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Private School Headmistress

A private school headmistress is the highest administrative position within the private school, unless there is board of directors and a chief executive officer or president of the board. Often the headmistress is the liaison between the staff and the board and oversees all daily operations of the school including establishing policies, student enrollment, staff hiring, training and supervision, meeting with parents, and advertising the schools services to constantly increase or maintain enrollment levels.

A private school headmistress usually has a teaching certificate and often has a Masters or PhD level training in education or education administration. She will also have considerable experience both in supervision of staff as well as the methodologies and current practices in teaching and effective school management. The headmistress will supervise all new staff, complete performance evaluations as required and work with staff to improve or excel in various aspects of their teaching. Private schools often focus on a particular area of study such as music, arts, science or technology so the headmistress will incorporate this specialty within her development and implementation of the curriculum.

A major aspect of a private school headmistress position is to oversee the emotional, social, educational and physical well-being of the students. She will interact with children and will usually deal with discipline issues, especially if they are serious or problematic for the classroom teacher. The headmistress usually communicates serious concerns to the parents and may make recommendation to the parents regarding the child's placement or continued enrollment in the school. Headmistress's work closely with the families to support the children and to ensure the highest possible education standards while still allowing the children to have time to enjoy school and focus on an area that they are interested in.

Common work activities include:

• Hiring, training, supervision and evaluation of staff. Mentoring and assisting new teachers or assigning mentors to new teacher from existing staff.
• Developing the curriculum, overseeing teaching and evaluating the student, parent and teacher satisfaction with the educational process at the school.
• Coordinating ongoing teacher training and professional development.
• Overseeing the various staff and parent committees that operate within the school.
• Attending community events and representing the school during community or federal or state education meetings.
• Ensuring that all state and federal education requirements are being met for each student.
• Reporting to the board of directors or governing body of the school as required.
• Networking and promoting the school with the community to maintain enrollment and increase student numbers.

Check out all of the online K-12 education programs offered by a variety of schools offering programs online in K-12 education.

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