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City Schools follows the following process when a change of leadership occurs. Principal/school leader appointments normally occur in the following ways:
Principal selection occurs when a vacancy is identified for the upcoming school year. A candidate must have an Admin II endorsement from the Maryland State Department of Education and complete the full principal selection process.
Interim/Managing Assistant Principal selection occurs when a principal opening happens unexpectedly during the school year or in the summer shortly before the start of the school year. Candidates complete a partial selection process before being named Interim or Managing Assistant Principal. If they are interested in becoming the school's principal, they complete the rest of the process later.
Difference between Interim and Managing Assistant Principal: Interim principals must have an Admin II endorsement from the Maryland State Department of Education. Managing Assistant Principals can have an Admin I endorsement.
Charter school operators run their own principal selection process in accordance with contractual obligations. Final principal recommendations are submitted to the Office of Human Capital to vet candidate credentials in accordance with MSDE guidelines, then forwarded to the CEO and Board of School Commissioners for approval.
This webpage will be updated regularly when leadership changes for either category are approved by the Board of School Commissioners.
Each time we start the principal selection process or announce a school leader, we’ll post an update on the news and announcements webpage.
Current openings:
This section contains the steps of the principal selection process when a vacancy is identified for the upcoming school year:
Note: Before any principal candidate is considered, they must participate in the selection process of the Office of Human Capital.
Principal candidates apply and complete the Office of Human Capital selection process. Click here to learn more about the candidate process.
1. School Family Council (SFC) panel interview – Up to 5 members of the SFC and the SFC chair will interview finalists in partnership with school staff and a high school student (where applicable). SFC interview panel members will be selected based on participation and attendance at SFC meetings and to ensure representation across grade bands, special populations, and demographics. The panel will rank the candidates in order of preference and share that ranking with the principal supervisor (ILED).
2. CEO and Schools team interviews – The principal supervisor (ILED) and/or Chief of Schools will interview principal candidates and recommend candidate(s) for the CEO’s consideration. The CEO will interview finalists and make a decision. While the CEO reviews all of the community recommendations, the CEO ultimately selects and presents the final recommendation to the Board of School Commissioners.
3. The CEO sends a principal recommendation for each school to the Board of School Commissioners for their approval.
City Schools will announce candidates approved by the board on the district website and to the school community in writing.
There are times when a sitting principal unexpectedly resigns or otherwise departs from a school before the end of the school year or immediately before the start of the school year. When this occurs, City Schools will appoint an interim or acting principal or managing assistant principal until the complete selection process can be conducted.
Candidates may serve as an interim principal or managing assistant principal for up to one year at a given school. During that year, the school leader must complete the full principal selection process described in the above section to become the principal.