This essential episode welcomes Baruti Kafele and Dr. A. Katrise Perera as guests. Kafele, known professionally as Principal Kafele, is a best-selling author, keynote speaker, and Milken Award-winning educator who spent nearly 30 years as an urban public school teacher and principal in New Jersey. His books include Motivating Black Males to Achieve in School and in Life, Closing the Attitude Gap: How to Fire Up Your Students to Strive for Success, and The Teacher 50: Critical Questions for Inspiring Classroom Excellence.
Perera is Superintendent of the Gresham-Barlow School District in Oregon. Prior to this role, she was national director of the urban markets division with McGraw Hill Education and superintendent of the Isle of Wight County Schools in Smithfield, Virginia for four years. During that time she received the National Association of School Superintendents 2015 Superintendent of the Year Award.
In the first segment (0:30), Kafele describes the current appetite for discussions about social justice, relating that he's had more opportunities to have these conversations in the past few months than in the previous few decades. He also describes equity more broadly, defining it as essential to who you are as an educator, and explains why it's essential for educators to truly see and acknowledge the identities of their students of color. Throughout the interview, he delivers a powerful message about how we can authentically and intelligently engage students in conversations about social justice.
Dr. Perera then joins the show (33:54) to share her perspective as a district leader. She describes the focus on combining and blending social justice with cultural responsiveness, and sustaining that focus to promote equity for all learners. She also shares some insights on how we can raise kids' awareness of current events and their connection to cultural history. Dr. Perera closes by giving her thoughts on the process of "getting it right" in leadership.
Hosted by Mind Rocket Media Group
Subscribe to Education Today to get alerted when each new episode publishes. To continue today's conversation, follow along on Twitter: @PrincipalKafele @akperera @soundtrap @EdCircuit @mindrocketmedia
