INTERVIEW QUESTIONS FOR ADMINISTRATION
*DEANS AND ASST. PRINCIPALS*
(Other questions may be inserted as time or interest permits)
- Briefly discuss your background and experiences.
- Given your background and experiences, what do you think you could bring to this
position?
- What do you feel a person in this position must do to be successful?
- What factors do you feel are critical in developing excellence in education?
- What’s your philosophy of Middle School education?
- In a classroom observation, what 2 or 3 things might tell you that this was a good
lesson?
- How can an administrator assist in improvement of instruction for a staff member?
- How would you proceed to solve a problem or dilemma?
- with staff
- with students
- with parents
- What does it take to have good school discipline?
- How does Character Education fit into a school wide discipline plan?
- What type of experience have you had with the budgeting process?
- developing a budget
- implementing a budget
- facilitating a budget for others
- If asked to address a parent group on how they can support the school, what key
elements would you discuss?
- How important is parent contact and when do you think you should contact
parents?
- What part should “visability” play in the role of an administrator?
- What do you see as your strengths?
- What do you see as areas of improvement for yourself?
- Tell us about a positive experience you had last year in school.
- Tell us about a negative experience you had last year in school.
- What do you know about Huntley Middle School and District 158?
- Why do you want to come to Huntley Middle School?
- What goals have you set for yourself?
- In your first year?
- In 5 years?
- In 10 years?
- Why do you want to leave your present position? (if applicable)
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Assistant Principal Interviews
Introduce everyone and explain the position that is being interviewed for.
1. Please tell us about yourself and take us through your previous positions on your resume and explain why you decided to make each move.
2. Why did you apply for our opening of assistant principal?
3. What do you perceive as some of your greatest strengths as a candidate for this position?
4. What to you feel will be your greatest weakness or area of challenge?
5. What has been your biggest educational accomplishment thus far in your career?
6. What has been your biggest accomplishment outside of your career?
7. What is your philosophy of discipline and what type of discipline systems have you worked in?
8. What is your knowledge of the Canter Assertive discipline model?
9. Give us an example of a disciplinary incident that you feel that was well handled on your part.
10. Give us an example of a disciplinary incident that you wish you could have handled differently and how would you have handled it.
11. Of all the supervisors you have had, tell us about the one you liked best and why, but also tell us about one that you did not get along with and why?
12. If we went and asked people that you have worked with in the past (including students, colleagues, administrators, and parents), how would they describe you?
13. How much do you want to know about the students in your office?
14. What three things would you most like to know?
15. When you think about students, in what major ways would you want to influence their lives?
16. The position of assistant principal involves working with both the school and community. Give us an idea or a program that you have to try to incorporate more community involvement with the school.
17. Scenario 1: A teacher writes a disciplinary referral on a student for insubordination. The student disputes the teacher’s interpretation of the interaction. How do you go about determining the extent of the disciplinary consequences, if any?
18. A follow-up, scenario 2: The parents of the student call complaining of the treatment of their child. They claim that the teacher unfairly targets their child. How to you handle this difficult telephone conversation
19. Scenario 3: A teacher brings you some information that a student may have some drugs either on their person or in the backpack.
Take us through the process you would use to handle it. Include information about:
a) Bringing the student into the office
b) The type of discussion that would ensue.
c) When or if you would search the student
d) How a search would be conducted
e) The procedures used after the search.
20. It has been said that, “Students don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.” How does that statement apply to the job of an assistant principal and what would you do to insure that students knew that you cared?
21. Where to you envision yourself in five years?
22. If offered the position, would you accept it?
Ø Outline the salary (45-60,000), the health insurance ( ?, I recommend full family coverage), sick leave, personal leave, and length of contract.
Ø Consider explaining a tentative timeline for a decision
Ø Ask if they have any questions.
Thank them for coming to the interview.
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How would your colleagues describe you?
What would your students say about you (candidate coming from the classroom)?
How do you effectively encourage staff to examine data?
1. Discuss your background and qualifications that you feel enable you to be the best candidate for this position.
2. Why did you apply for this position?
3. Have you applied for other positions?
4. What is your opinion of computer technology in the school curriculum?
5. What is your level of computer expertise?
6. Are you capable of using modern technology in the classroom? Have you had this experience?
7. What are your opinions and thoughts on student discipline?
8. How would you deal with an issue of student discipline in your classroom? (You may want to give an example: What would you do if Ronnie uses profanity in your class?)
9. Would you prefer to teach K-5, 6-8 or 9-12?
10. What do you consider your greatest strength as a teacher? Your greatest weakness?
11. How did you develop your teaching style or whom did you pattern your style after? Why?
12. How well do you work with others in a group?
13. Are you a procrastinator or do things in a timely manner in advance?
14. Are you a neatnick person or a person that has messy desk, room etc. but knows where everything is?
15. Why should we offer you this position?
16. What could you offer our program that other candidates may not?
17. What is your opinion of extra-curricular activities?
18. What discipline techniques will you use?
19. How will you assess learning?
20. What is the purpose of achievement testing. How can you use the results? What will you do to prepare our students for the state testing program?
21. What do you think the three most important attributes of a teacher are?
22. How will you establish a positive learning climate in your room?
23. What are the key elements of a successful lesson?
24. How will you allow for individual differences in students?
25. What methods of instruction will you use frequently?
26. What background or experiences do you have working with this age group of students?
27. What activities have you been involved in that required organizational skills?
28. What is your philosophy on homework?
29. How will you communicate and work with parents?
30. What question were you prepared to answer that we did not ask you?
31. How does your previous experience relate to this position?
32. What are your future plans?
33. What will your former employers say about you?
34. Why are you applying for this position in this school?
35. Will you discuss your personal situation, goals and aspirations?
36. In what school activities have you been a participant? What grade level?
37. What do you like to do in your spare time and what are your hobbies?
38. What educational courses did you like best and least? Why?
39. If you were starting your educational career over, what would you do differently?
40. Define the term cooperation.
41. What are your own special abilities?
42. Ten years from now, what do you think your students will remember most about you?
43. What distinguishes a great teacher from a good teacher, and a good teacher from a failing teacher?
44. Please describe your work ethic to me?
45. What level of pay do you expect? Would you be willing to take extra duty assignments?
46. What jobs have you held? How were they obtained? Why did you leave?
47. What percentage of your school expenses did you earn? How? Scholarships?
48. Do you feel that you have received good training for this job?
49. What qualifications do you have that make you feel that you will be successful?
50. Why did you attend your college/university?
51. What was your high school rank academically?
52. What personal characteristics are needed for this job?
53. Why do you think you can be successful in this position?
54. Are you looking for a permanent job or a temporary position?
55. Would you prefer to work by yourself on a project, or with others?
56. Can you take criticism without being upset?
57. How long do expect to work?
58. Which of your school years was most difficult academically and socially?
59. Have you plans for further education?
60. What was you favorite job? Least favorite? Why?
61. Do you think grades and attendance should be considered by employers?
62. What have you done that shows initiative and a willingness to move ahead?
63. How would you respond to a person that suggested that since you were a teacher, you had an easy position and you just worked nine months a year?
64. Do you have a portfolio? Please discuss the portfolio, how it was developed, what are the highlights, and how important is it in our discussion?
65. Is discipline a question of instruction or management?
66. Do you think retention of elementary students is an acceptable practice? Would you be willing to give a high school student a failing grade?
67. How do you perceive the role of parents in your classroom and in the lives of children?
68. Have you had experience in cooperative learning lesson planning? Cooperative teaching?
69. How do you perceive your role as a grade level team member? As a building team member?
70. Of all the supervisors you have had, which did you like best and why?
71. Give us an example of how you have had to be flexible in a job?
72. Tell me something you are proud of or something that went wrong and what you learned from it?
73. How would you intervene on behalf of a student who is experiencing difficulty academically, socially, or emotionally?
74. Is there a place for competition in the school setting? If so, where?
75. How would you strive to motivate students? Parents when needed?
76. How would you communicate with parents/guardians?
77. How would those you have worked with in the past describe you? (parents, students, co-workers)
78. How would you know at the end of the year if you have done a good job?
79. What do you plan on doing five years from now?
80. Would you please answer these questions about your area of expertise? (Ask for candidates knowledge about the best teaching methods in their fields.)
81. What are the three most important reasons for becoming a teacher?
82. What three things do you want to know about your students?
83. How much do you need to know about your students in order to help them achieve at their greatest level.
84. What four components do you believe you must include in your lesson plans?
85. In what ways do you want to influence your students lives?
86. What must you know to begin a successful lesson plan?
87. What are the essential elements of a good (science) curriculum?
88. What qualities should all educators have?
89. Have you supplied us with a certificate, transcripts, phone, address etc.?
90. How can you help us better our staff morale?
91. Do you have questions about our salary schedule, benefits, or other items?
92. Do you need help in finding a place to live if you are selected?
93. Are you familiar with NCLB?
94. Are you familiar with the state testing programs?
95. Discuss with me your knowledge of school law, especially the Student Records Act and Special Education Law. (IEP and 504)
96. Discuss with me what student confidentiality is and why it is so important?
(My favorite question)
97. Give me three adjectives to describe yourself. Then follow up
with: Please give me three adjectives that your friends or co-workers would use to describe you.