Dear future Assistant Principal,

I will keep this page short and to the point. Here’s what I have for you today:

In the eBook, you will find multiple great answers to each of the following questions:

  • Why do you think you can be a good assistant principal?
  • Please describe the role you feel parents should play in the operation of the school.
  • What experience do you have with working with low income and “at risk” students?
  • How did you cope with stress at school?
  • Did you supervise any school event in the past? What problems did you face when supervising the event? How did you handle them?
  • What actions would you take to monitor staff members’ performance at our school?
  • What classroom management strategies have been most effective for you? Do you think that assistant principal should help teachers to improve their classroom management?
  • What do you consider most important when we speak about maintaining high staff morale?
  • What do you consider the main challenges school principals and their assistants face right now?
  • How would you win the hearts of the students at our school?
  • Why should we hire you and not someone else?
  • How do you build a positive school culture? Give examples of how you would do that here.
  • If you were reported about a sexual or child abuse case under your supervision, what would you do?
  • Please describe a situation in which you were a manager, a leader and a boss.
  • Tell us what you learned from your most influential administrators. Try to identify at least one positive and one negative characteristic.
  • If you were working with a probationary teacher who was experiencing many challenges with effective classroom management, what would you do?
  • How would you lead an IEP meeting?
  • How will you measure your success after the first year in this job?
  • Have you ever thought of becoming a school principal?
  • … and 20 other tough questions you may face in your assistant principal interview.

 

Check the sample to see how this book can help you:

Sample from the eBook


Question: How will you measure your success after the first year in this job?

Hint: This is a tricky question for several reasons. First of all, it’s not easy to see any major improvements in the way the school functions (or at least the administration of it) after your first year as an assistant principal.

Lot of paperwork and lobbying is often required to move forward with any major changes you’d propose.

Even if you get a green light eventually, they’d likely implement the changes only from the next school year (or even later), so you’d have to wait a bit longer to see whether they succeed or fail.

On the other hand, each good employee has some goals, and tries to accomplish something in their job. You can’t just say that one year is a very short time to measure a success of any school administrator.

Perhaps the best thing you can say is that you plan to set goals for yourself (they can relate to the students, teachers, effectiveness of processes, anything), after talking to existing administrators and understanding the challenges they face at school (and a role a new AP should play in addressing these challenges).

Each good goal can be quantified, and once this is done you will easily monitor your progress, and at the end of the first year tell whether or not you achieved the desired results.

You can also opt for a different approach, saying that you simply plan to try your best each day, working on the goals you set for yourself, and let the others (principal, superintendent) to measure your success at the end of the year.

 

Sample answers

– I definitely want to set some realistic goals once I get this job. But these can’t be set realistically until I have a long discussion with other administrators, until I understand the ins and outs of this school. Once this happens we should be able to devise some goals, perhaps goals we should work on as a team. We should be able to identify my position in the team, and how I can contribute to achieving these goals.

Then we should do our best to quantify them (though it is not always possible). At the end of the year we will simply compare the goals with the actual results we achieved.

– To be honest, I prefer to let the others to consider whether I am successful in my job. Almost all great things we can achieve in education represent a team effort. We should set goals as a team, and we should also work on achieving them as a team. And the big changes cannot be implemented (and their results interpreted) in such a short term as one school year.

I want to try my best in work, every day, but I also do not want to be too hard on myself. I will try to do what I can within my capabilities, and let the leaders of the school and district decide whether I succeeded once the end of the year approaches.

 

Question: What experiences do you have with working with low income and “at risk” students? How do you plan to work with them?

Hint: “At risk” students belong to each school, and the problems they experience represent a major challenge for staff members.

You should remain realistic in your answer. Avoid saying that under your co-leadership there won’t be any at risk students, or that nobody will drop out. That’s just not how it works in reality, and many factors that contribute to problems the students experience are out of your control.

Nevertheless, you should come up with some ideas on helping them to succeed academically and transit to adulthood, though everyone in the hiring committee knows that a success rate of these methods will always be low.

In this case, it is the effort and attitude that counts, not the actual result.

 

Sample answers

– I understand that many children in this district experience family instability, poverty, and other factors that contribute to the problems they experience in school. In most cases it is not their mistake, and we should try our best to help them, to improve their chances of finishing the school, and have a meaningful life afterwards.

It is important to identify these students in early grades, and I plan to consult teachers and school psychologist, trying to understand who’s at risk.

Then we will proceed with each case individually, since each student is different and what works with one of them may not work with another. Emotional support, free tutorship, helping them to develop resilience, and mentoring re some ways of helping them. At least that’s my experience, but as I said each case is different and we need to approach the problem individually with each student.

– In my experience as a teacher, working with these students is difficult, since many of them are emotionally hurt and won’t respond positively to any effort from the teacher.

Nevertheless, as an assistant principal I plan to collaborate with school psychologist and counselor, and develop the program of identifying at risk students, and working with them, in the course of their studies. I know that the success rate won’t be high, but for me every student is important, and we should at least try to help each one.

What is more, some of these students can act in a hostile manner to their classmates, or even to teachers. Therefore it is important to work with them, trying to improve the school environment for everyone else.

End of the sample


 

These were just two questions. You will find 40 in the eBook, including personal, behavioral, and technical questions, updated in 2024 according to the latest trends from the interviews.

What is more, to ensure that you will get the job, I added some other sections to the book.

You will learn various winning interview strategies that will help you to impress the members of the hiring committee, see a list of questions you should ask in your interview, and find other information that will help you to relax, and deliver your best on the big day.

 


Glen, author of the eBook

That’s it. I do not want to waste your time with lengthy sales pages, and imaginary discounts, just like other people do on their websites, while selling various digital products.

You have read the sample, you know what the eBook is about, and surely you can tell whether it will help you or not.

I sincerely believe it will help you in your interview. And you can read it easily in three or four hours, it’s 21,000 words. Only things that truly matter, no secondary content.

Plus, of course, like with everything else we sell here on InterviewPenguin.com, you have a risk free sixty days money back guarantee. If you don’t like this eBook for any reason, or no reason at all, just let me know (email me at glen[at]interviewpenguin[dot]com) within 60 days and we will give you a full refund.

Quick Summary

  • Brilliant answers to forty difficult questions you may get in your interview for a job of an assistant principal.
  • Updated in 2024.
  • Several sample answers to each question, so you can choose the one that reflects your values and experience.
  • Winning interview strategies, guide on how to answer behavioral questions, and other information that will help you to make the best possible impression on the hiring committee.
  • Instant download, .PDF format (you can read it on any device (mobile, kindle, PC), and you can easily print it).
  • Secure and simple checkout with PayPal, you can pay with your credit/debit card, or with your PayPal account.
  • Price: $19.95, one time payment, no hidden fees or upsell. 60 days risk free money back guarantee. 
  • Click the checkout button below to proceed to the payment.

(After the payment you will be directed back to our website, to a protected page, to download your eBook. You will also receive a download link and instructions to your email, just to ensure that you will get the book without waiting, even if the redirect fails.)

 

That’s it. Your interview does not have to be stressful, or difficult. You can interview with confidence, and give brilliant answers to all tough questions. Download the guide today, and succeed in your interview for a job of a vice principal.

Sincerely,

Glen Hughins,

Your personal job interview coach

P.S. Feel free to send me a message if you have any questions. I try my best to answer all messages within eight hours (glen[at]interviewpenguin[dot]com).

Glen Hughins
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