Why do I lead? With this deceptively simple question, best-selling author Baruti K. Kafele begins a powerful examination of what it takes to make a school community achieve the greatest success in the classroom and beyond.
In The Principal 50: Critical Leadership Questions for Inspiring Schoolwide Excellence, Kafele, a veteran school administrator, guides motivated school leaders through 50 self-reflection exercises designed to yield a deeper understanding of the meaning behind the work that they do.
Along with many other insights, this book shows how best to:
- Inspire and motivate students, teachers, and other school staff to approach their work with vigor and purpose;
- Ensure that all students, regardless of color, creed, or origin, are valued and represented in the school culture;
- Focus mission and vision statements to address students' most critical needs and integrate shared values and objectives into the fabric of the school; and
- Engage parents and other community members so that they feel a stake in the school's success.
Brimming with passion, written from the heart, and informed by hard-earned experience, this transformative book is essential reading for principals and other building-level administrators determined to reinvigorate their practice, revitalize their staff, and—most importantly—guarantee the strongest outcomes for students.
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Author Bio
Baruti Kafele is a highly-regarded urban public school educator in New Jersey for over 20 years and has distinguished himself both as a classroom teacher and as a school principal. As an elementary school teacher in East Orange, N.J., he was selected as the East Orange School District and Essex County Public Schools Teacher of the Year. As a principal, he led the transformation of four different schools, including Newark Tech, which went from being a low-performing school in need of improvement to being recognized by U.S. News and World Report as one of the best high schools in the United States.