by Adama Kone, Teacher Project Coordinator

Principals are the backbone in whatever Mali Rising Foundation does in our partner schools. This is why we strive to help our principals succeed. One way we do this is to host Principal Peer Meetings. These meetings help us understand their challenges and successes while also connecting them to each other so they can share solutions and strategies.

Bakary Koné (no relation) is one of the Mali Rising Foundation middle school principals who joined a peer meeting on October 12, 2021. He runs the Jade and Gabe Mellor Middle school of Seguesona. He was an English teacher before he was promoted to principal at Jade and Gabe Mellor Middle School. Mr. Koné is thirty-nine years old and has worked in education for about fifteen years. He is married and a father of three children. Mr. Koné likes working at Jade and Gabe Mellor Middle School very much, even though he sometimes feels overwhelmed by the number of students at the school. Mr. Koné says “We had more than 100 students in the seventh grade during last school year. Those kids are very hard to manage as extremely excited to start middle school, which makes them so proud of themselves!”

As a principal in middle school, Mr. Koné thinks principals can make changes in their school outcomes by having great partnerships with school partners like their school committees (kind of like school boards in the U.S.), teachers, student mothers’ associations, local educational department, and others. Mr. Koné is determined to improve his partnerships with these groups during the 2021-2022 school year. Inspired by the October Principal Peer Meeting, Mr. Koné plans to suggest a great idea to his principal peers in order to learn from them and share his challenges and achievements with them as well.

What is that idea? Mr. Koné said that he would like to suggest that his fellow principals in the local area meet up at least once a month and talk about their challenges, solutions, and successes. He is sure that this activity will help each of principal improve their work in their own schools, which is the goal for all of the principals.  

Mr. Koné is planning to share his idea with the other Mali Rising Foundation principals on their WhatsApp group (a tool we set up for them to help them connect with each other) and see how they all could react to it. Mr. Koné feels very sure that meeting up with other principals at least once a month will be something acceptable for them because it will be one of the best ways for all of them to see each other often and solve problems together. He also thinks that these meetings would be the spot for them to share other information about education in general.  Mr. Koné said he is eager to try out something new with his principal peers and hopes it works out!