Interview for Assistant Principal Opening

One of the final components of my degree program in educational leadership is a mock interview with two practicing principals for a job as an assistant principal. As candidates, we are also required to compile a portfolio of our work completed during our courses and residency, which demonstrates each of the 8 Alabama Standards for Instructional Leaders, to use during the interview. In addition to the mock interview, I'm preparing to interview for assistant principal openings in the coming school year.

While doing my homework for the interviews, I did an obligatory Google search of tips for assistant principal interviews. Here are some of the best resources that I found.

• Interview Questions from the Principal's Page by Michael Smith
• Interviewing for the Principal's Job from the National Association of Elementary School Principals
• Interview Sample Questions 
• My 10 Goals as a 1st Year Administrator from Life of an Educator by Justin Tarte
• Assistant Principal Interview Forum from the ProTeacher Community
• The Questions I Wished I'd Asked When Interviewing for the Principalship from Education World

The thought that I need to remember during this stressful time of applications, interviews, and callbacks is that I'll end up where I'm supposed to be. I've learned valuable lessons at each school that I've taught in. I may not have particularly enjoyed being at that school at that time, but when I look back on my professional history, I wouldn't change anything about where I've spent my time. Things always work out for the best! Music is a great reminder, so here's the Kooks performing their song "Always Where I Need to Be."