Principals:
Hello [Principal Name],
My name is [your name] and I’m a student at your school. I’m working with a group of high schoolers on a civic project at Columbia on educational funding, and through this project I recently learned about participatory budgeting. You may have heard about this before, but participatory budgeting is a form of funding where the way the funds are spent on certain proposed projects are decided upon by students and parents. Schools can apply to have participatory budgeting take place at their institutions through either their social studies department or by the principal.
As you’re my principal, I’m writing this email to you to advocate for our schools involvement in participatory budgeting. I believe that participatory budgeting is a great way for students to be more involved with how their schools run by understanding how public funds are allocated which encourages active citizenship by involving ourselves in important decision-making processes. I sincerely hope that you consider getting our school to be a part of participatory budgeting, and feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns you may have.
Best,
[Your Name]
Email Template for Student Government Members:
Hello [Student Government Member],
My name is [your name] and I’m a student at your school. I’m working with a group of highschoolers on a civic project at Columbia on educational funding, and through this project I recently learned about participatory budgeting. You may have heard about this before, but participatory budgeting is a form of funding where the way the funds are spent on certain proposed projects are decided upon by students and parents. Schools can apply to have participatory budgeting take place at their institutions through either their social studies department or by the principal.
As you’re a member of our school’s student government, I’m writing this email to you to advocate for our schools involvement in participatory budgeting. I believe that participatory budgeting is a great way for students to be more involved with how their schools run by understanding how public funds are allocated which encourages active citizenship by involving ourselves in important decision-making processes. I sincerely hope that you consider getting our school to be a part of participatory budgeting by discussing this with our principal, other administrative faculty, and the social studies teachers. Feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns you may have.
Best,
[Your Name]