The school principal needs to work actively to define the broad curriculum goals of the school, according to Gene Bottoms of The Wallace Foundation, a philanthropy that benefits disadvantaged school children. Principals must understand the big picture of the students' learning experience, ensuring that teachers cover core subjects that include math, reading, science and social studies. Thus, offering a school curriculum that prepares students for higher education and beyond is part of the principal's job responsibilities.
Principals are first seen as the primary administrator in the school. In this role, both teachers and students expect the principal to serve a supervisory role, overseeing budgets, dealing with student disciplinary issues, representing the school in the community and hiring teachers. Often, the role as a curriculum leader is pushed aside for these administrative tasks. Nonetheless, effective principals focus on developing an enriching curriculum.
Curriculum design is not the responsibility of the principal alone, however. Principals collaborate with their faculty to design a curriculum that is realistic and effective. Principals can benefit from the knowledge of teachers who are in the classroom day in and day out and understand what core subjects students need to master. A good principal considers the ideas of his faculty when designing a curriculum.
Principals are also responsible for regularly assessing the curriculum once it has been implemented. They can do this every quarter, semester or academic year. Assessment comes in many forms. Principals might sit in on classes to gauge how well the teacher is presenting the material and students are absorbing it. Students' performance in the classroom and on standardized tests is another way to assess the efficacy of a curriculum. Armed with this information, principals can revise the curriculum as needed.