Introduction

You will be participating in this course in order to gain an appreciation of the day-to-day responsibilities and skill requirements necessary to be a public school principal. Being a principal in today's public school system is a career that is filled with many ill-defined tasks. As a result, you will be assigned to an elementary, middle, or high school within Prince George's County to complete an internship to further develop your leadership and communication skills.

As a public school principal, you will have a variety of responsibilities including assuming autonomy and accountability for decisions, promoting teamwork, successfully managing challenges within the public school environment, motivating and retaining qualified teachers, and ensuring that teachers in your school meet both the state and U.S. Department of Education standards.

This course has been designed to assist you in developing the knowledge and skills essential to becoming a public school principal. Throughout your twelve month internship, you will develop your own goals and activities. Within the course, many resources have been provided in order to help you achieve your goals. Some of these resources include a mentor that will be assigned to you as well as other learners in the course. Also, web-based components such as, a discussion forum where you can ask questions to experienced principals will allow you to talk with other students across the county about this challenging career field.