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District and School Administrators

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The Howard County Public School System is committed to recruiting highly qualified and dynamic candidates for all certificated central office leadership roles and school-based administrator positions. To review our open vacancies and applicant pools, please click the Apply Now button at the top of the page. Questions may be directed to Sandy Saval, Human Resources Business Partner at sandy_saval@hcpss.org.

The Application Process

Central office positions are posted as vacancies are identified to fill and are typically open for approximately two to four weeks. Details regarding the opening and closing date as well as any initial screening date for each position are included in the job announcement.

School-based administrator applicant pools open annually each fall and close by late spring. The application process and screening interviews occurring in the winter and early spring are utilized to identify candidates to be added to our candidate pools. The majority of appointments to school administrator positions occur in June for each upcoming school year.

Interested applicants should review the information below to ensure that you may submit a complete application for any position for which you wish to be considered. Incomplete applications may not be considered.

A completed application submission includes all information necessary to confirm you meet the minimum qualifications for the position. Be sure you have:

  • a complete application form that includes all current and prior employment in education.
  • an updated resume
  • an updated cover letter that addresses the specific requirements identified in the job announcement
  • External Applicants: All educator certification documents (Maryland and/or out-of-state certificates, transcripts, and test scores).
  • Internal Applicants: A copy of your MSDE certificate. If you have just completed your certification requirements for your Administrator I or II endorsement, please be sure you have submitted the appropriate transcripts or test scores to your HCPSS Employee Credentialing Specialist.

Certification Information

  • Out-of-state applicants are strongly encouraged to begin the application process for educator certification with the Maryland State Department of Education in addition to uploading all required certification materials to your HCPSS employment application.
  • Maryland applicants to principal positions who are not currently in a principal position must have a qualifying School Leaders Licensure Assessment (SLLA) score. Please upload your Praxis score report to your application materials.

Professional References

During each annual application cycle, the online application requires that you enter at least three professional references and will automatically send electronic reference surveys to those individuals upon submission of your application.

Completed reference surveys are required from at least two of your current and most recent supervisors should a recommendation for hire be made. If you have not yet communicated with your current supervisor regarding your employment search, please identify another professional reference.

You are encouraged to monitor the status of your reference surveys by periodically navigating back to this section of the online application prior to the position closing date. You will be able to see the status of each survey which will show as Completed or Pending.

The Screening and Interview Process

  • The Office of Human Resources will review all applications submitted through the initial screening or closing dates to identify those that meet the minimum qualifications as stated in the job announcements.
  • Applications submitted after an identified initial screening date may be reviewed based on the needs of the school system.
  • You will receive an email notifying you whether you have met the minimum qualifications typically within two weeks of the identified date.
  • Those applications that best meet the position qualifications are referred to the interview selection committee for further evaluation and consideration for an invitation to interview.
  • Interviews will be limited to those applicants who, in addition to meeting the basic requirements, have the education and experiences which most closely match the position qualifications and the needs of the school system.
  • The first-round interview is a structured panel interview with a group of HCPSS stakeholders from across divisions within our school system. The structure ensures that all candidates have an equal opportunity to present their qualifications.

Resources for School Administrator Positions

Applicant pools for Assistant Principal and Principal are typically opened each fall and spring. Please refer to the job announcements and additional resources below for specific application requirements and additional information.

The Howard County Public School System is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Please call 410-313-5694 if special accommodations are required.