Questions to Ask Principal During Interview
Questions for a candidate interviewing at a school, aimed at how the principal actually runs the building: who decides what, what happens when things go wrong, and why the job is open.
The questions
Open any question for the note
How would you describe your own role in the day-to-day life of a classroom here?
Why ask it
Principals fall roughly into two camps: in classrooms most days, or in the office managing operations. Neither is wrong, but the answer predicts how much support and how much scrutiny you will get.
Why is this position open?
Why ask it
Retirement, growth, a mid-year resignation, and a person who was let go all produce very different first years. An answer that stays vague after a follow-up is itself the information.
How many teachers left at the end of last year, and where did they go?
Why ask it
Departures to other schools in the same district are the ones to notice, because those teachers kept the pay and the commute and still chose to leave this building.
What are the school's goals this year, and where did they come from?
Why ask it
Goals written by the staff get referred to in October. Goals handed down by a district office get printed and forgotten, and you can usually tell which you are hearing by how precisely the principal can recite them.
Which decisions are made by teachers, which by you, and which by the district?
Why ask it
This is the single most useful question about a school's culture, because it maps the actual limits of your autonomy. Watch for whether they can name a concrete example in all three categories or collapse everything into district mandates.
How much of the curriculum is set, and how much would I build?
Why ask it
Answers range from a scripted program with pacing guides to almost nothing on the shelf. Both are workable if you know in advance, and being surprised in August is what makes it a problem.
Walk me through how you observe and give feedback to teachers.
Why ask it
Ask how many observations, how long, announced or not, and how fast the feedback arrives. A principal who cannot describe the cycle in specifics probably does not run one.
What happens in the first ten minutes after a student is sent out of a classroom?
Why ask it
Every school has a discipline policy on paper. This asks what physically happens: who takes the student, where they go, whether they come back that period, and whether the teacher hears anything afterward.
What is your part when a parent comes straight to you instead of the teacher?
Why ask it
The answer tells you whether you will be backed, informed, or bypassed. A principal who says they hear the parent out and then loop the teacher in the same day is describing a system, not a sentiment.
How is planning time protected, and how often does it get taken for meetings?
Why ask it
Contract planning time and real planning time are different numbers. Ask how many of last month's planning periods went to meetings, coverage, or testing duty.
How is special education staffed here, and how are co-teaching duties split?
Why ask it
You are trying to find out whether the co-teacher is genuinely in the room or is pulled for testing and coverage. Ask how many rooms each support teacher covers in a day.
How is student data used in a normal week, and what are teachers asked to report?
Why ask it
Distinguishes schools where data drives small instructional changes from schools where it drives paperwork. Ask to see the form teachers fill in, if there is one.
How do teachers get supplies, and what is the process for asking for something that costs money?
Why ask it
A concrete answer with a dollar figure and a named person means the system works. Vagueness usually means teachers pay for things themselves.
What does the duty load look like: arrival, lunch, dismissal, coverage?
Why ask it
These hours rarely appear in a job posting but shape the day more than anything else. Ask for the actual weekly total rather than a description.
How do you handle it when a teacher disagrees with you?
Why ask it
Ask for a specific instance from the last year. A principal who can describe a time they changed their mind is telling you something a philosophy statement never will.
Which students struggle most here, and what is currently in place for them?
Why ask it
The pairing matters. A principal who can name the group but not the intervention is describing a problem they have not resourced yet.
What is the hardest problem you are working on right now?
Why ask it
Invites candor, and most principals will give it if the question is asked plainly. An answer of "nothing much" from a school leader mid-year is not reassuring.
What does support look like for someone new to this building in their first month?
Why ask it
Look for named people, scheduled times, and reduced duties. A mentor assigned on paper with no common planning period is not support.
What would you want to see from me by the end of my first year?
Why ask it
Turns the interview into a description of the actual job. If the answer is generic, ask what would make them regret the hire, which usually produces the specifics.
What are your next steps, and when should I expect to hear from you?
Why ask it
Also a small test of how the building communicates. A principal who names a date and then misses it without a word has told you something about the year ahead.
Interviewing the Principal
Practical guidance for the conversation itself
Before you walk in
Read the public data first
State report cards, enrollment trends, and staff turnover figures are usually public. Knowing that enrollment dropped for three straight years lets you ask what that has meant for staffing rather than asking whether the school is growing.
Pick five questions, not twenty
You will realistically get five to ten minutes at the end. Choose the questions whose answers would actually change your decision, and put the one you care about most first in case time runs out.
Ask for a walk through the building
Ten minutes in the hallways during a class change tells you what an hour of interview will not: noise, how adults speak to students, what is on the walls, and whether classroom doors are open.
How to read the answers
- Specifics beat philosophy. "We do two ten-minute walkthroughs a month and you get notes within 48 hours" is a real answer. "We believe in continuous growth" is not.
- Ask about the last time rather than the general policy. "How did the most recent parent complaint get handled" outperforms "how do you handle parent complaints."
- Notice whether they say we or they. A principal who describes every constraint as coming from the district may not push back on anything.
- Watch how they talk about the teacher who left. Candor about a difficult departure is a better sign than a polished non-answer.
- If they cannot describe the mentoring a new hire gets, assume there is none and plan accordingly.
Common mistakes
Asking what the website already answers
Mission statements, programs, and enrollment numbers are published. Spending your limited time on them signals you did not prepare and costs you the questions that matter.
Leading with salary and benefits
In most districts pay is on a published schedule anyway. Ask human resources about steps, insurance, and stipends, and keep the principal's time for the parts only they can answer.
Not asking to speak with a teacher
Request five minutes with a teacher in your grade or department, ideally without an administrator present. Principals who say yes are usually comfortable with what you will hear.