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

Easy to read and filled with reflection.

Principal Kafele does it again with The Assistant Principal 50: Critical Questions for Meaningful Leadership and Professional Growth. This book is packed with his fiery enthusiasm and wide expanse of knowledge. I truly appreciate how he provides and breaks down a “plethora” of scenarios, questions and dilemmas that we are sure to face in the role of administrator. Many of which I’ve never given thought to before. He shares his many “Kafeleisms” as I like to refer to them about his career in education, as both a student and a professional educator . He always provides the necessary historical aspect to foster a complete understanding on any given subject. And he keeps it all the way 💯! I also participate in the FREE weekly AP Academy that can be found on his Twitter, YouTube and Facebook pages and I walk away each week feeling deeply reflective. I am thankful that he is so willing to sow into other educators-sadly not a common occurrence in our field. I view him as my virtual mentor. His positivity is contagious. Not only has he enlarged my territory and built my confidence in myself as a potential AP, he has fueled my desire to make my dream a reality. Principal Kafele wants to see everyone win! He is a true pillar of excellence in education.

As a first-year Assistant Principal, this book was exactly what I needed! A quick, "easy-read" filled with a wealth of information. The topics discussed were relevant and relatable to the assistant principalship. The guidance provided was incomparable. This is a book that I will definitely refer to on a regular basis.

Good book that poses a lot of interesting points of view to consider, but there is A LOT of discussion around the role of the administrator as a disciplinarian. As someone in a building where discipline is NOT an AP’s job, it felt excessive and irrelevant.

Principal Kafele is, without a doubt, one of the most prominent voices in educational leadership today. A former teacher and principal, Baruti Kafele is now an independent consultant who travels around the country helping all kinds of schools improve their systems and practices to increase student academic achievement.Principal Kafele is a frequent collaborator of ASCD (the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development), one of the educational leadership association with the largest membership in the world. He is also very active in Social Media (he has his own website and a dedicated youtube channel, and he is found in twitter and facebook), where he is currently (May - Aug 2020) offering a FREE Leadership Academy for Aspiring Assistant Principals. This Academy supports this book, which is an excellent guide to those who are aspiring Assistant Principals, or who are already in the job (and even Principals) so they can understand their role better.Unfortunately, in the words of Principal Kafele, the A.P. is the most misunderstood role in education. And he is right. An A.P. should NOT be the dean of students. He/She should NOT be the disciplinarian. He/She should NOT be the cafeteria supervisor. An Assistant Principal, in essence, is in a school building to ASSIST the Principal in INCREASING ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT. Therefore, he is instructional leader #2 (behind the Principal). An effective Assistant Principal belongs in the classroom supervising teachers, so he/she can build teacher capacity and make an ACADEMIC difference in students.I have read The Aspiring Principal 50, and I appreciate Principal Kafele knowledge and expertise in the subject. His style is direct and based on inquiry, meaning, he poses 50 questions (thus the title) for you to reflect on your role as an Assistant Principal, with the goal of increasing academic achievement and, ultimately, making a difference in the school you lead. I would encourage anybody in the business of educational leadership to read his books. I also appreciate he does not sell you fluff. You may be thinking his books are 'short.' But you shall never judge a book by its cover! It is my experience that most books are 250 pages, out of which 150 are fluff. I rather read Kafele's books because in every page, in every line, I find truth!Peace!

This book has helped to provide guidance that I could not seem to find anywhere, or at least all in one place, as it applies to assistant principalship. It is not boring. I'm not forcing myself to just "get through to the next chapter" as I have with other literature. It is a simple, yet thought provoking read and I encourage anyone who is seeking school leadership or current school leaders to get this book.

As an aspiring assistant principal I have spent my quarantine searching for my own personal development. I just recently discovered a true treasure in the book The Assistant Principal 50. Principal Kafele’s self reflexive, self assessing style of teaching in his books and workshops is helping me grow in leaps and bounds, not only as an aspiring AP but also in my current position as a high school TOSA.

Absolute fan of Principal Kafele! I’ve seen him in person multiple times and he always brings the fire! I recently purchased two more for two friends going through the process of becoming Assistant Principals, so much knowledge to share!