TeacherGoals Podcast Episode 29
How to Create Equity & Inclusion in a Diverse Learning Environment with Principal Kafele
"Equity is meeting young people where they are as they are."
Educational Consultant & Author
Could you create and sustain an equitable environment that truly values your students & makes them feel they matter? In this episode, Principal Kafele, a highly regarded urban educator in New Jersey for more than 20 years, digs into how equity is important in the classroom and how to approach it in a way that is beneficial for students. He stresses the importance of understanding inclusion and how to incorporate it into an equitable environment. Principal Kefele identifies and explains the three core principles of equity: student individuality, student cultural identity & student's voice. Tune in, and discover unique strategies to implement in a diverse student learning environment!
3 TeacherGoal Tips
1
Tip 1:
Think of equity as a strategy that teachers can use to help students learn and be prepared for the outside world
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Tip 2:
Create a student-centered classroom where students have the opportunity to engage with one another and with the teacher
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Tip 3:
It's important for us to educate ourselves and ensure that our students are being exposed to their identity and history
This Episode Features...
Principal Kafele
Principal Baruti Kafele, a highly regarded urban educator in New Jersey for more than 20 years, has distinguished himself as a master teacher and a transformational school leader. As an elementary school teacher in East Orange, NJ, in addition to being named the East Orange School District and Essex County Public Schools Teacher of the Year, Principal Kafele was a finalist for New Jersey State Teacher of the Year 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 New Jersey urban schools, including "The Mighty" Newark Tech—which went from a low-performing school in need of improvement to national recognition, and which was recognized three times by U.S. News and World Report as one of America's best high schools. One of the most sought-after school leadership and classroom equity presenters in America, Principal Kafele is impacting America’s schools! He has delivered over 2500 conference and program keynotes, professional development workshops, parenting seminars and student assemblies over his 35 years of public speaking. An expert in the area of "attitude transformation," Principal Kafele is the leading authority on providing effective classroom and school leadership strategies toward closing what he coined, the "Attitude Gap." In addition to writing several professional articles for popular education journals, he has authored twelve books, including his seven ASCD best sellers - Motivating Black Males to Achieve in School & in Life, Closing the Attitude Gap, Is My School a Better School BECAUSE I Lead It?, The Teacher 50, The Principal 50, The Assistant Principal 50 and his newest release, The Equity & Social Justice Education 50. Principal Kafele is the creator and host of the popular Virtual Assistant Principal Leadership Academy, streamed live every Saturday morning on his Virtual AP Leadership Academy YouTube channel @ 10:55 EST. 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, recognition as one of the World’s Top 30 Education Professionals for 2020, 2021 & 2022 by Global Gurus Top 30 and the City of Dickinson, Texas proclaiming February 8, 1998 as Baruti Kafele Day.
Erica Terry, Host
Erica Terry is a 20-year educator and co-author of the Eva the Diva Girl rhyming picture book series written with her daughter, to empower young girls to build confidence and grow in self-love. She is also the founder of Healthy Wealthy Educators, where she equips teachers with actionable tools and resources to start a profitable online business and build generational wealth without stress.
You can find her hanging out on Instagram @ericanterry_