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)

Recent Posts by Jon Konen

ISS vs. OSS: What Each One Means for Students

Close-up of a man in a suit holding up a card that reads KARMA
The difference between ISS and OSS is location. In-school suspension keeps a student on campus in a supervised room, still doing assigned work. Out-of-school suspension sends them home for a set number of days. Students usually consider OSS the lighter consequence. The research on behavior outcomes does not support that. [xyz_feat_school] After garnering a job…
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8 Reflection Questions for Teachers and School Leaders

Woman looking out a window with her chin resting on her hand, her reflection visible in the glass
These eight reflection questions for teachers move from your hardest recent decisions to your most successful ones, then to what you can actually control. The author works through them weekly, and the value is in the pattern that emerges across sessions. That's what shifts you from reacting to what hits you to planning for it.…
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Teaching Manners in the Classroom: 13 My Mom Taught Me

Woman taking a selfie with her son in his navy varsity football jersey on the field after a night game
Teaching manners in the classroom works best as direct instruction, not assumption. Name the manner, model it, practice it, then recognize students who use it. One principal's 13 manners, from kindness and eye contact to telling the truth and taking turns, grew into a schoolwide program of 19 rules taught one per day. [xyz_feat_school] My…
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The Teacher Team Rubric: How Would You Score Your Team?

abstract 3D figures connected by red arrows showing a team collaboration network
A teacher team rubric scores how well a grade-level or subject team actually collaborates, from Level 0 (no teaming at all) to Level 4 (weekly meetings built into the schedule, with shared goals and real accountability). Score your team honestly against each level, then use the gap to set one concrete goal for improvement. [xyz_feat_school]…
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Best Professional Development for Teachers: 7 People Who Shaped Mine

Man in classroom holding a clipboard and pen, smiling in front of a chalkboard
The best professional development for teachers isn't a single class: it's finding the specific speakers and authors whose ideas still hold up in your own classroom years later. This veteran teacher's list of seven career-changing PD sources includes Todd Whitaker, the Kagans, Rick Wormeli, and Carol Ann Tomlinson, chosen for ideas he still uses today.…
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Positive Phone Calls Home: 8 Steps to Start a Praise Program

smiling child with arms outstretched standing in a sunlit green wheat field
Positive phone calls home can be organized as a schoolwide system rather than left to individual good intentions. One principal's approach: ask every teacher for praise comments each quarter, have one person make the calls, and track the count. Eight steps show how it worked in his building. [xyz_feat_school] Do you spend more time calling…
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5 Components to a Great Weekly Lesson Plan

teacher writing lesson notes at a desk with a notebook, planner, and cup of coffee
One practical framework for the components of a lesson plan uses five parts: state standards, a clear objective, materials, assessment, and how it fits the week's overall structure. Madeline Hunter's well-known model lists seven steps, but this five-part version covers the same ground with less paperwork. [xyz_feat_school] What are the five most important components of…
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Why School Culture Matters: 9 Reasons Culture Trumps Strategy

Four young adults in casual clothes crouched in a sprinter's starting stance on a white studio backdrop
School culture matters because it can strongly influence whether a teaching strategy takes hold. Culture is the shared set of beliefs and norms behind how a school operates, and research associates it with student achievement, teacher retention, and staff morale. A strategy that cuts against the culture tends to struggle, however sound it looks on…
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9 Alternatives to Taking Away Recess as Punishment

Arial view of playground at an elementary school
Alternatives to taking away recess include playground zones, adult-led "practice recess," short, timed check-ins, and consequences administered in the classroom rather than outside. In one teacher's experience, these address behavior directly rather than removing physical activity altogether, though what's allowed varies by state and district policies. [xyz_feat_school] Withholding recess as a punishment has come under…
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Tracking Student Behavior: Intensity, Duration, and Frequency

Adult hand pointing a finger at a young student standing with hands on hips, frowning
Three useful ways to measure student behavior are intensity, duration, and frequency. Tracking student behavior along those dimensions turns a vague complaint into data you can act on: how severe it is, how long each episode lasts, and how often it happens. Use those numbers to decide whether an intervention is working. [xyz_feat_school] One of…
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