Principal Kafele's Workshops, Keynotes & Leadership Consulting

The discussion on gaps in student achievement continue to be one of the most important discussions in education today; particularly as it relates to the underachievement of children of color. Equally challenging for educators is the continued lack of student motivation, undesirable student behaviors and the overall underachievement of at-risk student populations across racial and ethnic lines. In this highly engaging, thought-provoking workshop, Principal Kafele will assert that the greatest difficulty to closing the achievement gap is the overwhelming assumption that the achievement gap is in fact, the problem. He says that the achievement gap is a direct consequence of the failure to adequately address what he coined, the Attitude Gap (the gap between those students who have the will to achieve excellence and those who do not) that continues to persist in American classrooms. He will share with teachers how to close the Attitude Gap in their classrooms through a classroom climate / culture framework comprised of the following five strands: Environment for Learning, Attitude toward Students, Relationship with Students, Compassion for Students and Relevance in Instruction.

We have known for quite some time that a "one size fits all" approach to classroom instruction and relationship building simply doesn't work. The "cookie cutter" approach is easy to plan and easy to deliver but virtually impossible for many of the students in the classroom to learn from. Why? Because in a classroom of students, there's potentially a multiplicity of levels and places academically, socially and emotionally that the students occupy. This session is therefore designed to assist teachers toward meeting their students wherever they are and AS THEY ARE academically, socially and emotionally in their classrooms.

THE topic in education today is the topic of EQUITY. At its core, equity means, "meeting youngsters where they are, as they are."  Principal Kafele argues that this requires a teacher who possess an “EQUITY MINDSET.” He asserts that if equity is all about meeting the individual needs of all of the learners in the classroom, “equity can’t solely be something THAT YOU DO.” He states emphatically that “equity must additionally be WHO YOU ARE.”

As a keynote address, Principal Kafele will deliver an inspiring and empowering message centered around developing an "equity mindset" toward ensuring the academic, social and emotional growth and development of all the learners in the classroom.

As a half or full day workshop (or series of workshops), Principal Kafele will assist the client with selecting the most appropriate of the following six strands for your school or district based upon need and length of session(s) as follows:

I. Equity and the Reality of My Classroom
One of the most important questions one can ask oneself regarding equity is, "What is equity and does equity abound in my classroom?" It's an important consideration for each and every classroom teacher. In this empowering, highly engaging strand, Principal Kafele will lead a discussion on what equity is and what it looks like, sounds like and feels like when implemented with fidelity in the classroom.

II. Equity or Equality? What's the Difference?
In this empowering, highly engaging strand, Principal Kafele breaks down the difference between an “equity mindset teacher” and an “equality mindset teacher” while simultaneous comparing and contrasting an “equity mindset classroom” from an “equality mindset classroom.”

III. Equity and the Individuality of the Learners
In this empowering, highly engaging strand, Principal Kafele makes the case that the individuality of each student matters. He will provide attendees with strategies toward ensuring that student individuality, student cultural identity and student “voice” play prominent roles within their schools and classrooms.

IV. Equity and Being a Culturally Responsive Practitioner
In this empowering, highly engaging strand, Principal Kafele will provide attendees with strategies toward being culturally-responsive practitioners with a particular emphasis being placed on what students “see, hear, feel and experience” daily in their classrooms. He will assist attendees toward developing the necessary cultural competence toward engaging productively with diverse learners.

V. Equity and Culturally-Relevant Pedagogy
In this empowering, highly engaging strand, Principal Kafele will discuss the significance of culturally-relevant teaching and learning in a diverse student learning environment. He will make the case that toward making learning fun, stimulating and engaging, it must be relatable where students are afforded the opportunity of “seeing themselves” in the learning toward increasing the probability that they will see the relevance of what is being taught toward their lives.

VI. Equity and Me
In this empowering, highly engaging strand, Principal Kafele will focus on the actions of the teacher in areas including but not limited to, “keeping the playing field level,” confronting implicit biases that may exist, and eradicating disproportionality. This session is all about ensuring that attendees always view their students and their practice through an “equity lens.”

For the past ten years, the whole idea of equity in the classroom has evolved to unimaginable proportions…which is a good thing. One of the challenges however is the interpretation of what equity in the classroom actually is. There are a ton of interpretations and definitions out there. Rooted in Principal Kafele’s 34 years in education, he decided in 2020 to write The Equity & Social Justice Education 50 toward lending his voice to the discussion of what equity is and what it is not in America’s classrooms. Principal Kafele contends that any discussion, training, writing etc. on equity must contain, at a minimum, his “Three Equity Nonnegotiables” which are:

Student Individuality - Visible or Invisible?
What is it about my role as an “Equity-Mindset Teacher” that the individuality of EACH of my learners (academically, socially and emotionally) is acknowledged, appreciated, respected and visible?

Student Cultural Identity - Accentuated or Denied?
What is it about my role as an “Equity-Mindset Teacher” that the cultural / racial identity of EACH of my learners is acknowledged, appreciated, respected and accentuated?

Student “Voice” - Distinct or Obscure?
What is it about my role as an “Equity-Mindset Teacher” that the “voice” of EACH of my learners is acknowledged, appreciated, respected and distinct?

In this high-energy keynote address or highly-engaging workshop, Principal Kafele will make the case that if true equity is to occur for EACH of the learners in the classroom, student individuality, student cultural identity and student “voice” matter exponentially.

It's been over 60 years since the landmark Brown vs. the Board of Education Supreme Court decision back in 1954, but over 60 years later, the masses of Black children continue to find themselves on the wrong side of the "achievement gap," while simultaneously experiencing the highest rates of disciplinary referrals, suspensions and expulsions. Dramatic, significant and immediate change must therefore occur in America's classrooms toward shifting this reality for Black students. EQUITY MUST BE AT THE HEART OF THIS SHIFT which is inclusive of your Black students' INDIVIDUALITY, CULTURAL IDENTITY & "VOICE"...the ability to "express themselves" and the ability to "find themselves."

Toward sustaining equitable teaching practices for Black students, Principal Kafele argues that it is imperative that the teacher develops a true “EQUITY MINDSET.” He contends that if equity is all about meeting the individual needs of all of the learners in the classroom, “equity can’t solely be something THAT YOU DO.” He emphatically asserts that “equity must also be WHO YOU ARE.” In this half or full day workshop or keynote address, Principal Kafele will assist participants with developing an "equity mindset" toward ensuring the academic, social and emotional growth and development of their Black students in equitable classroom learning environments where "culture-blindness" and "color-blindness" have been rendered obsolete.

As a keynote address, Principal Kafele will deliver an inspiring and empowering message centered around developing an "equity mindset" toward improving opportunities and outcomes for Black students.

As a half or full day workshop (or series of workshops), Principal Kafele will assist the client with selecting the most appropriate of the following six strands for your school or district based upon need and length of session(s) as follows:

I. Equity and the Reality of My Classroom for My Black Students
One of the most important questions one can ask oneself regarding equity is, "What is equity and does equity abound in my classroom?" It's an important consideration for each and every classroom teacher. In this empowering, highly-engaging strand, Principal Kafele will lead a discussion on what equity is and what it looks, sounds and feels like for Black students when implemented with fidelity in the classroom.

II. Equity or Equality? What's the Difference and What are the Implications for My Black Students?
In this empowering, highly engaging strand, Principal Kafele breaks down the difference between an “equity mindset teacher” and an “equality mindset teacher” while simultaneous comparing and contrasting an “equity mindset classroom” from an “equality mindset classroom” including the consequences of both for Black students.

III. Equity and the Individuality of My Black Students
In this empowering, highly engaging strand, Principal Kafele makes the case that the individuality of each student matters. He will provide attendees with strategies toward ensuring that student individuality, student cultural identity and student “voice” play prominent roles within their schools and classrooms - particularly for their Black students toward creating a true equitable learning environment.

IV. Equity, Culturally-Responsive Practices and My Black Students
In this empowering, highly engaging strand, Principal Kafele will provide attendees with strategies toward being culturally-responsive practitioners with a particular emphasis being placed on what their Black students “see, hear, feel and experience” daily in their classrooms. He will assist attendees toward developing the necessary cultural competence toward engaging productively with their Black learners.

V. Equity, Culturally-Relevant Pedagogy and My Black Students
In this empowering, highly engaging strand, Principal Kafele will discuss the significance of culturally-relevant teaching and learning in a diverse student learning environment. He will make the case that toward making learning fun, stimulating and engaging for their Black students, it must be relatable where their Black students are afforded the opportunity of “seeing themselves” in the learning toward increasing the probability that they will see the relevance of what is being taught toward their lives.

VI. Equity, Me and My Black Students
In this empowering, highly engaging strand, Principal Kafele will focus on the actions of the teacher in areas including but not limited to, “keeping the playing field level,” confronting implicit biases that may exist, and eradicating disproportionality toward Black students. This session is all about ensuring that attendees always view their students and their practice through an “equity lens.”

Too many brilliant children are often overlooked academically because time wasn’t taken to discover how they process new information, make sense out of new information, think, and learn. Consequently, they quickly become bored in school and in far too many cases, become behavioral challenges or candidates for Special Education. In this highly-engaging, self-reflective workshop (or keynote address), Principal Kafele will take teachers on an introspective journey of reflecting upon their current instructional practices toward engaging all of their learners while simultaneously discerning their current levels of effectiveness. He will also engage teachers in a self-assessment of how cultural responsiveness and equity factor into their instruction, and how they go about planning and organizing toward addressing all of learning styles in their classrooms.

Classroom management is a perennial hot-topic in education circles. Teachers can so often be heard grumbling, “If I could just get them to behave appropriately in my classroom!” In the numerous cases when students do not, a disciplinary referral is frequently generated, handed to the student and brought by the student to a disciplinarian for consequences. In this highly-engaging, self-reflective workshop (or keynote address), Principal Kafele makes the case that classroom management isn’t the problem. He contends that classroom management is too “micro.” Instead, he challenges teachers to think “macro.” To that end, he takes teachers on an introspective journey of the overall climate and culture of their classrooms while engaging them in a self-reflective discussion of their attitudes toward their students, the strategies they employ toward keeping their students motivated and engaged, the intentionality of the relationships that they nurture with their students and how effective they are with engaging their students’ parents.

Based on Principal Kafele’s book, The Teacher 50: Critical Questions for Inspiring Classroom Excellence, this empowering, introspective workshop takes teachers on a self-reflective journey designed to challenge them to think deeply and critically about their current practices relative to how they inspire classroom excellence. Teachers will discover numerous ideas for strengthening their practice and investing in student success. This workshop or keynote address is an indispensable must for teachers who want to give their absolute best in the classroom at all times and under all circumstances. Topics include: The Attitude of the Teacher, Student Motivation, Classroom Climate and Culture, Building Relationships, Classroom Instruction, Cultural Responsiveness, Teacher Accountability, Planning and Organization, Professional Development and Parental Engagement.

The plight of the Black male learner continues to pose a major challenge for educators at all levels throughout the U.S. In this highly engaging, thought-provoking workshop, Principal Kafele will provide educators with an analysis as well as specific strategies that can be implemented immediately toward effectively motivating their Black male learners to strive for academic excellence. He contends that the crisis of the Black male learner is much deeper and far wider than simply deficiencies in math and reading. With a national high school graduation rate of only 47% coupled with staggering suspension rates and chronic underachievement, Principal Kafele contends that clearly, we as educators have failed to identify the true essence of the problem. He says that as long as schools fail to capture the attention of their otherwise brilliant Black male learners, we will continue to see large numbers of them joining gangs, winding up in juvenile detention facilities and dying in the streets. Principal Kafele will share proven strategies he’s used over his 21 year “mission” as a public school teacher and principal which inspired thousands of his Black male learners to consistently soar academically through the following five strands: Attitude toward Black Male Learners, Relationship with Black Male Learners, Compassion for Black Male Learners, Relevance in Instruction and an in depth discussion on how to launch a Young Men’s Empowerment Program in your school.

As America shifted with the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor (and now, Daunte Wright), classroom implications were inevitable. The prevailing question in the education world therefore became, “how will schools and classrooms embrace the various issues of social justice that are currently pervading American society – particularly in schools within communities of historically oppressed and marginalized populations?” In this workshop or keynote address, Principal Kafele will assist participants with the infusion of social justice education into their instruction utilizing an approach that is both student-centered and interdisciplinary. Based on Principal Kafele's forthcoming book, The Classroom Equity & Social Justice Education 50, this empowering workshop is comprised of the following five strands:  Social Justice Education...What Is It?; Social Justice Education and Classroom Instruction; Social Justice Education and Professional Learning; Social Justice Education and My Own Reality; and Social Justice Education and Racial Justice Education: Are They the Same? Principal Kafele states emphatically that "The absence of social justice education in America's classrooms is an injustice to America's children."

• The Equity Mindset Teacher
• Equity, Social Justice Education, Race & the Classroom Teacher
• Classroom Equity & Black Student Achievement
• Just One Educator Can Completely Shift the Trajectory of a Child
• Just One Teacher Can Completely Shift the Trajectory of a Child
• Just One Counselor Can Completely Shift the Trajectory of a Child
• Teacher...YOU MATTER!
• 21 Reasons Why Black Men Should Consider Teaching as a Career Option
• Becoming a Professional Speaker (keynote or workshop)
• Becoming a Best-Selling Author (keynote or workshop)