The New Hampshire Department of Education (NHDOE) is responsible for ensuring a quality education for the state’s 167,357 preschool-12th grade students. Of the NHDOE’s total student population, 53,069 (32%) are in high school, 30,657 (18%) are in middle school, and 68,172 (41%) are in elementary school.
Thanks to skilled leadership at every level from the classroom to the school to the school administrative unit (SAU), New Hampshire’s educational leaders are doing a good job in what can optimistically be described as a challenging environment.
17.3% of New Hampshire students are enrolled in special education. 2.8% of students are English language learners. On average 12% of high school students don’t graduate.
While the challenges faced by New Hampshire’s educational leaders are daunting, they still manage to keep the state ranking relatively well both regionally and nationally. Only two states in New England can boast a higher high school graduation rate than New Hampshire, and the state is the second-best regionally for its eighth-grade math scores.
As an experienced teacher you know what kind of challenges face New Hampshire students, and you have a good idea how to improve the general state of education as a whole.
You want to learn more about administrative leadership at the school and district level. This starts with learning about your options for graduate study in educational leadership.
How to Become a Principal in New Hampshire – School-level Educational Leadership
To lead a school as a principal you’re going to need to add a superintendent endorsement onto your educator license.
Doing this requires having at least five years of experience as a teacher and meeting an education requirement. You also need to have references from three people who can attest to your leadership skills.
Throughout the application process you’ll work with the NHDOE Bureau of Credentialing and can submit application materials through your online myNHDOE account.
Fulfilling the Education Requirement
The NHDOE requires that you have at least a master’s degree. This must meet one of the following conditions:
- Be in the subject of educational leadership or a related NHDOE-approved area
- Be in the subject of education, provided you can demonstrate that you’re also competent in educational leadership through work experience
The degree you earn must cover the following subjects:
- Educational leadership
- Instructional programs and school culture
- School organizational and operational management
- Community and school relations
- Educational ethics, integrity, and fairness
- Cultural and social contexts of learning
- Development of district goals
In addition to graduate degrees in educational leadership, there are six NHDOE-approved programs offered by New Hampshire schools that will fulfill this requirement. These include degree programs like:
- M.Ed in Educational Leadership
- Graduate Certificate in Educational Leadership
- M.Ed in Education Administration
- Ed.S in Administration and Supervision
School Principal Salary and Jobs in New Hampshire
Every year the NHDOE publishes a report on the salaries of principals. For the 2022-2023 school year it details a total of 372 principals employed throughout the state. That year their average salary was $105,821, excluding charter schools.
The schools with the highest principal salaries were:
- Concord High School – $153,984
- Plymouth Regional High School – $150,000
- Rundlett Middle School in Concord – $145,430
- Souhegan Coop High School – $143,222
- Rivendell Academy in Orford – $139,500
- Winnacunnet High School in Hampton – $137,110
- Ross A. Lurgio Middle School in Bedford – $137,104
- Bedford High School – $136,990
- Exeter High School – $135,867
- Oyster River High School in Durham – $135,200
256 principals (69%) made at least $100,000 during this period. 65 principals (17%) earned at least $120,000. 40 principals (11%) earned less than $90,000.
11 schools in the Contoocook Valley SAU failed to submit data on their principals for this period.
How to Become a Superintendent in New Hampshire – District-Level Educational Leadership
When you’re ready to advance your career to SAU-level leadership, it’s time to add a superintendent endorsement onto your license.
To qualify for this endorsement you need three references who will attest to your leadership abilities, three years of education administrator experience in a K-12 setting, and to meet specific education requirements.
Throughout the application process you’ll work with the NHDOE Bureau of Credentialing and can submit application materials through your online myNHDOE account.
Fulfilling the Educational Requirement
To qualify to add the superintendent endorsement to your current license you need to complete an NHDOE-approved educational administration program at any of the following levels:
- Certificate of advanced graduate studies (CAGS)
- Educational specialist
- Doctoral
Currently there are three NHDOE-approved superintendent programs in the state.
Your education and work experience should prepare you to be competent in the following areas:
- Awareness of organizational goals, mission, and vision
- District culture and instructional programs
- District management
- School and district community engagement
- Ethics and integrity
- Cultural and social contexts
Superintendent Salary and Jobs in New Hampshire
Every year the NHDOE publishes salary figures for all its superintendents. According to its statistics, during the 2022-2023 school year a total of 97 superintendents were employed throughout the state.
The average superintendent salary that year was $130,672. The SAUs offering the highest superintendent salaries were:
- Oyster River – $192,651
- Hanover – $178,627
- Hollis-Brookline – $178,000
- Manchester – $177,100
- Concord – $175,510
- Portsmouth – $172,500
- Nashua – $172,500
- Kearsarge – $170,661
- Winnacunnet – $170,009
- Keene – $168,292
Altogether 25 SAUs had superintendents earning $150,000 or more. 14 SAUs paid their superintendents below $100,000.
The SAUs with the highest enrollment were:
- Manchester – 12,016 students
- Nashua – 9,913 students
- Exeter – 4,421 students
- Bedford – 4,159 students
- Londonderry – 4,093 students
The average SAU enrollment that year was 1,593. 47 SAUs had enrollment below 1,000, and 26 had enrollment above 2,000. Superintendent salary data was not submitted from three SAUs for the 2022-2023 period: Londonderry, Middleton, and Strafford.
Educational Leadership Degree Options in New Hampshire: Doctorate and Master’s in Educational Leadership
We’ve sorted through all the graduate educational leadership programs in the state and nation along metrics like cost, private non-profit status, online course offerings, and on-campus course offerings. When you’re ready to advance your career to the leadership-level in New Hampshire you need a graduate degree in educational leadership. The sooner you earn this, the sooner you can start advancing your career to your full potential.
Franklin Pierce University
College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences
Accreditation: NECHE
Campus
M.Ed in Educational Leadership
New England College
Graduate and Professional Studies
Accreditation: NECHE
Online
M.Ed in Educational Leadership
Also offers:
Ed.D in Educational Leadership
(MS, Ed.D) in Higher Education Administration
Ed.D in Pk-12 Leadership
Certificate of Advanced Graduate Study in Educational Leadership
Rivier University
Department of Education and Counseling
Accreditation: NECHE
Campus
M.Ed in Education Administration
Also offers:
Ed.D in Leadership and Learning
Southern New Hampshire University
Accreditation: NECHE
Online
M.Ed in Curriculum and Instruction
- Concentration: Educational Leadership
Also offers:
MS in Higher Education Administration
2021 US Bureau of Labor Statistics salary figures for education administrators, kindergarten through secondary. Job growth projections from the US Department of Labor-sponsored resource, Projections Central. Figures are based on state data, not school-specific information. Conditions in your area may vary. Data accessed March 2023.