Education Administrators, Elementary and Secondary School

Description

Plan, direct, or coordinate the academic, clerical, or auxiliary activities of public or private elementary or secondary level schools.

Tasks

  • Review and approve new programs, or recommend modifications to existing programs, submitting program proposals for school board approval as necessary.
  • Prepare, maintain, or oversee the preparation and maintenance of attendance, activity, planning, or personnel reports and records.
  • Confer with parents and staff to discuss educational activities, policies, and student behavioral or learning problems.
  • Prepare and submit budget requests and recommendations, or grant proposals to solicit program funding.
  • Direct and coordinate school maintenance services and the use of school facilities.
  • Counsel and provide guidance to students regarding personal, academic, vocational, or behavioral issues.
  • Organize and direct committees of specialists, volunteers, and staff to provide technical and advisory assistance for programs.
  • Teach classes or courses to students.
  • Advocate for new schools to be built, or for existing facilities to be repaired or remodeled.
  • Plan and develop instructional methods and content for educational, vocational, or student activity programs.
  • Develop partnerships with businesses, communities, and other organizations to help meet identified educational needs and to provide school-to-work programs.
  • Direct and coordinate activities of teachers, administrators, and support staff at schools, public agencies, and institutions.
  • Evaluate curricula, teaching methods, and programs to determine their effectiveness, efficiency, and utilization, and to ensure that school activities comply with federal, state, and local regulations.
  • Set educational standards and goals, and help establish policies and procedures to carry them out.
  • Recruit, hire, train, and evaluate primary and supplemental staff.
  • Enforce discipline and attendance rules.
  • Observe teaching methods and examine learning materials to evaluate and standardize curricula and teaching techniques, and to determine areas where improvement is needed.
  • Establish, coordinate, and oversee particular programs across school districts, such as programs to evaluate student academic achievement.
  • Review and interpret government codes, and develop programs to ensure adherence to codes and facility safety, security, and maintenance.
  • Determine allocations of funds for staff, supplies, materials, and equipment, and authorize purchases.
  • Write articles, manuals, and other publications, and assist in the distribution of promotional literature about facilities and programs.
  • Recommend personnel actions related to programs and services.
  • Collaborate with teachers to develop and maintain curriculum standards, develop mission statements, and set performance goals and objectives.
  • Collect and analyze survey data, regulatory information, and data on demographic and employment trends to forecast enrollment patterns and curriculum change needs.
  • Determine the scope of educational program offerings, and prepare drafts of course schedules and descriptions to estimate staffing and facility requirements.

Knowledge

Education and Training — Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
Administration and Management — Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
English Language — Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
Personnel and Human Resources — Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
Customer and Personal Service — Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
Psychology — Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
Public Safety and Security — Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
Law and Government — Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
Clerical — Knowledge of administrative and clerical procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and other office procedures and terminology.
Mathematics — Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.

Skills

Active Listening — Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
Reading Comprehension — Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
Monitoring — Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
Learning Strategies — Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
Management of Personnel Resources — Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.
Speaking — Talking to others to convey information effectively.
Critical Thinking — Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
Time Management — Managing one's own time and the time of others.
Instructing — Teaching others how to do something.
Social Perceptiveness — Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.

Abilities

Oral Expression — The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
Oral Comprehension — The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
Written Comprehension — The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
Written Expression — The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
Speech Clarity — The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
Problem Sensitivity — The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
Deductive Reasoning — The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
Near Vision — The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
Inductive Reasoning — The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
Speech Recognition — The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.

Work Activities

Making Decisions and Solving Problems — Analyzing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems.
Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships — Developing constructive and cooperative working relationships with others, and maintaining them over time.
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates — Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person.
Getting Information — Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.
Performing Administrative Activities — Performing day-to-day administrative tasks such as maintaining information files and processing paperwork.
Developing and Building Teams — Encouraging and building mutual trust, respect, and cooperation among team members.
Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work — Developing specific goals and plans to prioritize, organize, and accomplish your work.
Resolving Conflicts and Negotiating with Others — Handling complaints, settling disputes, and resolving grievances and conflicts, or otherwise negotiating with others.
Guiding, Directing, and Motivating Subordinates — Providing guidance and direction to subordinates, including setting performance standards and monitoring performance.
Coordinating the Work and Activities of Others — Getting members of a group to work together to accomplish tasks.

Work Context

Telephone — How often do you have telephone conversations in this job?
Face-to-Face Discussions — How often do you have to have face-to-face discussions with individuals or teams in this job?
Electronic Mail — How often do you use electronic mail in this job?
Indoors, Environmentally Controlled — How often does this job require working indoors in environmentally controlled conditions?
Work With Work Group or Team — How important is it to work with others in a group or team in this job?
Contact With Others — How much does this job require the worker to be in contact with others (face-to-face, by telephone, or otherwise) in order to perform it?
Frequency of Decision Making — How frequently is the worker required to make decisions that affect other people, the financial resources, and/or the image and reputation of the organization?
Deal With External Customers — How important is it to work with external customers or the public in this job?
Letters and Memos — How often does the job require written letters and memos?
Structured versus Unstructured Work — To what extent is this job structured for the worker, rather than allowing the worker to determine tasks, priorities, and goals?

Interests

Enterprising — Enterprising occupations frequently involve starting up and carrying out projects. These occupations can involve leading people and making many decisions. Sometimes they require risk taking and often deal with business.
Social — Social occupations frequently involve working with, communicating with, and teaching people. These occupations often involve helping or providing service to others.
Conventional — Conventional occupations frequently involve following set procedures and routines. These occupations can include working with data and details more than with ideas. Usually there is a clear line of authority to follow.
Artistic — Artistic occupations frequently involve working with forms, designs and patterns. They often require self-expression and the work can be done without following a clear set of rules.
Investigative — Investigative occupations frequently involve working with ideas, and require an extensive amount of thinking. These occupations can involve searching for facts and figuring out problems mentally.
Realistic — Realistic occupations frequently involve work activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They often deal with plants, animals, and real-world materials like wood, tools, and machinery. Many of the occupations require working outside, and do not involve a lot of paperwork or working closely with others.

Work Style

Leadership — Job requires a willingness to lead, take charge, and offer opinions and direction.
Dependability — Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations.
Integrity — Job requires being honest and ethical.
Self Control — Job requires maintaining composure, keeping emotions in check, controlling anger, and avoiding aggressive behavior, even in very difficult situations.
Stress Tolerance — Job requires accepting criticism and dealing calmly and effectively with high stress situations.
Cooperation — Job requires being pleasant with others on the job and displaying a good-natured, cooperative attitude.
Initiative — Job requires a willingness to take on responsibilities and challenges.
Attention to Detail — Job requires being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks.
Concern for Others — Job requires being sensitive to others' needs and feelings and being understanding and helpful on the job.
Persistence — Job requires persistence in the face of obstacles.

Work Values

Relationships — Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to provide service to others and work with co-workers in a friendly non-competitive environment. Corresponding needs are Co-workers, Moral Values and Social Service.
Independence — Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employs to work on their own and make decisions. Corresponding needs are Creativity, Responsibility and Autonomy.
Working Conditions — Occupations that satisfy this work value offer job security and good working conditions. Corresponding needs are Activity, Compensation, Independence, Security, Variety and Working Conditions.
Achievement — Occupations that satisfy this work value are results oriented and allow employees to use their strongest abilities, giving them a feeling of accomplishment. Corresponding needs are Ability Utilization and Achievement.
Recognition — Occupations that satisfy this work value offer advancement, potential for leadership, and are often considered prestigious. Corresponding needs are Advancement, Authority, Recognition and Social Status.
Support — Occupations that satisfy this work value offer supportive management that stands behind employees. Corresponding needs are Company Policies, Supervision: Human Relations and Supervision: Technical.

Related Occupations

Lay Titles

National Wages and Employment Info


Median Wages (2008): $* hourly, $83,880 annual.
Employment (2008): 219,100 employees