The Aspiring Principal 50: Critical Questions for New and Future School Leaders

by Baruti K. Kafele

"Kafele turns his attention the underserved audience of new and aspiring principals in a book designed to spark reflection about leadership potential and practices"--

Genres: Education, Leadership

ebook

Published May 1, 2019

About the author

A highly-regarded urban educator in New Jersey for over twenty years, Principal Baruti Kafele distinguished himself as a master teacher and a transformational 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, he was a New Jersey State Teacher of the Year finalist, and a recipient of the New Jersey Education Association Award of Excellence.

As a middle and high school principal, Principal Kafele led the turnaround of four different New Jersey urban 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 three times as one of America's best high schools.

One of the most sought-after school leadership experts and education speakers in America, Principal Kafele is impacting America’s schools! He has delivered over two thousand conference and program keynotes, professional development workshops, parenting seminars and student assemblies over his 34 years of public speaking. An expert in the area of “attitude transformation,” Principal Kafele is the leading authority for providing effective classroom and school leadership strategies toward closing what he coined, the "Attitude Gap.”

A prolific writer, Principal Kafele has written extensively on professional development strategies for creating a positive school climate and culture, transforming the attitudes of at-risk students, motivating Black males to excel in the classroom, and school leadership practices for inspiring schoolwide excellence. In addition to writing several professional articles for popular education journals, he has authored 10 books, including his six ASCD best sellers - The ASPIRING Principal 50, Is My School a Better School BECAUSE I Lead It?, The Principal 50, The Teacher 50, Closing the Attitude Gap, and Motivating Black Males to Achieve in School & in Life. His next book – The ASSISTANT Principal 50 will be released in Summer, 2020.

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 150 educational, professional and community awards which include the prestigious Milken National Educator Award, the National Alliance of Black School Educators Hall of Fame Award, induction into the East Orange, New Jersey Hall of Fame, and the City of Dickinson, Texas proclaiming February 8, 1998 as Baruti Kafele Day.

Reviews

[Joe Goodwin]

As a college professor once critiqued an essay question, "...a breezy piece of bull sh@t." While I wouldn't go as far as to say all of that, I do agree with the sentiment from my professor. This book fails to really dig deep on anything. The question and answer style was the vehicle the book used to move, but rarely enter depths necessary to truly explore the rigors on school leadership.

[Ivan]

Baruti Kafele frames this book around fifty critical self-reflection questions, pushing readers to contemplate the sheer weight and scope of decisions that accompany the principalship. Much like a classroom teacher must expand their vision beyond their own four walls when stepping into an assistant principal role, an AP must broaden their lens even further when preparing for the top spot.

Drawing heavily on his own career across multiple school buildings, Kafele shares brief anecdotes that illustrate the core values and reasoning behind his decision-making. His questions center on key administrative challenges: fostering positive stakeholder relationships, balancing competing needs, and cultivating a safe, positive school climate while driving high academic achievement. He wraps up the text with a practical set of reflection questions to help candidates prepare for principalship interviews.

The text is an easy, direct read designed to get straight to the point and spark the perspective shift required for school leadership. Kafele’s vast experience gives him an undeniably authoritative voice on the subject. My only slight critique is that, given his depth of expertise, I wished the book offered more detailed narratives and deeper analytical dives into these complex issues. Ultimately, however, that wasn't the book's intent...it functions effectively as a concise, reflective primer rather than an exhaustive manual.

Ultimately, it's an accessible, question-driven guide to the principalship that focuses on mindset shifts and core values and is ideal as an introductory reflection tool, though light on any deep-dive narrative.

[Ashley Auspelmyer]

Am I the only one who didn't get anything from this book? The questions may be relevant and worth reflecting on, but the author never actually answers any of them - it's extremely frustrating and redundant.

How will you balance your home life and your busy job as the principal?
It's really important to balance your home life and your busy job as the principal. You really should balance both. It's hard to do, because you're so busy, but you don't want your home life to suffer. Balance is important. You will be a better principal and a better person if you find balance. Don't spend too much time at work. But of course you'll spend many hours at work. Make sure you balance your home life and your busy job as the principal.

It's maddening!

[Cristina]

This was a required read for a book study at work. I’m a huge non-fiction reader & am usually the first to dive into these books. This one however, was a chore to read for me. While it has good information nothing is new & most were things we were taught in grad school for Educational Leadership. I felt that the author spent far too much time telling his stories & talking about himself. The arrogance was just too much for me.

[Dr Aaron]

Great Book as an Addition to Leadership Academy

Principal Kafele does a live Leadership Academy on Saturdays at 11 AM EST. The Academy is live on Facebook and Twitter. Reading this quick read truly helps to gather all the notes. I truly feel that in the Fall of 2020, I will be a Principal, and I owe it all to Principal Kafele. Thank you!

[Odell Gunter]

Aspiring to become a principal

This book is loaded with great information to those aspiring to become a principal. I am having difficulty passing exam to become certified, but I feel this book has given me some insight on some of the pieces I am missing.

[Nathan Stanley]

Excellent book to provide a principal candidate with an outline for preparing for a future job or interview.

[Courtney Konopacky]

A powerhouse of a book for new or aspiring school leaders. Tons of info packed into a short, concrete book. Extremely helpful for my own professional learning and development.

[Olivia Dombkowski]

Had to read for school. Still counts, right? :)