Baruti Kafele, a best-selling author who calls himself “America’s Principal” and an advocate for the potential of black and Latino students, recently spoke to a group of Metro East educators at the request of the Southern Illinois University Edwardsville East St. Louis Charter High School.
“Educators must see themselves as the number one determinant to the success or failure of black and Latino students,” said Kafele, author of Motivating Black Males to Achieve in School and in Life anda former New Jersey high school principal.
Kafele held a day-long workshop on the Charter High School teachers’ first day of fall orientation. Also invited to the opening session were educators from the SIUE Upward Bound programs, the East St. Louis School District #189 and other area school districts. About 40 individuals were in attendance.
“We were elated to host Principal Kafele,” said Gina Washington, director of the SIUE East St. Louis Charter High School. “His message is encouraging, applicable and invigorating. I saw him at a conference in Philadelphia, and it changed the way I viewed my students.”
Success, according to Kafele, begins with one’s view about black and Latino students. But in considering their gains in the classroom, people will typically mention the “Achievement Gap.”
“I can’t accept the ‘Achievement Gap,’” he said, “because it implies there is something wrong with those on the other side. We need to close the ‘Attitude Gap,’ which is the gap between those who have the will to strive for excellence and those who do not.”
The problem, Kafele added, is not about reading, writing and math, particularly in providing support for black male students.
“A man is someone who has love, respect, appreciation and responsibility for himself,” said the motivational speaker. “They don’t have a reading and writing problem. They have a manhood problem.”
“It’s sad that many young black males don’t see themselves coming from centuries of greatness,” the author said, “because they haven’t been taught their history.”
Kafele said he incorporates the richness of black history into shaping and encouraging the young minds of his students. “I have to introduce them to themselves,” he said, “because many of them don’t know where they came from. No one has told them.”
Kafele also said when he was a high school principal, he enlisted men to serve as mentors to high school students.
But at the crux of what Kafele said he is trying to accomplish now, and is traveling from city to city to achieve, is to challenge and “fire up” the way educators think about black and Latino students.
“What’s wrong with these boys?” Kafele asked the crowd. “Nothing. What’s wrong with us?”
“America’s Principal” gave educators three criteria to teach students: a passion for children, a passion for teaching and learning, and a passion for your own personal and professional development
“His perspective on the criteria for effective teaching is an important one to embrace,” said SIUE School of Education Dean Bette Bergeron. “Educators who are passionate about who and what they teach will give students the motivation to soar and achieve at the highest levels every day.”
After the presentation, Charter High School Language Arts teacher Colin Neumeyer, arrived at an assessment of himself.
“I have established a reputation here at the Charter High School to be all academics and discipline,” Neumeyer said. “I am sort of the no-nonsense teacher here.
“I want to now build on that foundation, employ Principal Kafele’s message about turning it back onto the students and making them want from themselves what I want from them.
“I am also going to expose the students to the rich African-American literary perspective,” Neumeyer continued, “and provide them that part of their identity that Principal Kafele was talking about.”
Kafele’s eventual successes in education did not come easily. The now sought-after speaker and author was a high school dropout. He quit school in the ninth grade, only to go back one year later and graduate with a 1.5 grade point average.
“I had a high school guidance counselor tell me I’d never amount to anything,” Kafele said. “He couldn’t dream of me being successful.”
After graduating from high school, he went back to the streets for five years but grew weary of his lack of direction and ambition. Kafele then went to Kean University in New Jersey, where he graduated summa cum laude with a bachelor’s in management science/marketing.
He later received a master’s in educational administration from New Jersey City University. It was in college that one professor told Kafele, much to his dismay, that he would be a public speaker. Another instructor said he was a good writer.
Key to Kafele’s transformation was his study of the life of Malcolm X. Kafele said he named himself and selected “Baruti,” which means teacher in the southern African language of Tswanna.
For more information on Kafele, visit principalkafele.com.
$186K grant for Supported Employment services
The Illinois Department of Human Services has awarded MERS/Goodwill a contract for $186,500. The contract will provide Supported Employment services for individuals with the most significant disabilities in St. Clair and Madison Counties as well as more rural areas including Monroe, Randolph, Clinton and Jersey Counties.
Effective July 1, the contract is expected to place up to 50 new clients into employment in the next year though MERS/Goodwill’s recently available services such as Supported Employment (SE) assessment, SE job development, SE job coaching and retention support.
“This level of support will allow MERS/Goodwill to reach more severely disabled individuals by providing more in-depth one-on-one assistance, and will grant support to those that have been on a waiting list,” said Ashley Cervantes, Director of MERS/Goodwill of Illinois. “We hope to serve a new client base that we would not have had the privilege of working with outside of this new contract.”
MERS/Goodwill has an existing agreement with the Illinois Department of Human Services to provide vocational rehabilitation and development services to individuals faced with barriers to finding and retaining employment. The State of Illinois recognized MERS/Goodwill for surpassing the required number of successful client placements through the Vocational Development agreement. This is the second consecutive year they have surpassed contract requirements and were granted an amendment this year for additional funding to reach more individuals in Illinois.
In addition to expanding Supported Employment (SE) services in Illinois, MERS/Goodwill will be hiring two full-time SE Employment Specialists, one full-time Employment Specialist and several part-time job coaches to take on new case referrals, effective immediately.
“This is a tremendous milestone for MERS/Goodwill,” said Dr. Lewis Chartock, President and CEO of MERS/Goodwill. “The services our organization will provide through this new contract could not be made possible without the persistence and passion exemplified by our director in Illinois. Ashley is a true leader that embodies the MERS/Goodwill mission.”
MERS/Goodwill is a proud member of the United Way. For more information about MERS/Goodwill or to find a Goodwill donation center near you, call 314-241-3464 or visit www.mersgoodwill.org.
