2026 - 2027 ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL MIDDLE - SYLVAN HILLS MIDDLE SCHOOL

Position Type:
SCHOOL ADMINISTRATION/ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL

Date Posted:
5/28/2026

Location:
Sylvan Hills Middle School
POSITION SUMMARY
The Assistant Principal supports the school in driving academic and character outcomes for students as a key member of the school's leadership team. Assistant Principals lead instruction, school culture and develop leadership in the school's emerging leaders. In Atlanta Public Schools, we believe that the majority of Assistant Principals are interested in and actively being developed for the Principalship. The Assistant Principal should consider him/herself an apprentice to the Principal and gradually build capacity to lead an APS school.

OUTCOMES:
1. Assigned grade levels or departments hit their goals for student achievement
2. Teachers demonstrate measurable growth on behavioral indicators in APS' Definitions of Teacher Excellence

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS
EDUCATION:
• Master's Degree in Education or related field required.


CERTIFICATION/LICENSE:
• Valid Georgia Professional Certification at Level 5 or higher in a teaching or service field
• Valid Georgia Professional Certification at Level 5 or higher in Educational Leadership.

WORK EXPERIENCE:
• 3 years of experience as a teacher, counselor, instructional coach or similar role in a K-12 educational setting required


KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS & ABILITIES
Commitment to APS' Core Values

• Demonstrated belief that all students, regardless of background, have the ability to go to and through college; demonstrated commitment to the school's unique community
• Demonstrated resilience and focus on student outcomes Lead Academics: Instructional Leadership
• Demonstrated student achievement results in own classroom and from teachers that he/she manages
• Demonstrated ability to drive student achievement results through others (direct reports have improved student achievement results)
• Demonstrated expertise in what the grade/department or school-wide academic standards and state assessments require of students' knowledge and skills to demonstrate mastery
• Led grade/department-wide initiative which resulted in and continues to demonstrate impact on student achievement requiring him/her to establish a grade/department-wide vision and measurable goals
• Demonstrated command of instructional design and the benefits and tradeoffs of school design decisions in driving student achievement
• Demonstrated understanding of appropriate application and differentiation of high-leverage instructional strategies (e.g. pacing, checks for understanding, students doing the heavy lifting, etc.) based on comprehension of child development and pedagogy
• Demonstrated investment in and understanding of appropriate application of social emotional strategies to promote the development of the whole child Lead Academics: Planning & Assessment
• Demonstrated ability to translate student mastery requirements into instructional plans and strategies
• Demonstrated expertise across a grade/department's standards and how student mastery will be assessed; developing an understanding of instructional design
• Demonstrated skill in data analysis; ability to extract meaningful insights from classroom, team or grade-level data
• Demonstrated ability to facilitate and ensure positive outcomes of teacher teams and/or professional learning communities

Build Culture

• Demonstrated track record of developing a positive learning culture for adults and students across his/her entire grade/department
• Demonstrated ability to set direction and invest and motivate others to action
• Demonstrated ability to create inclusive environments that honors and supports a diversity of backgrounds and perspectives Develop Talent
• Demonstrated ability to support principal on hiring diverse, highly-effective teachers and school staff
• Demonstrated ability to develop teachers through providing helpful feedback and/or professional learning opportunities
• Demonstrated ability to retain the highest performers on his/her team
• Ability to be flexible and adapt as needed between in-person work environments

ESSENTIAL DUTIES
1. Model and support implementation of the school's vision and goals

• Supports development of Principal's school-wide vision and takes an active role in investing and mobilizing teachers to achieve the collective goals of the school; owns the implementation of select school priorities in support of the school-wide vision
• With guidance from the Principal, leads the planning and goal setting for the grades/departments that he/she coaches and ensures alignment with school-wide goals

2. Build own and direct reports' instructional knowledge of standards, content and instructional methods
Content (Standards, Curriculum, and Assessment):

• Develops deep mastery over the academic standards in the subjects/grades for which he/she coaches, and strong understanding of academic standards for all subjects/grades. Understands the implications of standards on what a student should know and be able to do, connect teachers with relevant resources to improve their content knowledge, and therefore what a teacher needs to know and be able to do to facilitate student mastery
• Studies curriculum and assessment content and further develops understanding of how assessments map to content mastery, and what is required of students and teachers to accomplish mastery on the assessments
• Teaches teachers how to assess for both student mastery and growth towards college readiness and insists that assessments are used to inform teacher instruction

Research-based Instructional Practices (Methods and Time):

• Develops own and teacher's knowledge of best practices in instructional methods and teaches teachers how to match particular strategies to gaps in student mastery

3. Develop teachers to provide rigorous and high quality instruction and support Principal in planning and implementing school enabling systems
Lead Academics: Planning and Assessment:

• Determines how data aligns to end-of-year goals (what is being assessed and how it maps to standards); break-out data to analyze how different student groups are performing; determine what data is saying about areas of student mastery and growth; and identify specific instructional actions and adjustments to fill students' knowledge and skill gaps and a timeline to do so

Lead Academics: Instructional Leadership

• Provides high-quality, helpful instructional coaching with frequent and scheduled teacher observations, actionable and bite-sized feedback, and accountability for adjustment in practice
• Coaches emerging leaders on their instructional coaching practice
• Leads or coaches others who lead department/content/grade-level meetings that focus on planning for and norming on instruction and culture, practicing instructional strategies, and progress monitoring the department/content/grade level
• Recommends to the Principal what school-wide professional development will be the highest leverage in improving student results; lead engaging, actionable, adult-learning workshops; and hold staff accountable for implementation of the workshop practices

4. Model strong staff and student culture and manage school-wide social emotional development and behavior management systems
Build Culture:

• Supports teachers in understanding process and roles in student support and intervention and develops systems and structures to ensure that limited time is spent on reactive student discipline
• Manages parts of the daily school operations (e.g. arrival/dismissal, lunch/recess, school trips)
• Acts as the first Leadership Team contact on student intervention and parent engagement hierarchy; determines next steps for issues that rise above the teacher/grade level/department chair

5. Collaborate with Principal on hiring, developing and retaining diverse, highly-effective teachers and school based staff
Develop talent:

• Supports the development and execution of a data-driven and performance-based teacher and staff hiring process
• Supports new teacher onboarding processes
• Ensures high retention rates and engagement of teachers and staff
• Supports the Principal in identifying and developing emerging and teacher leaders (Department Heads, Grade Level Chairs, etc.) through goal setting, coaching and providing feedback

6. Contribute to school-wide planning and prioritizes time to accomplish goals
Manage Operations

• Aligns and coordinates staff to execute the school's vision for operations, staffing, schedule, testing and finance according to the school's goals and priorities
• Provides input into the school-based strategic planning and identifies what the school's strategic plan means for his/her own leadership and people that he/she manages
• Supports the principal in engaging, parents, community and GO Team's regularly to ensure they are invested in the school direction and informed of progress; ensures they are appropriately involved in school decision making

7. Develops self

• Cultivates own growth, sustainability and success through active participation in district-wide professional development and by seeking out high-impact growth opportunities
• Required to have prompt, regular attendance in-person and be available to work on-site, in-person during regular business hours and as needed
• Performs other duties as assigned by an appropriate administrator or their representative

PHYSICAL ABILITIES AND WORKING CONDITIONS
The physical abilities, working conditions and other conditions of employment listed in this document are representative of, but are not intended to provide an exhaustive list of the requirements for positions in this classification. In the event of an emergency or situation requiring guidance from Federal, State, or local or school district authorities, the requirements of this position may change temporarily or for the school year to best serve the needs of our students.


Vision: Ability to read small print and view a computer screen for prolonged periods.
Hearing: Ability to tolerate exposure to noisy conditions.
Speech: Ability to be understood in face-to-face communications, to speak with a level of proficiency and volume to be understood over a telephone or computer.
Upper Body Mobility: Ability to use hands to grasp, and manipulate small objects; manipulate fingers, twist and bend at wrist and elbow; extend arms to reach outward and upward; use hands and arms to lift objects; turn, raise, and lower head.
Strength: Ability to lift, push, pull and/or carry objects which weigh as much as 5 or more pounds on a frequent basis. Incumbent may be required to physically restrain parties involved in a conflict.
Environmental Requirements: Ability to encounter constant work interruptions; work cooperatively with others; work independently; work indoors .
Mental Requirements: Ability to read, write, understand, interpret and apply information at a moderately complex level essential for successful job performance; math skills at a high school proficiency level; judgement and the ability to process information quickly; learn quickly and follow verbal procedures and standards; give verbal instruction; rank tasks in order of importance; copy, compare, compile and coordinate information and records. Understand how to manage stress.

Additional Work Conditions & Physical Abilities: Ability to be flexible and adapt as needed between various in-person working environments.


COMPENSATION
SALARY GRADE:

• Assistant Principal High

SALARY RANGE: FY26School-basedAssistantPrincipal.pdf

WORK DAYS: 231

The Atlanta Public School System does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, citizenship, ethnic or national origin, age, disability, medical status, military status, veteran status, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, genetic information, ancestry, or any legally protected status in any of its employment practices, educational programs, services or activities. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential duties. This job description is intended to accurately reflect the duties, responsibilities and requirements of the position. It is not intended to be and should not be construed as an all-inclusive list of all the responsibilities, skills, or working conditions associated with the position. Management and administration reserves the right to modify, add, or remove duties and assign other duties as necessary.

Application Procedure:
Apply online