Chicago Public Schools / Thomas a Edison Reg Gifted CT / Principal
Job-title file
Lead staff and operations — set priorities, allocate resources, and oversee program delivery.
1 employees hold this title in Thomas a Edison Reg Gifted CT. Median total compensation for the role is $234,466, above the department median of $119,604.
Compared with the local labor market
Across all employers in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN area, the median wage for Education Administrators, Kindergarten through Secondary — about 11,050 people — is $128,780. Thomas a Edison Reg Gifted CT pays a median base salary of $183,464 for this role, 42% above that figure — above the 90th percentile of local pay for the occupation.
The bar is the range of annual wages for Education Administrators, Kindergarten through Secondary across every employer in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN area, from the 10th to the 90th percentile, with the middle 50% highlighted. The marker shows Thomas a Edison Reg Gifted CT’s median base salary for this role. Both figures are base pay only.
And across the country
Nationwide, the median wage for Education Administrators, Kindergarten through Secondary — about 328,330 people — is $105,870. Thomas a Edison Reg Gifted CT’s median base salary is 73% above that national figure, above the 90th percentile of pay for the occupation nationally.
Local and national wages differ for reasons beyond how well a job pays — cost of living, the mix of employers, and local demand for the occupation all move the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN range relative to the national one.
Median total compensation for this role at Thomas a Edison Reg Gifted CT is $234,466, which includes overtime and employer-paid benefits. The benchmark above excludes both, so total compensation is deliberately not compared against it.
Benchmark: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2025). BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) covers all employers in the area — private, non-profit, and government alike — so this is a comparison against the whole local labor market for the occupation, not against private-sector pay. OEWS wages are straight-time pay and exclude overtime, shift differentials, and employer-paid benefits, so the government figure shown here is base pay on the same basis. Total compensation is not comparable to it. Job titles are matched to the closest standard occupation, so the comparison is between similar work rather than an identical job classification.
Compare departments
Principal is held in 477 Chicago Public Schools departments. In Thomas a Edison Reg Gifted CT, the median of $234,466 ranks #125 of 477.
Median total compensation for the Principal role in other Chicago Public Schoolsdepartments (highest first). Each bar links to that department’s page for this role.
Compare jurisdictions
This role is reported in 7 jurisdictions. In Chicago Public Schools, the median of $223,911 ranks #1 of 7. See Principal across all of Chicago Public Schools →
Median total compensation for comparable Principalroles in other jurisdictions. Titles are matched by normalized name across sources, not identical job classification, and pay is not cost-of-living adjusted. Each bar links to that jurisdiction’s page for the role.
Record list
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Principal/Thomas a Edison Reg Gifted CT
Source-specific fields
Karen Valentine works as a Principal for Thomas a Edison Reg Gifted CT. Karen earned $234,466 in 2026.