Baruti Kafele

A Hall of Fame urban public school educator in New Jersey for over twenty years, Principal Baruti Kafele distinguished himself as a classroom teacher and as a school leader. As an elementary school teacher in East Orange, NJ, he was selected as the East Orange School District and Essex County Public Schools Teacher of the Year.  As a middle and high school principal, he led the transformation of four different schools, including “The Mighty” Newark Tech, which went from a low-performing school in need of improvement to national recognition, which included U.S. News and World Report Magazine recognizing it as one of America’s best high schools.

An internationally-renowned education speaker and consultant, Principal Kafele is one of the most sought-after speakers for transforming the attitudes of at-risk student populations in America. A versatile speaker, he regularly conducts conference keynote addresses, professional development workshops, parental engagement seminars and “hard-hitting, no-nonsense” male student empowerment assemblies. He has worked with hundreds of schools and districts over the years to assist them with closing what he calls, the “attitude gap” as both, a workshop presenter and through his consulting services.

A best-selling author, Principal Kafele is a leading authority on professional development strategies for motivating Black male students to excel in the classroom. He has written several articles for education journals on this topic and is the author of the best-selling book, Motivating Black Males to Achieve in School and in Life. He is also recognized as an expert in the area of school climate and culture and has written two books on this topic – Closing the Attitude Gap: How to Fire Up Your Students to Strive for Success and A Handbook for Teachers of African American Children.

Principal Kafele is married to his wife Kimberley, and is the father of their three children, Baruti, Jabari and Kibriya. He earned his B.S. degree in Management Science/Marketing from Kean University and his M.A. degree in Educational Administration from New Jersey City University. He is the recipient of over one hundred educational, professional and community awards which include the National Alliance of Black School Educators Hall of Fame Award, the Milken National Educator Award, the New Jersey Education Association Award of Excellence and the City of Dickinson, Texas proclaiming February 8, 1998 as Baruti Kafele Day.

SCHOOL LEADERSHIP

• Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Effective School Leadership
• Equity, Social Justice Education, Race & Effective School Leadership
• Is My School a Better School BECAUSE I Lead It? Collapse
• Is My School, Team, Department, Division or District Better BECAUSE I Lead It?
• Is My District a Better District BECAUSE I am a Member of My Local School Board?
• Does Instruction Thrive Under My Leadership? A Discussion on Effective Instructional Leadership Expand
• Climate & Culture are a Reflection of MY Leadership!
• Critical Leadership Questions for Inspiring School-wide Excellence (THE PRINCIPAL 50)
• Principal Kafele’s 10 Nonnegotiables for Effective School Leadership
• “Who Is That Leading MY School?” An Examination of the Principal’s Leadership Identity, Presence and Impact (half day only)
• Is My Leadership Preparing My Assistant Principals for the Principalship? (for superintendents, assistant superintendents and principals)
• Does My Assistant Principalship Benefit My School Academically? (for assistant principals and aspiring assistant principals)
• So You Want to Be a Principal? LET’S TALK (for aspiring principals, assistant principals and new principals)

CLASSROOM TEACHING

• Diversity, Equity & Inclusion in the Classroom: A Conversation on Meeting the Academic, Social & Emotional Needs of EACH of the Learners
• It’s Not Enough to “DO EQUITY”…You Must “BE EQUITY”: A Conversation on “Equity Mindset” Teaching & Learning
• The 3 Equity Nonnegotiables: Student Individuality, Student Cultural Identity & Student “Voice”
• Classroom Equity & Black Student Achievement Expand
• The “Social Justice Education Mindset” is Unavoidable in Today’s “Equity Mindset” Classroom
• Closing the ATTITUDE Gap: A Classroom Equity Framework
• “There’s Nothing Wrong With Me…I Just Don’t Learn the Way You Teach”
• Climate & Culture Cannot Be Transformed With Disciplinary Referrals
• Critical Questions for Inspiring Classroom Excellence (THE TEACHER 50)
• Motivating, Educating and Empowering the Black Male Learner