Learn How to Become a Principal, Superintendent, or Other Administrator in Iowa with a Doctorate or Master’s in Educational Leadership

The current state of Iowa’s K-12 education is relatively good, but there is always room for improvement.

As of fiscal year 2024 Iowa’s Department of Education is slated to get $3.85 billion in funding. That will go towards supporting its approximately 486,476 students enrolled in public K-12 schools, and represents yet another increase in funding compared with previous years.

Iowa’s high school graduation rate has stayed relatively constant over the past decade. In 2022 it was 89.9%, the year before it was 90.2%, and a decade ago it was 89.7%. Iowa’s rate is better than all its neighboring states.

Daily attendance rates by the end of the 2022 school year were 91.8% for K-12th graders. The percentage of students who are eligible for free or reduced lunches fell by a percentage point, but for the school year ending in 2022 it still encompassed nearly 41% or all students.

Nearly half of all high school seniors took the ACT this past year, an increase of two percent over the previous year, however that number is still far from what school and state leaders had hoped for.

When it comes to teacher retention, 88% of full-time educators stayed on the payroll between 2021 and 2022. That’s a B+.

To many these may seem like dry numbers. But as an experienced teacher, you see the faces behind the statistics.

You’ve been in the classroom, so you know all about those 10% of kids who struggled to graduate. You know colleagues who’ve left the profession because they didn’t feel enough administrative support.

And over the time you’ve spent in the classroom you’ve made observations, had conversations, laughed, and cried about the way things are. Now the leadership quality has twinkled in your eye and you’re thinking about progressing your career onward into educational administration.

At this point it’s time to start thinking about a graduate degree in a field like educational leadership, and to start seriously pondering what it would take to move into positions like principal or even district superintendent.

How to Become a Principal in Iowa – School-level Educational Leadership

As a teacher you can affect the lives of all the students in your classroom. As a principal you can affect all the students in your school. You’ve done the math –and the personal reflecting– to conclude that serving as a principal is right for you.

You’ve already put in some time as a teacher. With three years of experience plus a valid Iowa teaching license you can start down the path towards becoming a principal.

As an experienced teacher you’re already familiar with the typical progression in this field: you start by earning an Initial Administrator License (IAL), onto which you can add a principal endorsement. And then after a year you can convert this into a Professional Administrator License (PAL) with a principal endorsement.

As you complete the licensure and endorsement process, you’ll be working with the Iowa Board of Educational Examiners (BOEE).

Step 1. Complete Qualifying Education – Earn at Least a Master’s Degree

To earn an Initial Administrator License (IAL) with a principal endorsement, you must have a master’s degree. Furthermore, you must complete an approved graduate education program that specifically covers the PK-12 principal endorsement. There are currently 10 schools in Iowa that offer this endorsement program.

Schools will typically combine their PK-12 principal endorsement preparation program together with graduate degree programs resulting in credentials like: