Principal Baruti Kafele

Biography

Principal Kafele is known to say and write that “the assistant principalship is the most misunderstood and underutilized position in education!” In far too many cases, assistant principals are relegated to doing one hundred percent of the discipline work along with cafeteria duty and bus duty, etc. If these individuals supervise staff, children will invariably suffer due to minimal time for true clinical supervision of teachers. In this half or full day workshop or keynote address, Principal Kafele asks superintendents, assistant superintendents and principals, “Is your leadership preparing your assistant principals for the principalship?” In other words, is the leadership, guidance and direction from superiors making assistant principals effective instructional leaders who will be fully prepared to one day effectively lead their own schools instructionally? Principal Kafele will provide attendees with an abundance of strategies toward maximizing the utilization of their assistant principals.

In far too many schools across the U.S. – particularly urban schools, the assistant principals are relegated to the role of “disciplinarian” or “Dean of Students.” They spend entire school days disciplining and suspending instead of spending the bulk of their days coaching and observing instruction as instructional leaders must do. Rooted in Principal Kafele's book, The ASSISTANT Principal 50, this high-energy, highly interactive half or full-day workshop or high-energy keynote address asks assistant principals the overarching question, "What is your value to your school academically?" It will provide assistant principals with the information they need in order to function as true school instructional leaders and coaches. Principal Kafele contends that far too many assistant principals are ill-prepared to one day step into the role of the principalship because they simply have not been exposed to functioning as principals in general and instructional leaders in particular. This presentation will provide assistant principals with the “tools” they need in order to approach their current positions beyond disciplinarians and cafeteria duty. They will be better prepared to assist the principal with "moving the academic needle" as the #2 instructional leaders and coaches in their buildings. This presentation is also ideal for principals, assistant superintendents and superintendents toward "reimagining" the role of the assistant principal.

Based on Principal Kafele’s book, The ASPIRING Principal 50: Critical Questions for New and Future School Leaders, Principal Kafele asserts that in schools across America, there are thousands of classroom teachers, assistant principals and counselors who aspire to one day become principals. The problem is that many of them do not have the necessary access to seasoned and effective school leaders (other than their own) who can share the ins and outs of school leadership toward helping them to determine if this is what they truly want to do. Additionally, there are a plethora of new principals across America who were successful assistant principals but learned quickly that being the principal is a completely different world from the assistant principalship. This session was designed for aspiring administrators, assistant principals and new principals. It fills the void of those heart-to-heart conversations with seasoned principals. It provides new, aspiring and assistant principals with a wealth of information to consider toward becoming effective school leaders. This workshop (or series of workshops) is particularly useful as a compliment to an existing district leadership development program.

In this empowering keynote address or half / full day workshop, Principal Kafele takes school board members on an in depth, self-reflective, journey that will force them to view with a critical eye who they are as members of their local boards of education, which will include the intentionality behind all aspects of their work. Principal Kafele will challenge school board members to look deeply within themselves for greater meaning and understanding of their own personal value and worth to their boards and districts. Additionally, toward learning what makes a school successful, Principal Kafele will take school board members on a journey of the role of school leadership toward understanding the challenges and complexities of school effectiveness through the lens of a principal. A must presentation for all school board members, regardless of the number of years of service.

• Just One Principal Can Completely Alter the Trajectory of a Child
• Just One Elementary School Principal Can Completely Alter the Trajectory of an Entire School Community
• Just One Middle School Principal Can Completely Alter the Trajectory of an Entire School Community
• Just One High School Principal Can Completely Alter the Trajectory of an Entire School Community
• Finding Discomfort Within Your Comfort

Principal Kafele provides one-to-one school leadership consulting for principals and assistant principals. This is 100% on-site consulting during the school day. Virtual meetings can occur when applicable, but for the best experience, Principal Kafele's one to one consulting occurs while school is in session. Areas of focus include but are no limited to the following broad categories:

Attitude of the Leader
Instructional Leadership
Assistant Principal Development
Aspiring Administrator Development
Building Collegial Relationships
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
Social Justice Education
School and Classroom Climate and Culture
School and Classroom Branding
Planning, Organization and Time Management
Accountability and Time Management
Professional Learning for the Leadership
Professional Learning for Staff
Parental and Community Engagement

The discussion on gaps in student achievement continue to be one of the most important discussions in education today; particularly as it relates to the underachievement of children of color. Equally challenging for educators is the continued lack of student motivation, undesirable student behaviors and the overall underachievement of at-risk student populations across racial and ethnic lines. In this highly engaging, thought-provoking workshop, Principal Kafele will assert that the greatest difficulty to closing the achievement gap is the overwhelming assumption that the achievement gap is in fact, the problem. He says that the achievement gap is a direct consequence of the failure to adequately address what he coined, the Attitude Gap (the gap between those students who have the will to achieve excellence and those who do not) that continues to persist in American classrooms. He will share with teachers how to close the Attitude Gap in their classrooms through a classroom climate / culture framework comprised of the following five strands: Environment for Learning, Attitude toward Students, Relationship with Students, Compassion for Students and Relevance in Instruction.

We have known for quite some time that a "one size fits all" approach to classroom instruction and relationship building simply doesn't work. The "cookie cutter" approach is easy to plan and easy to deliver but virtually impossible for many of the students in the classroom to learn from. Why? Because in a classroom of students, there's potentially a multiplicity of levels and places academically, socially and emotionally that the students occupy. This session is therefore designed to assist teachers toward meeting their students wherever they are and AS THEY ARE academically, socially and emotionally in their classrooms.

THE topic in education today is the topic of EQUITY. At its core, equity means, "meeting youngsters where they are, as they are."  Principal Kafele argues that this requires a teacher who possess an “EQUITY MINDSET.” He asserts that if equity is all about meeting the individual needs of all of the learners in the classroom, “equity can’t solely be something THAT YOU DO.” He states emphatically that “equity must additionally be WHO YOU ARE.”

As a keynote address, Principal Kafele will deliver an inspiring and empowering message centered around developing an "equity mindset" toward ensuring the academic, social and emotional growth and development of all the learners in the classroom.

As a half or full day workshop (or series of workshops), Principal Kafele will assist the client with selecting the most appropriate of the following six strands for your school or district based upon need and length of session(s) as follows:

I. Equity and the Reality of My Classroom
One of the most important questions one can ask oneself regarding equity is, "What is equity and does equity abound in my classroom?" It's an important consideration for each and every classroom teacher. In this empowering, highly engaging strand, Principal Kafele will lead a discussion on what equity is and what it looks like, sounds like and feels like when implemented with fidelity in the classroom.

II. Equity or Equality? What's the Difference?
In this empowering, highly engaging strand, Principal Kafele breaks down the difference between an “equity mindset teacher” and an “equality mindset teacher” while simultaneous comparing and contrasting an “equity mindset classroom” from an “equality mindset classroom.”

III. Equity and the Individuality of the Learners
In this empowering, highly engaging strand, Principal Kafele makes the case that the individuality of each student matters. He will provide attendees with strategies toward ensuring that student individuality, student cultural identity and student “voice” play prominent roles within their schools and classrooms.

IV. Equity and Being a Culturally Responsive Practitioner
In this empowering, highly engaging strand, Principal Kafele will provide attendees with strategies toward being culturally-responsive practitioners with a particular emphasis being placed on what students “see, hear, feel and experience” daily in their classrooms. He will assist attendees toward developing the necessary cultural competence toward engaging productively with diverse learners.

V. Equity and Culturally-Relevant Pedagogy
In this empowering, highly engaging strand, Principal Kafele will discuss the significance of culturally-relevant teaching and learning in a diverse student learning environment. He will make the case that toward making learning fun, stimulating and engaging, it must be relatable where students are afforded the opportunity of “seeing themselves” in the learning toward increasing the probability that they will see the relevance of what is being taught toward their lives.

VI. Equity and Me
In this empowering, highly engaging strand, Principal Kafele will focus on the actions of the teacher in areas including but not limited to, “keeping the playing field level,” confronting implicit biases that may exist, and eradicating disproportionality. This session is all about ensuring that attendees always view their students and their practice through an “equity lens.”

For the past ten years, the whole idea of equity in the classroom has evolved to unimaginable proportions…which is a good thing. One of the challenges however is the interpretation of what equity in the classroom actually is. There are a ton of interpretations and definitions out there. Rooted in Principal Kafele’s 34 years in education, he decided in 2020 to write The Equity & Social Justice Education 50 toward lending his voice to the discussion of what equity is and what it is not in America’s classrooms. Principal Kafele contends that any discussion, training, writing etc. on equity must contain, at a minimum, his “Three Equity Nonnegotiables” which are:

Student Individuality - Visible or Invisible?
What is it about my role as an “Equity-Mindset Teacher” that the individuality of EACH of my learners (academically, socially and emotionally) is acknowledged, appreciated, respected and visible?

Student Cultural Identity - Accentuated or Denied?
What is it about my role as an “Equity-Mindset Teacher” that the cultural / racial identity of EACH of my learners is acknowledged, appreciated, respected and accentuated?

Student “Voice” - Distinct or Obscure?
What is it about my role as an “Equity-Mindset Teacher” that the “voice” of EACH of my learners is acknowledged, appreciated, respected and distinct?

In this high-energy keynote address or highly-engaging workshop, Principal Kafele will make the case that if true equity is to occur for EACH of the learners in the classroom, student individuality, student cultural identity and student “voice” matter exponentially.

One of the current hot topics in education is "Diversity, Equity & Inclusion." This highly engaging, self-reflective session focuses on the classroom relative to issues of diversity, equity and inclusion. It challenges teachers to look within themselves relative to how they see, treat and relate with their students in these three crucial areas. It challenges teachers to confront whatever biases they may bring to their own practices which may be implicit or explicit. It argues that high-performance is an impossibility in school learning environments where the recognition of diversity coupled with equitable and inclusionary practices fail to exist. Principal Kafele will share strategies toward creating and sustaining equity and inclusion in a diverse student learning environment which will be inclusive of important reflections around race and cultural competence.

It's been over 60 years since the landmark Brown vs. the Board of Education Supreme Court decision back in 1954, but over 60 years later, the masses of Black children continue to find themselves on the wrong side of the "achievement gap," while simultaneously experiencing the highest rates of disciplinary referrals, suspensions and expulsions. Dramatic, significant and immediate change must therefore occur in America's classrooms toward shifting this reality for Black students. EQUITY MUST BE AT THE HEART OF THIS SHIFT which is inclusive of your Black students' INDIVIDUALITY, CULTURAL IDENTITY & "VOICE"...the ability to "express themselves" and the ability to "find themselves."

Toward sustaining equitable teaching practices for Black students, Principal Kafele argues that it is imperative that the teacher develops a true “EQUITY MINDSET.” He contends that if equity is all about meeting the individual needs of all of the learners in the classroom, “equity can’t solely be something THAT YOU DO.” He emphatically asserts that “equity must also be WHO YOU ARE.” In this half or full day workshop or keynote address, Principal Kafele will assist participants with developing an "equity mindset" toward ensuring the academic, social and emotional growth and development of their Black students in equitable classroom learning environments where "culture-blindness" and "color-blindness" have been rendered obsolete.

As a keynote address, Principal Kafele will deliver an inspiring and empowering message centered around developing an "equity mindset" toward improving opportunities and outcomes for Black students.

As a half or full day workshop (or series of workshops), Principal Kafele will assist the client with selecting the most appropriate of the following six strands for your school or district based upon need and length of session(s) as follows:

I. Equity and the Reality of My Classroom for My Black Students
One of the most important questions one can ask oneself regarding equity is, "What is equity and does equity abound in my classroom?" It's an important consideration for each and every classroom teacher. In this empowering, highly-engaging strand, Principal Kafele will lead a discussion on what equity is and what it looks, sounds and feels like for Black students when implemented with fidelity in the classroom.

II. Equity or Equality? What's the Difference and What are the Implications for My Black Students?
In this empowering, highly engaging strand, Principal Kafele breaks down the difference between an “equity mindset teacher” and an “equality mindset teacher” while simultaneous comparing and contrasting an “equity mindset classroom” from an “equality mindset classroom” including the consequences of both for Black students.

III. Equity and the Individuality of My Black Students
In this empowering, highly engaging strand, Principal Kafele makes the case that the individuality of each student matters. He will provide attendees with strategies toward ensuring that student individuality, student cultural identity and student “voice” play prominent roles within their schools and classrooms - particularly for their Black students toward creating a true equitable learning environment.

IV. Equity, Culturally-Responsive Practices and My Black Students
In this empowering, highly engaging strand, Principal Kafele will provide attendees with strategies toward being culturally-responsive practitioners with a particular emphasis being placed on what their Black students “see, hear, feel and experience” daily in their classrooms. He will assist attendees toward developing the necessary cultural competence toward engaging productively with their Black learners.

V. Equity, Culturally-Relevant Pedagogy and My Black Students
In this empowering, highly engaging strand, Principal Kafele will discuss the significance of culturally-relevant teaching and learning in a diverse student learning environment. He will make the case that toward making learning fun, stimulating and engaging for their Black students, it must be relatable where their Black students are afforded the opportunity of “seeing themselves” in the learning toward increasing the probability that they will see the relevance of what is being taught toward their lives.

VI. Equity, Me and My Black Students
In this empowering, highly engaging strand, Principal Kafele will focus on the actions of the teacher in areas including but not limited to, “keeping the playing field level,” confronting implicit biases that may exist, and eradicating disproportionality toward Black students. This session is all about ensuring that attendees always view their students and their practice through an “equity lens.”

Too many brilliant children are often overlooked academically because time wasn’t taken to discover how they process new information, make sense out of new information, think, and learn. Consequently, they quickly become bored in school and in far too many cases, become behavioral challenges or candidates for Special Education. In this highly-engaging, self-reflective workshop (or keynote address), Principal Kafele will take teachers on an introspective journey of reflecting upon their current instructional practices toward engaging all of their learners while simultaneously discerning their current levels of effectiveness. He will also engage teachers in a self-assessment of how cultural responsiveness and equity factor into their instruction, and how they go about planning and organizing toward addressing all of learning styles in their classrooms.

Classroom management is a perennial hot-topic in education circles. Teachers can so often be heard grumbling, “If I could just get them to behave appropriately in my classroom!” In the numerous cases when students do not, a disciplinary referral is frequently generated, handed to the student and brought by the student to a disciplinarian for consequences. In this highly-engaging, self-reflective workshop (or keynote address), Principal Kafele makes the case that classroom management isn’t the problem. He contends that classroom management is too “micro.” Instead, he challenges teachers to think “macro.” To that end, he takes teachers on an introspective journey of the overall climate and culture of their classrooms while engaging them in a self-reflective discussion of their attitudes toward their students, the strategies they employ toward keeping their students motivated and engaged, the intentionality of the relationships that they nurture with their students and how effective they are with engaging their students’ parents.

Based on Principal Kafele’s book, The Teacher 50: Critical Questions for Inspiring Classroom Excellence, this empowering, introspective workshop takes teachers on a self-reflective journey designed to challenge them to think deeply and critically about their current practices relative to how they inspire classroom excellence. Teachers will discover numerous ideas for strengthening their practice and investing in student success. This workshop or keynote address is an indispensable must for teachers who want to give their absolute best in the classroom at all times and under all circumstances. Topics include: The Attitude of the Teacher, Student Motivation, Classroom Climate and Culture, Building Relationships, Classroom Instruction, Cultural Responsiveness, Teacher Accountability, Planning and Organization, Professional Development and Parental Engagement.

The plight of the Black male learner continues to pose a major challenge for educators at all levels throughout the U.S. In this highly engaging, thought-provoking workshop, Principal Kafele will provide educators with an analysis as well as specific strategies that can be implemented immediately toward effectively motivating their Black male learners to strive for academic excellence. He contends that the crisis of the Black male learner is much deeper and far wider than simply deficiencies in math and reading. With a national high school graduation rate of only 47% coupled with staggering suspension rates and chronic underachievement, Principal Kafele contends that clearly, we as educators have failed to identify the true essence of the problem. He says that as long as schools fail to capture the attention of their otherwise brilliant Black male learners, we will continue to see large numbers of them joining gangs, winding up in juvenile detention facilities and dying in the streets. Principal Kafele will share proven strategies he’s used over his 21 year “mission” as a public school teacher and principal which inspired thousands of his Black male learners to consistently soar academically through the following five strands: Attitude toward Black Male Learners, Relationship with Black Male Learners, Compassion for Black Male Learners, Relevance in Instruction and an in depth discussion on how to launch a Young Men’s Empowerment Program in your school.

As America shifted with the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor (and now, Daunte Wright), classroom implications were inevitable. The prevailing question in the education world therefore became, “how will schools and classrooms embrace the various issues of social justice that are currently pervading American society – particularly in schools within communities of historically oppressed and marginalized populations?” In this workshop or keynote address, Principal Kafele will assist participants with the infusion of social justice education into their instruction utilizing an approach that is both student-centered and interdisciplinary. Based on Principal Kafele's forthcoming book, The Classroom Equity & Social Justice Education 50, this empowering workshop is comprised of the following five strands: Social Justice Education...What Is It?; Social Justice Education and Classroom Instruction; Social Justice Education and Professional Learning; Social Justice Education and My Own Reality; and Social Justice Education and Racial Justice Education: Are They the Same? Principal Kafele states emphatically that "The absence of social justice education in America's classrooms is an injustice to America's children."

• The Equity Mindset Teacher
• Equity, Social Justice Education, Race & the Classroom Teacher
• Classroom Equity & Black Student Achievement
• Find DISCOMFORT in Your COMFORT
• Just One Teacher Can Completely Alter the Trajectory of a Child
• Just One Counselor Can Completely Alter the Trajectory of a Child
• Teacher...YOU MATTER!
• 21 Reasons Why Black Men Should Consider Teaching as a Career Option

According to research, children perform better in school when their parents are involved in their education. Although parental engagement / involvement continues to be a major challenge for many schools across the U.S., the fact is that there are many parents who are extremely well-intentioned, but simply at a loss for what to do to facilitate the educational process while their children are at home. In this empowering workshop, through an assortment of reflective questions, Principal Kafele provides parents with the “tools” they need to be effective “educators” of their children at home while simultaneously providing solid support while their children are at school. Topics include: Essentials for Success, Encouragement for Success, Empowerment for Success, Character for Success, Literacy for Success, Historical Competence for Success, Nurturing for Success, Accountability for Success, Monitoring for Success and Choices for Success.

According to current national data, upwards of 70% of Black children are born into households where the only parent present is the mother. This has significant implications for Black males where far too many mothers continue to struggle with teaching their sons how to become men. The overwhelming majority of these single mothers are extremely well-intentioned, but simply lack solid information and strategies toward being successful. In this powerful, high-energy and interactive workshop, Principal Kafele provides single mothers with information and strategies that can be immediately implemented toward motivating, educating and empowering their sons for success.

The first in a three-part series of workshops specifically designed for males of all ages and ethnicities. This workshop provides characteristics of what it is to be a good man in relationship with himself, while providing strategies for self-development.

The second in a three-part series of workshops specifically designed for males of all ages and ethnicities. This workshop provides characteristics of what it is to be a good husband in relationship with his wife, while providing strategies for developing, maintaining and strengthening male – female relationships.

The third in a three-part series of workshops specifically designed for males of all ages and ethnicities. This workshop provides characteristics of what it is to be a good father in relationship with his children, while placing a particular emphasis on building strong and productive relationships between fathers and their sons.

Based on Principal Kafele’s best-selling book, Is My School a Better School BECAUSE I Lead It?, Principal Kafele will challenge each principal and assistant principal to examine their own leadership identity, presence, impact, mission, purpose, vision and value as the leaders of their schools, which will include discussions on whether or not they have in fact defined these leadership attributes within themselves. The entire workshop is highly engaging and interactive and the keynote is high-energy. It promises to inspire principals and assistant principals to think deeply and critically about their roles as leaders of their schools and whether or not their schools are better schools because they are the leaders of them. As Principal Kafele states in his opening, “My intent is to create discomfort, tension and uneasiness in the room. Inspiration lasts for a few hours. Discomfort, tension and uneasiness endure until they are corrected.”

In this empowering workshop or keynote address, Principal Kafele takes school, team, department, division and district leaders on an in depth, self-reflective, highly interactive journey that will force participants to view with a critical eye who they are as leaders within their given leadership capacities which will include the intentionality behind all aspects of their work. Principal Kafele will challenge school, team, department, division and district leaders to look deeply within themselves for greater meaning and understanding of their own personal value and worth to the staff and students that they lead. As one workshop attendee stated, “Principal Kafele, your questions have shaken the very foundation upon which my leadership stands!” This workshop is certain to take participants to higher levels of leadership effectiveness.

Because there's no universal definition of equity, the confusion around what equity is and what equity is not is enormous. Principal Kafele is passionate about equity; particularly how it correlates with the building leadership and simply defines it as, "meeting your students where they are...AS THEY ARE. This workshop or keynote address asks the overarching question, "In what way does your leadership ensure that each of the students in your building are being met where they are...AS THEY ARE?" As the title indicates, when the leadership brings an equity-centeredness and equity-focus, everyone wins. This workshop or keynote address will teach and train leaders on how to ensure that equity is central to their leadership.

One of the current hot topics in education is "Diversity, Equity & Inclusion." This highly engaging, interactive, self-reflective workshop or keynote address focuses on school leadership relative to issues of diversity, equity & inclusion in their schools. It challenges school leaders to look within themselves relative to how they see, treat and relate with their staffs and students in these areas. It challenges school leaders to confront whatever biases they may bring to their own leadership practices which may be implicit or explicit. It argues that high-performance is an impossibility in school learning environments where the recognition of diversity coupled with equitable and inclusionary practices fail to exist. Principal Kafele will share strategies toward creating and sustaining equity and inclusion in a diverse student learning environment which will be inclusive of important conversations around race and cultural competence.

Principal Kafele contends emphatically that, “The purpose of staff supervision is the continued improvement of instruction!” Due to the complexities of the principalship, it is easy for principals to be so inundated by the non-instructional aspects of school leadership that the instructional side of their leadership suffers. When their instructional side suffers, it adversely impacts the entire school. The principal is the instructional leader of the school. Consequently, there is a direct correlation between how effectively the principal leads the school instructionally and student achievement. To that end, in this highly-engaging, self-reflective workshop (or keynote address), Principal Kafele will provide school leaders with strategies toward maintaining a focus on the instructional side of their leadership toward increasing the probability that achievement will soar. Topics covered will include the correlation between instructional leadership and student achievement; building collegial relationships with staff; planning, organization and time management; and the principal as professional developer.