Education Administrators, Kindergarten through Secondary
Plan, direct, or coordinate the academic, administrative, or auxiliary activities of kindergarten, elementary, or secondary schools.
- Median annual earnings
- $105,322
- Projected change
- +2.5%
- Typical education
- Master's or Professional degree
- Employment
- 335K jobs
50th percentile, United States
2025 to 2035
76.3% of the workforce
Growing to 343.21K by 2035
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Build the skills
ASU learning related to this career
These courses and certificates are connected through catalog career relationships and Lightcast skill tags.
The work
What education administrators, kindergarten through secondary do
Tasks reported for this occupation, ordered by how often they come up in the role.
- Counsel and provide guidance to students regarding personal, academic, vocational, or behavioral issues.
- Confer with parents and staff to discuss educational activities, policies, and student behavior or learning problems.
- Determine the scope of educational program offerings, and prepare drafts of course schedules and descriptions to estimate staffing and facility requirements.
- Observe teaching methods and examine learning materials to evaluate and standardize curricula and teaching techniques and to determine areas for improvement.
- Enforce discipline and attendance rules.
- Collaborate with teachers to develop and maintain curriculum standards, develop mission statements, and set performance goals and objectives.
- Recruit, hire, train, and evaluate primary and supplemental staff.
- Direct and coordinate activities of teachers, administrators, and support staff at schools, public agencies, and institutions.
- Set educational standards and goals, and help establish policies and procedures to carry them out.
- Plan and lead professional development activities for teachers, administrators, and support staff.
- Evaluate curricula, teaching methods, and programs to determine their effectiveness, efficiency, and use, and to ensure compliance with federal, state, and local regulations.
- Create school improvement plans, using student performance data.
- Prepare and submit budget requests and recommendations, or grant proposals to solicit program funding.
- Determine allocations of funds for staff, supplies, materials, and equipment, and authorize purchases.
- Plan and develop instructional methods and content for educational, vocational, or student activity programs.
- Participate in special education-related activities, such as attending meetings and providing support to special educators throughout the district.
- Recommend personnel actions related to programs and services.
- Prepare, maintain, or oversee the preparation and maintenance of attendance, activity, planning, or personnel reports and records.
- Teach classes or courses to students.
- Review and approve new programs, or recommend modifications to existing programs, submitting program proposals for school board approval as necessary.
- Meet with federal, state, and local agencies to stay abreast of policies and to discuss improvements for education programs.
- Write articles, manuals, and other publications, and assist in the distribution of promotional literature about facilities and programs.
- Coordinate and direct extracurricular activities and programs, such as after-school events and athletic contests.
- Organize and direct committees of specialists, volunteers, and staff to provide technical and advisory assistance for programs.
Pay and outlook
What the job pays and where it is heading
Annual earnings range
Reported earnings by percentile, United States
- 10th percentile
- $75,670
- 25th percentile
- $85,481
- 50th percentile
- $105,322
- 75th percentile
- $134,239
- 90th percentile
- $167,963
The gold marker shows the median. Half earn more than $105,322 and half earn less.
Employment outlook
2025 to 2035 projection
8,213 more positions over the decade, before replacement hiring.
Preparation
Education levels
What people currently working in the career hold. These are not entry requirements.
- Master's or Professional degree
- 76.3%
- Bachelor's degree
- 23.7%
Skills
Skills employers ask for
Technical skills appearing most often in job postings for this occupation.
How the work gets done
Core competencies
Broad capabilities associated with strong performance in this occupation.
- Speaking
- Talking to others to convey information effectively.
- 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.
- Learning Strategies
- Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
- Writing
- Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
- Reading Comprehension
- Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
- Critical Thinking
- Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
- Monitoring
- Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
- Social Perceptiveness
- Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
- Management of Personnel Resources
- Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.
- Systems Evaluation
- Identifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system.
- Complex Problem Solving
- Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
- Coordination
- Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
- Active Learning
- Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
- Instructing
- Teaching others how to do something.
- Negotiation
- Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
- Time Management
- Managing one's own time and the time of others.
- Service Orientation
- Actively looking for ways to help people.
- Persuasion
- Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
- Systems Analysis
- Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
In the market
Job titles and employers
Recent job postings in United StatesCommon job titles
- 01Assistant Principals3,995 postings
- 02Principals2,337 postings
- 03High School Assistant Principals1,995 postings
- 04School Principals1,491 postings
- 05Elementary Principals1,477 postings
- 06Elementary School Principals1,384 postings
- 07Middle School Principals1,153 postings
- 08High School Principals1,114 postings
- 09Elementary Assistant Principals1,079 postings
- 10Superintendents1,062 postings
- 11Middle School Assistant Principals1,030 postings
- 12Academic Advisors1,008 postings
- 13Athletic Directors895 postings
- 14Elementary School Assistant Principals674 postings
- 15Student Services Coordinators531 postings
- 16Assistant Superintendents497 postings
- 17Assistant Directors459 postings
- 18Directors of Special Education418 postings
- 19Student Services Specialists403 postings
- 20Directors of Student Services345 postings
Top employers
- 01Edjoin.Org2,026 postings
- 02GPAC554 postings
- 03Herc256 postings
- 04IDEA Public Schools241 postings
- 05Alabama Department Of Education220 postings
- 06California State University-Chancellors Office220 postings
- 07Michigan Association Of School Boards194 postings
- 08Clark County School District179 postings
- 09Oklahoma State School Boards Association175 postings
- 10Wayne-Finger Lakes Boces167 postings
- 11State Of West Virginia161 postings
- 12Charter Schools USA136 postings
- 13YMCA127 postings
- 14Kenosha Unified School District124 postings
- 15College of Southern Nevada121 postings
- 16Jefferson County Public Schools114 postings
- 17Loudoun County Public Schools108 postings
- 18Childtime Learning Centers106 postings
- 19Pearson Education106 postings
- 20Maricopa Community Colleges105 postings
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