You’re a force to be reckoned with. You’re an Ohio educator, and you’re part of massive system of 3,500 public schools, nearly 1.7 PreK-12 students, and 240,000 educators. Your dedication to Ohio’s public school system and the children who make it the sixth largest in the nation has been honed in the classroom. Fact it, the classroom is where your real love of education was born. Sure, it hasn’t been without its challenges, but there’s nowhere else you’d have rather been than in the trenches —nurturing, guiding, and preparing Ohio’s children to take on the world.
But your career plans don’t end in the classroom, and now you’re ready to take the plunge and transition into leadership and administration. It’s your opportunity to take what you’ve learned as an educator and begin building on it in new and exciting ways.
Adding a master’s, educational specialist, or doctoral degree to your resume is one of the best ways to prepare for a move into educational leadership and administration and meet the requirements for a Ohio professional principal or superintendent license. Whether you want to become a principal or a superintendent, now is the time to begin exploring the degree that will get you where you want to be.
How to Become a Principal in Ohio – School-level Educational Leadership
The move from educator to principal in Ohio requires earning a Professional Administrator – Principal license through the Ohio Department of Education.
You’ll need to have a Standard or Professional Teaching license (or Professional Pupil Services license) and at least two years of successful teaching experience to become a principal in Ohio.
Once you’ve met these requirements, you’ll be ready to start taking the steps to become a school principal in Ohio.
Step 1. Earn a Minimum of a Master’s Degree and Complete an Approved Principal Preparation Program
Now is the time to advance your bachelor’s degree and earn a master’s, educational specialist, or doctorate degree in educational leadership or administration that’s housed within an Ohio Department of Education-approved principal preparation program.
These programs are often designed as:
- MEd in Educational Leadership – Principal’s license
- EdS in Educational Leadership
- MSEd in Educational Administration
- MAEd in Educational Leadership
- MEd in Principalship
- EdD in Educational Administration
If you already hold a master’s degree, you’ll find a nice selection of colleges and universities that offer post-master’s certificate programs that include all of the necessary coursework and practical experiences to earn an Ohio principal license. These programs include about 24-30 semester hours’ worth of courses and practical experiences and are often called principal licensure programs, principal licensure endorsement programs, and principal licensure preparation programs. Most require about three years of teaching experience under an Ohio standard or professional teaching license for admission.
Many of these programs also offer students the option of transferring the credits they earned through one of these post-master’s certificate programs to an educational specialist (EdS) or doctorate (EdD) degree.
Whichever type of graduate program you choose to complete, you’ll need a recommendation from the dean or head of teacher education upon completion to qualify for a Professional Administrator – Principal license in Ohio.
Step 2. Take and Pass the Ohio Assessment for Educators Licensure Exam in Educational Leadership
You’ll need to take and pass the Educational Leadership (#015) licensure exam through the Ohio Assessment for Educators. This exam covers the following topics:
- Visionary and Inclusive Leadership
- Student Leading
- Systems for Capacity Building
- Resource Management and Educational Law
About 60 percent of the exam are multiple-choice questions, although there are also three focused constructed-response assignments and one case study assignment.
You’ll have the option of taking this exam either online or at a testing center near you.
Step 3. Apply for a Professional Administrator – Principal License
Ohio is unique in that it licenses principals according to grade level:
- Grades PreK-6: For those with an early childhood, middle childhood, multi-age, or intervention specialist license
- Grades 4-9: For those with a middle childhood, multi-age, adolescence to young adult, intervention specialist, or career technical license
- Grades 5-12: For those with a middle childhood, multi-age, intervention specialist, adolescence to young adult, or career technical license
You must apply for a Professional Administrator – Principal license in the area where you have the two years of successful teaching experience under a Standard or Professional Teaching license.
You’ll access your OH|ID account to apply and use the correct code for the Professional Administrator – Principal license you’re applying 280100 (P-6), 280200 (4-9), or 280300 (5-12).
Step 4. Maintain Your Professional Administrator – Principal License
Your Ohio Professional Administrator – Principal license is valid for five years and is renewed upon the successful completion of at least one of the following (or a combination of coursework and CEUs):
- Six semester hours of coursework related to your area of licensure; OR
- 18 continuing education units (CEUs); OR
- Other equivalent activities related to your area of licensure as approved by the Local Professional Development Committee of the employing school, district, or agency
School Principal Salary and Jobs in Ohio
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), principals in Ohio earned a median salary of $97,320 as of May 2021, while some of the highest paid earned about $100,400 during this time.
Principals in the Dayton metro area earned one of the highest median salaries, at $98,740, followed closely by:
- Akron: $98,160
- Cincinnati: $97,430
- Cleveland: $97,940
- Columbus: $98,340
Some of the highest paid principals in Ohio were located in the Dayton and Akron metro areas, where they earned about $102,100 and $101,880, respectively.
How to Become a Superintendent in Ohio – District-Level Educational Leadership
Becoming a superintendent in Ohio requires earning a Professional Administrator – Superintendent License through the Ohio Department of Education.
You’ll need to hold a Professional Administrator (either Principal or Administrative Specialist) license and have at least three years of successful experience in the position where you hold your license to qualify to become a superintendent in Ohio.
Once you meet these requirements, you can begin taking the steps to become a superintendent in Ohio.
Step 1. Complete an Approved Preparation Program
You already hold, at a minimum, a master’s degree as a principal or administrative specialist. Now it’s time to consider completing an approved superintendent preparation program that’s housed within an educational specialist or doctorate degree in leadership or administration.
These degrees are often designed as:
- EdS in Educational Administration and Supervision
- EdS – Superintendent licensure
- EdD in Educational Administration
- PhD in Educational Leadership
- EdD in Educational Leadership
A number of Ohio colleges and universities also offer post-master’s superintendent licensure programs that include about 12 months of study (coursework and field study) and all of the necessary components of an approved superintendent preparation program. It’s commonplace for these programs to require at least three years of successful leadership experience for admission.
Whichever type of graduate program you choose to complete, you’ll need a recommendation from the dean or head of teacher education upon completion to qualify for a Professional Administrator – Superintendent license in Ohio.
Step 2. Apply for and Maintain Your Professional Administrator – Superintendent License
You’ll apply your Professional Administrator – Superintendent license through your OH|ID account.
Your Ohio Professional Administrator – Superintendent license is valid for five years and is renewed upon the successful completion of at least one of the following (or a combination of coursework and CEUs):
- Six semester hours of coursework related to your area of licensure; OR
- 18 continuing education units (CEUs); OR
- Other equivalent activities related to your area of licensure as approved by the Local Professional Development Committee of the employing school, district, or agency
Superintendent Salary and Jobs in Ohio
According to the BLS, Ohio’s superintendents earned about $125,300 as of May 2021. Superintendents in the Dayton metro area earned one of the highest salaries, at $127,820, followed by those in the Cleveland metro area, where they earned about $126,860.
Educational Leadership Degree Options in Ohio: Doctorate and Master’s in Educational Leadership
The number of Ohio’s principal and superintendent jobs is projected to rise steadily in the coming years, reaching about 1,120 by 2030 – that’s a nearly 10% increase from 2020.
In the years leading up to 2030, the state expects to see about 90 annual job openings among educational administrators due to a blend of new job growth, retirements, and natural job turnover.
A master’s, educational specialist, or doctorate degree may be exactly what you need to take your career to the next level and prepare to become an Ohio principal or superintendent. Fortunately, there’s no shortage of MEd, MS, MA, EdS, and EdD programs throughout the Buckeye State and beyond.
Many of these degree programs are offered in convenient and flexible online formats that allow you to earn your graduate degree while still maintaining your professional and personal commitments.
Ashland University
College of Education
Accreditation: HLC
Campus
M.Ed in Educational Leadership
- Concentration: Administrative Licensure
Also offers:
Building Principal license
Ed.D in Leadership Studies (traditional and executive tracks)
Baldwin Wallace University
College of Education and Health Sciences
Accreditation: HLC
Campus, online
MA.Ed
- Concentrations: School Leadership, Leadership in Technology for Teaching and Learning, and Leadership in Higher Education
Also offers:
Principal License option
Superintendent License option
Franciscan University of Steubenville
School of Professional Programs
Department of Education
Accreditation: HLC
Online
MS in Educational Administration
John Carroll University
Department of Education
Accreditation: HLC
Online, hybrid
M.Ed in Educational Leadership
Muskingum University
Department of Education
Accreditation: HLC
Campus
MA.Ed
- Concentrations: Teacher-Leader endorsement, Applied Leadership non-licensure option, Principal’s License, Administrative Specialist License
Also offers:
Superintendent License
Administrative Specialist License (School & Community Relations Educational Staff/Personnel Administration Curriculum, Instruction & Professional Development Career-Technical Education Pupil Services)
Notre Dame College
Education Division
Accreditation: HLC
Online
M.Ed in Educational Leadership
Ohio Dominican University
Adult and Continuing Education
Accreditation: HLC
Campus, online, hybrid
M.Ed in Educational Leadership
- Concentrations: Principal Licensure, Teacher Leader Endorsement
Also offers:
Teacher Leader endorsement
University of Dayton
School of Education and Health Sciences
Accreditation: HLC
Campus, online
MSE
- Concentrations: Educational Leadership (option for Principal Licensure), Early Childhood Leadership and Advocacy, Leadership for Educational Systems
Also offers:
Ed.D. in Leadership for Organizations
Ed.S in Educational Leadership
MSE in Teacher as Leader
Teacher Leader Preperation Certificate
Teacher Leader Preparation Endorsement
MSE in Higher Education and Student Affairs
University of Mount Union
Accreditation: HLC
Online
M.Ed
- Concentrations: Educational Leadership, Principal Licensure
Xavier University
College of Professional Sciences
Accreditation: HLC
Campus, online, hybrid
M.Ed in Educational Administration
- Concentrations: Principal or Administrative Specialist License Program
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.