Roles and responsibilities of educational administrators

Educational administrators, also known as school administrators, play a crucial role in guiding the vision, achievements, and operations of institutions to serve students and their communities more effectively. As digital tools reshape the classroom, instructional leadership remains at the heart of ethical, efficient, and effective educational administration.

Educational administrators work at all levels of education, from elementary to post-secondary institutions, to provide services such as budget planning, facility management, overseeing school curriculum, and organizing student activities.¹

This blog will discuss the different duties educational administrators perform that contribute to building an environment where both educators and students can thrive.

Educational administrators develop a clear roadmap for the future and set goals that support an institution's vision. Principals, assistant principals, superintendents, and school administrators serve as a guiding voice for the school’s board of education, often influencing the strategic plan of the entire school district.¹

Educational administrators can achieve lasting outcomes by setting actionable goals and measurable objectives with realistic timelines. This ensures accountability, promotes progress, and allows for ongoing assessment of institutional performance.

Educational administration often involves personnel management, such as recruiting and retaining skilled educators and student support staff. This can also include managing staff members' salaries and benefits packages, providing feedback through performance evaluations, and overseeing the distribution of promotions.¹ Administrators oversee the hiring process to ensure the selected individuals meet credential requirements and align with the school’s culture and current goals of the education system.

Educational administrators support their staff in maintaining high teaching standards. Administrators oversee the coordination of training sessions, workshops, and mentoring programs to help teachers and paraprofessionals stay updated with the latest educational theories and pedagogical advancements.¹

Educational institutions must operate within legal boundaries, and administrators are primarily responsible for ensuring compliance with laws related to curriculum standards, student rights, safety protocols, and financial practices. Compliance management is necessary to avoid financial penalties and possible lawsuits, while providing students with a learning environment consistent with state and federal standards and funding requirements.²

Beyond compliance, administrators develop internal policies that address the unique needs of their school community. These policies govern behavior, academic integrity, attendance, and other operational aspects, creating a structured and fair environment conducive to successful student outcomes. Thorough documentation is crucial for educational administrators to track, report, and resolve any compliance issues that arise.²

In the face of limited funding and competing priorities, administrators are tasked with making strategic decisions about urgency, allocation, and spending to provide the best possible student experience and staff support. Administrators must be effective financial managers within school districts, ensuring available resources are allocated to support academic programs, extracurricular activities, facility maintenance, and technology upgrades while operating within a strict budget.³

Incorporating the priorities of key stakeholders, such as parents, teachers, and community members, is essential to ensuring that the school district's most urgent needs are reflected in the budget.³ While assessing an institution's needs and effectively allocating resources is a complex undertaking, financial literacy is a critical quality for educational administrators to ensure that their school is equipped to provide quality education to all students.

Educational administrators are the bridge between schools and the people they serve, fostering a network of support that extends beyond the classroom to build public trust and create partnerships with community stakeholders. Educational administrators constantly make decisions, both large and small, in areas such as budget allocation, student discipline, curriculum, facility operations, and more.⁴ Gathering input from the community and involving stakeholders in the decision-making process increases trust, builds relationships, and creates a culture where everyone is vested in student outcomes.

Active listening is one of the most important skills required for educational administrators to facilitate engagement between parents, community leaders, local businesses, and school leadership. Through regular town hall meetings, digital messaging, parent-teacher conferences, and anonymous surveys, educational administrators can utilize multiple communication platforms to find the most effective way to share information and actively listen to community feedback.⁴

Beyond tracking grades, school administrators continuously monitor student affairs in areas such as standardized tests, formative assessments, classroom performance, attendance rates, graduation rates, and behavioral incidents, in order to gain a holistic view of student achievement and school effectiveness.⁵

These insights allow educational administrators to do the following:⁵

• Identify achievement gaps among different student groups, such as those based on socioeconomic status, race, language proficiency, or special education needs
• Identify instructional shortcomings, unrealistic goals, insufficient exams, or specific student traits that lead to poor performance
• Evaluate the effectiveness of existing programs and the strategies of the instructors hired by the institution
• Make informed resource allocations to areas that require additional support

Educational administrators are the backbone of leadership in educational institutions. Their decisions and vision set the tone for the entire organization, influencing the culture of the entire school district as well as individual student outcomes. Skilled educational leaders embody qualities such as empathy for diverse student backgrounds, integrity in decision-making, and adaptability in response to changing educational landscapes.⁶ From garnering stakeholder input to overseeing budget allocation and facilitating staff evaluations, their responsibilities demand a strategic approach and a high level of discernment.⁶

Few careers are as fulfilling as leading the next generation toward success. Whether you plan to take on a leadership role as a principal, instructional coordinator, or another academic professional, educational administration requires a diverse skillset that often involves pursuing professional development opportunities and obtaining advanced qualifications, such as a master's degree.⁷

The online master’s degree in educational leadership and policy studies through the University of Kansas will prepare you to step into an administrative role and lead your school and community while making a positive impact on the lives of your students.

The online program offers the opportunity to accelerate your career without putting life on hold and obtain an advanced graduate degree in as little as two years. Contact an admissions outreach advisor today to learn more.