Baltimore City Public Schools -

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.

This section contains the steps of the principal selection process when a vacancy is identified for the upcoming school year:

1. Community Notification

2. Principal Selection

3. Announcement

Note: Before any principal candidate is considered, they must participate in the selection process of the Office of Human Capital.

Note: A principal candidate that is a sitting principal will be considered first to minimize the disruption to both schools. However, this does not guarantee that the principal candidate will be hired. If the School Family Community Council opts not to recommend the sitting principal candidate for hire, they may request City Schools provides additional candidates to interview. 

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. 

1. Community Notification: Staff, families, students, and the community are notified of the principal transition. This will be in writing and in person (where possible, if over the summer). If the timing of the departure does not permit for the full principal selection process to be conducted in advance, the community will be notified that an interim principal or managing assistant principal will be selected. 

2. Selection: Candidates will be selected by the CEO, Chief of Schools, and/or principal supervisor (ILED). The CEO sends an interim principal or managing assistant principal recommendation for the school to the Board of School Commissioners for their approval. 

3. Announcement: The district will announce candidates approved by the board on the district website and to the school community in writing. The principal supervisor (ILED) will notify the school community of opportunities to meet and engage with the interim principal or managing assistant principal during the transition. 

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.