Konen

Do you believe public education is under attack like no other time in history? Anyone who has been in education for decades has seen their share of controversies and fraught episodes, but I’ve been curious to know how our current challenges compare. Though I am only going into my twenty-fourth year in education, my mom […]

As teachers, we know that well-told stories are more memorable than almost any other effective teaching strategy we routinely use. There is a reason we remember the outstanding books that were taught, the impactful and sometimes heroic stories of individuals throughout history, and the intriguing storylines that help us remember important information, even in Algebra

Describing a positive school environment isn’t difficult. It’s a fun yet instructive space for students and a great place to work for faculty and staff. Everyone has the opportunity to grow, and no talent goes unnurtured. Great. But how does a school actually get to that point? Is it even possible? To Jon Konen, principal

In a school staff meeting, talking about goals is easy. Everyone from the principal to the counselors can agree that a central priority is creating an exciting, instructive, and welcoming community for learners. But before coming up with a plan, they need to do something a little more uncomfortable. They need to have a realistic

Have you ever been to a school where the culture was visibly negative or toxic? Within the first five minutes you walk onto campus you see students acting recklessly without acknowledgement of safety of anyone else in their vicinity. As you walk from the parking lot to the front of the school you see students

It took me nearly 20 years in education to realize that spending more time “building leaders” than with “referral-getters” can change the culture of a school. I actually have the data to prove this! If you were to complete an audit of the time you, as a teacher or principal, spent dealing with behavior as