Interview Questions to Hire Assistant Principal

Assistant Principals are in highly visible and quite highly pressured roles. They assist the head teacher/principal with various tasks such as strategy, budgeting, and student management. They are also front-line liaisons with both parents, students, and the school council/board. 

When interviewing a candidate for the Assistant Principal position, it is important to ascertain their overall educational industry experience. Usually, Assistant Principals are elected by the school council/board and have been with the school or the school district for at least five years. Demonstrated experience in teaching, student management, and conflict resolution are key identifiers of a successful Assistant Principal.

Role Specific Questions

• What challenges have you faced in your teaching career? How did you resolve them?
• The school board has decided to implement five new programs for the summer, including a summer camp, and asked you to roll out the initiatives to parents and students. How would you do this?
• Why is it important that student conflicts are resolved as soon as possible?
• The school district budget has been cut by 20% in a cost-saving initiative by the education authority. How do you reform the budget, and what key things would take priority?
• What impact can negative teacher-parent relationships have on the school?
• A serious incident has happened at the school, which has received lots of media attention. The principal is away. How do you manage the information that is shared with the public?
• Violent crimes, such as shootings and arson attacks, have risen in the location where the school is. What would you do to ensure all students are aware of the school policy on serious and dangerous incidents?
• Why is continuous training and development of teachers within the school important?
• The school is running a new initiative to increase the volume of teachers coming into the profession. What incentives would you suggest be included in the overall recruitment initiative?

Behavioral Questions

• How do you keep up to date with local governance around education?
• Tell me about a time you helped develop a new curriculum.
• Tell me about a time you went above and beyond to help a student or parents resolve an issue they had.

Conclusion

Most Assistant Principals will be able to provide comprehensive answers and demonstrate in-depth knowledge of these subject matter questions. Look for answers using the star method, and identify where persons are using specific examples from their previous roles/experience to demonstrate their working knowledge.

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