I have the greatest job in the world. Being a principal is not just a job, it is a mission! “When I was a principal at Newark Tech, if I was standing in front of the school during student dismissal, I would sometimes direct my students' attention to the sign on the front of the building. "Read the sign aloud," I would say, and they would respond, "Newark Tech." I would then ask them if they could see anything else. "There is another name there, but you don't see it," I'd say. "There is an invisible sign, and it reads ‘Principal Kafele.’" You see, I was well aware that if my school was underperforming, then the community would see me, the principal, as a failure. I therefore accepted that, as principal, I was the number-one determinant of the success or failure of Newark Tech. The school was going to go as I went. The exact same principle applies to you as the classroom teacher. Your name is on that classroom door—literally, in most cases. That is your classroom. You are the one who determines outcomes in that classroom. You are the one who creates scholars in that classroom “who creates hope, who lets dreams flourish, who keeps negative influences from entering the room. You remind your students constantly that where they are now doesn't necessarily determine where they will wind up later.” Excerpt From #ClosingtheAttitudeGap Baruti Kafele @PrincipalKafele