About: Jon Konen

Jon Konen is a high school principal and freelance writer in Columbia Falls, Montana. He has been a superintendent and has taught most all grade levels K-6, and has been an instructional coach. In addition, he has been an elementary and middle principal. As a 5th grade teacher, in 2010 he won the Presidential Award for Elementary Math and Science Teaching (PAEMST). As a principal, his school won the 2012 Blue Ribbon Award. In 2018, he won the National Distinguished Principal Award (NDP). In 2019 he won the National No Kid Hungry Breakfast Hero Award. He is the author of three guides published on teacher.org: An Educator's Guide to Combat Bullying & Bully Prevention; Teacher Evaluation: A Transition Guide to Exemplary Performance; and You are the Wild Card: Infusing Fun Back into Curriculum. He has authored a children's picture book that was released January 2019 titled Benjamin’s Visit to Principal Reads Office…again! (available at www.archwaypublishing.com)

9 Conflict Resolution Strategies to Teach Students

Woman and young boy lean on opposite sides of a table, facing each other at eye level in conversation

Conflict resolution strategies for students are the scripts a child can use when an ordinary disagreement starts: telling someone to stop, using an I message, taking a break, or walking away. Calming down is often a useful first step when it is safe to do so. Safety concerns and suspected bullying go straight to an…

Student standing with arms crossed in front of a chalkboard with chalk-drawn flexing muscle arms behind them

Bystander roles in bullying describe the positions students take when they witness it: assisting, reinforcing, watching passively, or defending. The Bully Circle maps seven roles involved in a bullying situation around the student being bullied. Teaching students to name their own role is what moves them from passive bystander to active defender. [xyz_feat_school] Back to…

illustration contrasting a silhouette blocking out communication with one speaking through a megaphone

Communication strategies to combat bullying work when they run in both directions between every pair of adults and students in a school, not just top-down from staff to students. The most effective schools build deliberate channels among staff, students, parents, and the community, so a bullying incident gets reported, addressed, and followed up on instead…

Here's why schools have a hard time stopping bullying: many reports turn out, on investigation, to be arguments, rough play, or an overused label rather than the aggressive, repeated, power-imbalanced behavior most bullying frameworks describe. Legal definitions vary by state, and FERPA limits what a school can say publicly, which fuels the sense that nothing…

child in a red cape and lightning-bolt shirt standing with hands on hips

Back to the main Bully Prevention Guide. One important defense against bullying is helping children learn to act as upstanders rather than passive bystanders, while also giving them safe ways to involve adults and protect themselves and others. Parents and educators can support that by modeling giving, service, responsibility, real-world reflection, kindness, respect for differences,…

child riding on an adult's shoulders in a superhero cape and mask, both with fists raised at sunset

Bully prevention defenders are students who step in or tell a trusted adult to keep a classmate safe, not to get anyone in trouble. Building that culture starts with explicitly teaching the difference between tattling and reporting, then backing it up with consistent recognition, clear reporting routes, and staff modeling. [xyz_feat_school] Back to the main…

Hand holding a red marker drawing a prohibition circle and slash over the handwritten word BULLYING

Teaching bullying prevention effectively matters to the success of any program a school adopts. Relatable content, active student participation, deliberate lesson design, real-world application, and honest assessment all shape whether a curriculum reaches students. Requirements for prevention policies, staff training, and curricula vary by state and district, so follow applicable law and local policy. [xyz_feat_school]…

Student holding up a white card printed with a red prohibition symbol over the word BULLYING

Dealing with bullying as a teacher starts with a one-on-one conversation with the student who reported it, not with immediate consequences for the student accused. Gather the full picture, bring it to a school team, address the behavior directly, set a written plan for what happens next, then follow up. [xyz_feat_school] Back to the main…

group of smiling elementary school students giving thumbs up together in a classroom

Bully behavior is an aggressive, intentional action that involves a real or perceived power imbalance and typically repeats over time, not every scuffle, one-time argument, or hurt feeling. Schools that dig into the specific behavior rather than labeling every incident "bullying" can develop individualized intervention plans and track whether they're actually working. [xyz_feat_school] Back to…

The Daily 5 is a literacy framework built around five independent components: read to self, read to someone, listen to reading, word work, and work on writing. Developed by Gail Boushey and Joan Moser, it teaches students to work independently while the teacher provides small-group and one-on-one instruction, rather than assigning every student the same…

About: Jon Konen

Recent Posts by Jon Konen

9 Conflict Resolution Strategies to Teach Students

Bystander Roles in Bullying: The Bully Circle Lesson

11 Communication Strategies to Combat Bullying

5 Reasons Schools Have a Hard Time Stopping Bullying

How to Raise a Defender: 7 Ways to Build an Upstander Against Bullying

10 Ways to Empower Bully Prevention Defenders in Your School

Teaching Bullying Prevention: 5 Reasons Instruction Matters

How to Deal With Bullying as a Teacher: 6+ Steps

5 Reasons Why We Need to Define Bully Behavior and Stop Generalizing Events as “Bullying”

What Is the Daily 5? 5 Reasons It’s the Best Reading Structure

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