You may have an interest in a roll in education outside of the classroom. For example, you may be interested in a position in the administration of a school district. On your list of potential career objectives may be to serve as an assistant superintendent. With that in mind, you may have questions about the job responsibilities of an assistant superintendent.
Essential Information about the Role of an Assistant Superintendent
There can be a difference in the duties of an assistant superintendent from one school district to another. Generally speaking, a standard practice in a typical U.S. school district is to delineate the responsibilities of an assistant superintendent in one of two primary ways.
First, an assistant superintendent may be assigned to oversee a particular operational area within a school district. Second, an assistant superintendent may be assigned with administrative duties over a geographic region within a school district.
An assistant superintendent is near the top of the chain of command in a school district. In a small to midsize school district, and assistant superintendent likely reports directly to the superintendent. In a large school district an assistant superintendent is apt to report to the deputy superintendent. In some instances, an assistant superintendent may have some responsibility for reporting to the local school board.
If an assistant superintendent has operational duties and responsibilities, a person in that position may be assigned to oversee specific aspects of district operations. For example, a school district might have assistant superintendents overseeing operational areas that include curriculum, facilities, finance, security, or human resources.
Personal Attributes of an Assistant Superintendent
A person interested in a career path to becoming an assistant superintendent or similar type of education administrator typically needs to have some inherent attributes. Indeed, there are common characteristics of an effective school district or educational leader, according to Forbes. These include strong leadership and communication skills and abilities. A person serving as an assistant superintendent typically needs to have solid skills in working with people.
An assistant superintendent oftentimes is called upon to make public presentations. Thus, an individual in this professional role needs to have a solid ability to speak in front of groups of people, including larger numbers of people.
Education Background of an Assistant Superintendent
More often than not a person selected to serve as an assistant superintendent will have a master’s degree. In most cases, such a degree will be in education administration.
Noting the prevalence of a master’s degree in education administration, if an assistant superintendent will be overseeing a specific operational area, some other type of advanced degree may be appropriate. For example, in a larger district, an assistant superintendent might oversee public and media relations. Thus, a degree in an area of study associated with these tasks would be an appropriate educational background.
Related Resource: Top 20 Best Master’s in Educational Leadership Online
District administrators are professional positions that are expected to remain in demand over the course of the coming decade, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. This includes in small, midsize, and large school districts across the country. Nonetheless, the greatest demand for skilled district administrators will be in the larger urban areas through the end of the decade.