Principal and Vice-Principal Promotion Process

• Upholding Human Rights, Safety & Well-being
• Providing Equitable Quality Education
• Collaborating with Students, Families and Communities
• Building a Sustainable Education System
• Reinforcing Indigenous Educational Wellness & Reconciliation

Applications must be submitted to Apply to Education (ATE).  

Please contact [email protected] should you have any questions.

Applications must include:

1. Application Package: Interested Candidates are required to submit the following documentation as part of their application package:
   • Cover letter (one-page maximum)
   • Resume (three-page maximum)
   • Leadership Reflection Document (two-page maximum )
   • References - contact information of three professional references, of which one may be a community reference. We encourage you to include your current supervisor (please add your references to your profile in Apply to Education)
   • Permission to contact these references as part of the application process.

Leadership Reflection:

Candidates are asked to provide a written response to the following question which demonstrates their lived leadership experiences in support of HWDSB Strategic Priorities as outlined in the Multi-Year Strategic Plan (2023-2028). This submission is to be no longer than two pages.​

For Principal applicants: “Share an experience where you had to simultaneously uphold human rights, ensure well-being, and provide equitable education. How did you balance these priorities, and what did this experience teach you about complex decision-making in educational leadership? What was the impact of your leadership actions and how will this influence your leadership as a principal?”​​

For Vice Principal applicants: “Can you discuss a challenging scenario where you had to address issues of inequity and student well-being? How did you navigate this situation, and what did it teach you about balancing diverse needs in a school environment? What was the impact of your leadership actions and how will this influence your leadership as a vice principal?”

Additional Details:

We invite innovative, collaborative, and change-focused applications from teachers and system leaders. We strive to hire staff with a demonstrated practice of human rights, anti-racist anti-oppressive (ARAO) approaches to leadership. We encourage applications from leaders who maintain the competency to confront and dismantle all forms of oppression to ensure students who are currently and historically underserved in our system excel.

All interested internal and external candidates are encouraged to attend the initial prep session to learn more about HWDSB, our Strategic Plan, our Equity Action Plan and our promotion process. We look forward to welcoming you. Further sessions will be planned throughout the year as the application process is open all year for all four positions.

HWDSB is committed to learning, equity, engagement, and innovation. HWDSB is guided by a mission to empower students to learn and grow to their full potential in a diverse world. The Board proudly serves a community of approximately 50,000 students in the City of Hamilton and the surrounding area Students engage in learning across 84 elementary schools, 13 secondary schools and 1 Adult Learning Centre. Our learners are supported by approximately 8,500 staff members.

Employment Equity Statement

HWDSB is committed to equity in employment. We are committed to fair and equitable hiring practices that allow us to hire qualified staff who reflect the diversity of the community we serve, who will foster the success and well-being of our students, who are lifelong learners who demonstrate a commitment to equity and inclusion in the classroom.

HWDSB seeks candidates who share our commitment to equity and inclusion, and who will contribute to the vision of co-creating inclusive and equitable outcomes for all students. HWDSB especially invites and welcomes applications from underrepresented communities including:

• Indigenous Peoples (e.g. First Nations, Métis and Inuit peoples)
• Members of groups that commonly experience discrimination due to race, ancestry, colour, religion and/or spiritual beliefs, or place of origin; (e.g. Black and racialized communities, immigrant communities, etc.)
• Persons with visible and/or invisible (physical and/or mental) disabilities;
• Persons who identify as women; and
• Persons of marginalized sexual orientations, gender identities, and gender (e.g. Two Spirit and LGBTQIA+)

As part of HWDSB’s commitment to employment equity and removing barriers to groups that have faced and continue to face barriers in employment, we invite all applicants to complete an Applicant Self-Identification Questions that collects identity-based information. The information collected on this form is used to monitor HWDSB’s progress toward our equity goals including our commitment to diversity in HWDSB recruitment and hiring practices. The voluntary question(s) is on the Apply to Education application page for this position.

We are committed to the security and confidentiality of information under our control, and to the protection of privacy with respect to personal and confidential information that is collected, used, disclosed and retained in the system (Policy 1.6 – Privacy). Information on this form is collected pursuant to Ontario’s Education Equity Action Plan (Ministry of Education) and in accordance with the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (MFIPPA). Access to this form is restricted to specific individuals in Human Resources. The Research and Analytics with general records retention principles.

If you prefer not to answer any of the questions, you can select “prefer not to answer”. This in no way affects your application or the applicant selection process. If you have questions or concerns about this form, please Department will use aggregate data from all the forms (not individual data) for internal reporting. Their access and use of the data is governed by MFIPPA and ethical research practices. Applicant Self-Identification Forms will be maintained in the Human Resources job competition file and securely destroyed 1 year after the job posting for candidates not selected for an interview and 6 years after the job posting for candidates interviewed

HWDSB is committed to providing accommodation throughout the recruitment and selection process, based on any human rights protected grounds. If you require accommodation, please notify us in advance and we will work with you to meet your needs.

Land Acknowledgement

HWDSB is located on ancestral Anishinaabe and Haudenosaunee Confederacy land as determined by the Dish with One Spoon treaty. The Dish with One Spoon wampum belt represents the treaty relationship between the Haudenosaunee Confederacy and Anishinaabe with respect to sharing the land and resources thereon. The intent of this agreement is for all nations sharing this territory to do so responsibly, respectfully and sustainably in perpetuity. We respect the longstanding relationships with the local Indigenous communities, the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation and the Six Nations of the Grand River.

Do you have a question about the promotion process? Please email [email protected]