Preparing for your principal interview, Part I
06/07/2013
Summer is the time of year for leadership transitions at schools, and so many practicing and aspiring school leaders are actively engaged in interviewing for new positions. From time to time practitioner colleagues and current and former students ask me for advice on how to prepare for a principalship interview, what should go into a professional portfolio, and what to consider in terms of an entry plan should they be offered the job. In this two-part three-part series of posts I'll share some ideas and recommendations.
I think there are three key dimensions of leadership that a principal candidate ought to consider when preparing for an interview. These three aspects of leadership should inform the key points you should try to emphasize in your interview and the way you shape your portfolio. Think about both what you believe about each of these aspects of leadership, but also what you've accomplished in the past and what evidence you could provide to support those accomplishments.
How can you show the ways that you are (or have the capacity to become) an instructional leader, a managerial leader, and a collaborative leader?
1. Evidence of your ideas, skills, and record as an instructional leader. This is your number-one responsibility and priority as a principal. In his excellent book (reading it should be part of your interview preparation and professional learning) Effective Supervision, Robert Marzano defines "supervision" (which, I believe, means the same thing as "instructional leadership") as those things a principal does that are meant to help teachers improve their teaching expertise.
Marzano identifies five conditions that are necessary for fostering teaching expertise: a) a well-articulated knowledge base for teaching (Marzano and Danielson both provide excellent frameworks), b) focused feedback and practice, c) opportunities to observe and discuss expert practice, d) clear criteria for improvement and a plan for success, and e) providing recognition of expertise. Think about everything you have done previously or plan to do that supports these conditions, and be prepared to discuss and show evidence in your portfolio.
In Kentucky, as in some other states, principals are certified P-12. If you are interviewing for a position outside your previous experience (say, you are a high school person by background but are interviewing for an elementary principalship) make sure you can stress any linkages in your previous work that would cross grade levels and study up on the curriculum and best practices for your desired grade range.
2. Evidence of your ideas, skills, and record as a managerial leader. This is the second of the three-legged stool of effective school leadership. Even if you're a good instructional leader, you still have to make sure the school is safe and clean, budgets are balanced, bells ring on time, etc.
3. Evidence of your ideas, abilities and record as a collaborative leader. This is the human dimension of the work, and it intersects with the other two dimensions of instructional and managerial leader. How have you motivated people, brought them together around a common purpose, empowered and involved people in decision making and simultaneously pushed them to better their best?
In terms of structuring your portfolio, less is definitely more. Keep these documents clearly organized and brief. Most interview committees will only give your materials a cursory glance at best, and they'll be looking for evidence that supports what you talk about in your interview and what they glean from both formal and informal reference checks of your previous work.
In my next post, which will appear in a few days, I'll discuss the all-important role of articulating a clear vision for school improvement, which will tie together everything you can say about how you'll be an effective instructional, managerial, and collaborative leader. And in my final post I'll also discuss an entry plan and how to psychologically prepare for your interview (hint: it starts long before you actually get called for the interview).
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