Educator Profile    Educators

Baruti K. Kafele (NJ '09)

Educational Consultant

Principal Kafele Consulting, LLC
Jersey City, NJ

At the time of the Award, Baruti K. Kafele was:

Principal
Newark Tech High School
Newark, NJ

Grade(s): 9, 10, 11, 12

https://www.principalkafele.com


Biographical Information

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 11 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 newest book – The ASSISTANT Principal 50 was released in May, 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.


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Baruti K. Kafele In The News

Principal Kafele on Building Community in and Beyond School
Edutopia  |  Oct 24, 2023  |  San Rafael, CA

The Mental Balancing Act for School Leaders
Educational Leadership  |  ASCD (Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development)  |  Jan 01, 2021  |  Alexandria, VA

LISTEN --> Episode 7 Featuring Principal Baruti Kafele
Mind the Gap  |  edCircuit  |  Aug 11, 2020

How One Principal Recruited Role Models to Motivate His Black Male Students
GOOD  |  Apr 14, 2012  |  Los Angeles, CA

Additional Information

Degrees/Certifications

1997 New Jersey City University, M.A.

1986 Kean University, B.S.


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