{"id":5780,"date":"2026-02-19T12:22:11","date_gmt":"2026-02-19T20:22:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/edtechuvic.ca\/edci336\/2026\/02\/19\/how-to-succeed-as-an-early-career-teacher-principals-vps-and-experienced-teachers\/"},"modified":"2026-02-19T12:22:11","modified_gmt":"2026-02-19T20:22:11","slug":"how-to-succeed-as-an-early-career-teacher-principals-vps-and-experienced-teachers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/edtechuvic.ca\/edci336\/2026\/02\/19\/how-to-succeed-as-an-early-career-teacher-principals-vps-and-experienced-teachers\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Succeed as an Early-Career Teacher: Principals, VPs, and Experienced Teachers"},"content":{"rendered":"

Today, I\u2019ve dived into what principals and vice-principals do, and investigated the professional relationships that exist between new teachers and principals, as well as the relationships between new and experienced teachers.<\/p>\n

Who are principals and vice-principals?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Principals and VPs are educational leaders, through and through. If you\u2019ve ever spoken to one, you\u2019d (hopefully) get the sense that they know what\u2019s going on in their school and know how to handle any issues that may arise. If you haven\u2019t had this opportunity, you can infer that they are educational leaders through ideal candidate descriptions and job requirements, such as these<\/a>. As you can tell if you opened that link, they have extensive education and experience in leadership domains.<\/p>\n

What do principals and vice-principals do?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Recollecting from my first inquiry post, the principal and VP are instructional leaders and managers of the school whose responsibilities include teacher supervision and evaluation, guidance of school culture, instructional leadership, safety and discipline coordination, and parent communication. But I wanted to do a slightly deeper dive.<\/p>\n

While it initially proved more difficult than I thought it would to find an article or source that describes what BC principals and VPs do, this resource<\/a> from the BC Principals\u2019 and Vice Principals\u2019 Association was helpful as it provides 8 domains of responsibility \u2013 leadership development, instructional leadership, school vision, curriculum implementation, resource management, community relations, respectful relationships, and safe and inclusive schools \u2013 alongside descriptions for each.<\/p>\n

What are principals and vice-principals relationship to new teachers?<\/strong><\/p>\n

While it is important to note that the district in which you are seeking employment technically hires you, when you apply for a specific job posting, the principal interviews applicants and can give their recommendation of who they\u2019d like hired to the district, which is almost always followed. Also of note, they can request specific TTOCs. Therefore, it is beneficial for new teachers to build positive relationships with their principals and VPs (and all other colleagues, of course).<\/p>\n

What is the relationship between experienced teachers and new teachers?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Like principals, experienced teachers can request specific TTOCs, so it is wise to invest in your relationships with your experienced colleagues. Alongside this, experienced teachers are often open to mentoring or helping those newer to the profession. My partner teacher in Link2Practice last term was an experienced educator, and he consistently welcomed questions and advice from newer colleagues who would wander their way into his classroom at lunchtime like clockwork. Here is a list of ways he helped out:<\/p>\n