Thank you for your interest in a principalship at Chicago Public Schools!

The Chicago Public schools requires that all principal candidates be Eligible and a member of the Principal Candidate Pool in order to be offered a contract. This policy applies to all candidates, both internal and external, and ensures that schools have the most qualified principal candidates prepared to succeed from the first day on the job.

CPS has set minimum qualifications that principal candidates must demonstrate in order to be offered a contract. For more information about these minimum qualifications, please see the link below, CPS Principal Competencies and Success Factors. The process by which principal applicants demonstrate evidence of these qualifications is called the Eligibility process and is administered by the Office of Principal Preparation and Development. For more information about the Eligibility process, please see the link below Overview of the Principal Eligibility Process.

The next application period for Eligibility ends August 3, 2009 at 12:00 p.m. Those candidates granted transitional Eligibility until September 1, 2009 should apply for Eligibility during the Summer 2009 application period if they wish to maintain their Eligibility after that date.

Interested applicants for Eligibility and admission to the Principal Candidate Pool should electronically submit a completed Application for Principal Eligibility and Candidate Accomplishment Review to the Office of Principal Preparation and Development.  More detailed information about the Application and the Candidate Accomplishment Review are available in the links below along with required documents for submission.  The Application for Principal Eligibility and Candidate Accomplishment Review must be emailed to oppd@cps.k12.il.us no later than 12:00 PM on the application deadline date. Portfolios or paper submissions will not be accepted.

We look forward to working with applicants for Eligibility. Please attend one of our Information Sessions to learn more about Eligibility and becoming a principal in Chicago Public Schools. If you have any questions, please contact the Office of Principal Preparation and Development at (773) 553-1515.

 

 

 

Our Mission:

Effective leadership is at the core of improving and sustaining the quality of education for all Chicago Public Schools (CPS) students. This improvement is guided by the CPS theory of change which identifies the school as the unit of change and the principal as the leader of that change. The mission of the Office of Principal Preparation and Development is to develop and ensure high-quality principal leadership in every school. The scope of work involves four responsibilities:

1. Identify and develop aspiring principals to meet the challenges of a CPS principalship
2. Develop and support new principals
3. Provide continual development opportunities for experienced principals
4. Recruit principals in and out of Chicago.