Consultant and speaker Baruti Kafele talks frankly about his challenges to be healthy mentally and physically when he was a school principal and gives advice for leaders who are struggling with the mental balancing act.

The Mental Balancing Act for School Leaders

Baruti K. Kafele

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Well-being

Principal

Principal engagement and motivation

School and district management

Mental health

Leadership

At a time when expectations to raise students' achievement come from the highest levels of business and government, many teachers and administrators feel so pressured they doubt they can stay in education. Burnout is inevitable when principals, especially, get overwhelmed with job responsibilities that don't fit their original purpose--their "why" of becoming a principal--and lose track of that "why." Former turnaround principal Kafele advises principals to reconnect with their original idealism and to focus on fulfilling their old "why" so they can dodge burnout. Part of a theme issue on "Fighting Educator Burnout."

Avoiding School Leadership Burnout

Supported (whole child)

School climate and culture

Teacher engagement and motivation

School Culture

Drawing on the title question of this article, Baruti Kafele prompts leaders to reflect on their work at the helm of their schools. He suggests that to answer this question, school leaders should consider their leadership identity, mission, purpose, and vision. Kafele explores what each of these qualities are and suggests how leaders can go about developing them. He offers examples from his own experiences and those of other school leaders as they identify who they are when they walk into school each morning (for instance, a motivator or nurturer), what their mission is, what drives their work (their purpose), and their vision for both their leadership and the school.

Is Your School Better Because You Lead It?

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José Banda, the new superintendent of Seattle Public Schools, learns about an elementary school in his district during a morning walk-through with its principal and other school staff. Photographed at Hawthorne Elementary School during one of Mr. Banda's school visits, which he makes every possible Thursday during his first school year at the head of Seattle Public Schools.

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School and district leadership

Leadership strategies and support

Principal effectiveness

Admin

Principal effectiveness and evaluation

The high school graduation rate for black male students is just 47 percent, compared with 75 percent for white students. Throughout their schooling, black male students as a group have lower achievement levels, higher suspension and expulsion rates, and higher rates of special education referrals. Although many black male students excel in school, these statistics make it clear that our education system is failing far too many of our young black males.In this article, former middle school and high school principal Baruti K. Kafele tells how he turned around the attitudes of black male students through the Young Men's Empowerment Program. Designed to give black male students "the proper male guidance, direction, leadership, and structure that they desperately need," this program began with Power Mondays, featuring presentations and discussions with adult black males (both school employees and men recruited from the community) that covered such topics as goal setting, leadership, relationships, and parenting. Kafele describes how these meetings and other strategies linking students with adult role models sparked remarkable growth and change for his school's black male students.

Empowering Young Black Males

Assistant Principal Leadership During a Global Pandemic

Principals

K-12 Coronavirus Resources

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Assistant principal leadership during a global pandemic

Professional Learning

Baruti Kafele

The Equity and Social Justice Education 50: Critical Questions for Improving Opportunities and Outcomes for Black Students (Print Book)

Soft Cover

Print Books

The Equity and Social Justice Education 50

bookcover6x9 The Equity Social Justice Education 50 Kafele

The Equity and Social Justice Education 50: Critical Questions for Improving Opportunities and Outcomes for Black Students

The Assistant Principal 50: Critical Questions for Meaningful Leadership and Professional Growth (Print Book)

The Assistant Principal 50: Critical Questions for Meaningful Leadership and Professional Growth

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The Aspiring Principal 50: Critical Questions for New and Future School Leaders (Print Book)

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

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Is My School a Better School Because I Lead It? (Print Book)

Is My School a Better School BECAUSE I Lead It? (POSTER)

Poster

Is My School a Better School Because I Lead It?

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The Teacher 50: Critical Questions for Inspiring Classroom Excellence (Print Book)

The Teacher 50: Critical Questions for Inspiring Classroom Excellence

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The Principal 50: Critical Leadership Questions for Inspiring Schoolwide Excellence (Print Book)

The Principal 50: Critical Leadership Questions for Inspiring Schoolwide Excellence

bookcover6x9 ThePrincipal50 Kafele

Closing the Attitude Gap: How to Fire Up Your Students to Strive for Success (Print Book)

Closing the Attitude Gap: How to Fire Up Your Students to Strive for Success

bookcover6x9 ClosingAttitudeGap Kafele

Motivating Black Males to Achieve in School & in Life (Print Book)

Motivating Black Males to Achieve in School & in Life

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Equity

Engagement

Author

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Baruti Kafele on "Being Equity"

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Motivating Black Males: A Teacher's Impact

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Motivating Black Males to Achieve in School and in Life A Teacher's Impact (2015)

Motivating Black Males: Knowing the Learner

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Motivating Black Males to Achieve in School and in Life Knowing the Learner (2015)

Baruti K. Kafele

About

Primary Topics

Articles by Baruti K.

The Mental Balancing Act for School Leaders

Avoiding School Leadership Burnout

Is Your School Better Because You Lead It?

Empowering Young Black Males

Blogs by Baruti K.

Assistant Principal Leadership During a Global Pandemic

Videos by Baruti K.

Baruti Kafele on "Being Equity"

Books by Baruti K.

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