2026-2027 School Year Primary Purposes
Direct and manage overall campus operations. Responsible for leadership of the campus instructional program ensuring high standards of instruction and student achievement, compliance with district policies, application of instructional programs, and effective operation of all campus activities.
Qualifications
Education/Certification: Master's degree in education Texas principal or other appropriate Texas certificate T-TESS Certified
Special Knowledge/Skills:
• Working knowledge of curriculum and instruction • Ability to evaluate instructional program and teaching effectiveness • Ability to manage budget and personnel • Ability to implement policy and procedures • Ability to interpret data • Excellent organizational, communication, public relations, and interpersonal skills
Experience
Five years experience as a classroom teacher. Campus principal experience required.
Major Responsibilities and Duties
The principal must believe in, value, and be committed to:
• Student learning as the fundamental purpose of schooling • The proposition that all students can achieve high standards of learning • Collaborative problem solving with staff and stakeholders • Ongoing collection and analysis of data • Data-driven decision making • Life long learning for self and others • Focus and alignment to achieve goals • Doing the work required for high levels of personal and organization performance
The principal must have knowledge and understanding of:
• The relationship of assessment to improving student outcomes and strengthening instruction • Information sources, data collection, and data analysis strategies • The school improvement planning process • Texas state content standards, core learning goals, and learner outcomes • School district curriculum guidelines • Evaluation and assessment strategies • Strategies for classroom teachers to monitor student understanding and progress • Research-based best practices • Collaborative problem solving and consensus-building • Systems thinking • The change process for systems, organizations, and individuals • Effective communication strategies • Technology as a tool in organizing and analyzing data and in monitoring progress
Promoting Collaborative Problem Solving and Open Communication
The principal collaborates with stakeholders in the school improvement process. This includes:
• Sharing student achievement data with all stakeholders • Providing time for collaborative problem solving • Demonstrating effective group-process and consensus-building skills in school improvement efforts • Communicating the school vision, school goals, and ongoing progress toward attainment of goals to staff, parents, students, and community members • Recognizing and celebrating the contributions of school community members to school improvement efforts • Nurturing and developing the leadership capabilities of others • Evaluating the collaborative skills of staff and supporting needs with staff development
Collecting, Analyzing, and Using Data to Identify School Needs
The principal ensures that multiple sources of data are collected and used to assess student performance. This includes:
• Ensuring that the school improvement plan is based on data analysis and problem clarification • Facilitating the development of an improvement plan in which goals, evidence of attainment, objectives, and strategies are clearly aligned and articulated • Identifying with staff the knowledge and skills that teachers need to implement the school improvement instructional strategies • Ensuring that the school improvement plan has identified activities to support strategies, milestones to assess progress toward goals, staff development to support staff needs, and staff responsible for each implementation step • Ensuring that assessment, curriculum, and instruction are aligned • Providing opportunities for staff to learn about research-based strategies that address the identified problem(s) • Providing opportunities for staff to seek successful strategies data from similar schools that have outperformed them
Implementing and Monitoring the School Improvement Plan
The principal facilitates the development of a calendar of all school improvement activities and ensures that the calendar is shared and reviewed regularly. This includes:
• Establishing a regular, predictable process to track the impact improvement efforts have on student achievement • Closely monitoring the systematic collection and analysis of data by staff to assess whether progress toward attainment of objectives is satisfactory for all groups of students • Continuously collecting and utilizing data to inform instructional decisions at the building and classroom level and provide academic interventions for individual and groups of students • Using a variety of tools including technology to monitor progress • Facilitating the use of data to continuously evaluate and revise the school improvement plan • Aligning all resources (monetary, staff, time, and staff development opportunities) to maximize attainment of school improvement priorities • Supporting staff in making the instructional changes necessary to support school improvement efforts
Using Systems Thinking to Establish a Clear Focus on Attaining Student Achievement Goals
The principal aligns all school resources with school improvement priorities. This includes:
• Aligning school improvement goals, classroom instruction, and classroom/school assessment • Identifying key processes that impact results • Identifying performance measures and indicators that link key instructional processes to instructional goals • Communicating with decision makers outside the school • Ensuring that school goals are aligned to school district goals • Helping inform district planning by articulating school needs
Supervisory Responsibilities
Supervise, evaluate, and recommend the hiring and firing of staff assigned to campus, including assistant principal(s), teachers, counselor(s), librarian(s), instructional aides, clerical support staff, and custodians.
Mental Demands/Physical Demands/Environmental Factors
Tools/Equipment Used: Standard office equipment including personal computer and peripherals.
Posture: Frequent sitting and standing; occasional bending/stooping, pushing/pulling, and twisting.
Motion: Repetitive hand motions; frequent keyboarding and use of mouse; occasional reaching.
Lifting: Occasional light lifting and carrying (less than 15 pounds); occasional physical restraint of students to control behavior.
Environment: May work prolonged or irregular hours; work inside and outside (exposure to sun, heat, cold, and inclement weather), exposure to noise; occasional districtwide and statewide travel.
Mental Demands: Work with frequent interruptions; maintain emotional control under stress.
Days and Salary
Days: 226 days
Salary: Pay Grade 5: $82,800 - $120,000