After earning his MBA from Iona College in 1991, Kieran Stack devoted his professional life to education, serving as a teacher and school administrator. Kieran Stack spent the last 19 years with Brewster High School as assistant principal, until he retired in early 2018.
For many years, the educational community has done a disservice to the role of assistant principal, viewing it as nothing more than a last step before becoming a principal. With educational reforms implemented all around the globe, the role of the principal has evolved from being just a building manager to an instructional leader. The expectations for principals are larger than ever, making the role of assistant principal even more important.
Here’s what the public and private educational community should do to re-establish the value of the role of the assistant principal.
1. Schools should lead in putting an end to the perception that the position of assistant principal is a stepping stone toward becoming a principal. It should not be assumed that the assistant principal automatically succeeds the principal in the event of a vacancy.
2. When a teacher is elevated to the position of assistant principal, he or she has to leave the classroom to take on administrative functions. This transition is not always easy and requires a different skill set. The educational community should be active in the transition period to help the new assistant principal develop his or her confidence and master his or her new functions.
3. Important tasks of the assistant principal include leading instructional and non-instructional staff, preparing schedules for teachers and students, managing student behavior and dealing with behavioral issues, tracking the school’s budget, evaluating the performance of teachers and staff, and conducting staff meetings when necessary. These are tasks performed by the operations manager or chief operations officer. It may be time for the educational community to confer such titles upon assistant principals.
