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

7 De-Escalation Phrases for Students: The “Double Scoop”

Hand holding up a two-scoop ice cream cone against a pale blue sky
De-escalation phrases for students work best when they name the emotion and offer a choice instead of a command. Seven short lines cover most classroom flare-ups: acknowledge what you see, ask for more, offer a break, give two acceptable options, or change the subject entirely. The behavior usually isn't about you. [xyz_feat_school] The students who…
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Can a Kindness Campaign Truly Change Your School?

"Lincoln's Tree" bulletin board covered in colorful paper handprints recording students' acts of kindness
Yes, a school kindness campaign can measurably change culture: office referrals fell from 418 to 192 in one year after we shifted our daily focus from discipline referrals to public recognition of kindness, a drop of roughly 54%, without making new rules or consequences the focus of the campaign. [xyz_feat_school] After years of digging through…
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