Crook County principal receives state’s top principal award amid pandemic efforts

Published 6:00 pm Tuesday, April 19, 2022

It’s difficult to keep a secret in the small, rural community of Prineville, and even harder in the school district. But when Crook County High School Principal Michelle Jonas walked into an award ceremony on Monday in the school gym, she had no idea it was for her.

The gym was packed with students into surrounding risers, as Jonas, the school’s principal for nine years, waited to hear a presentation for her athletic director. Instead, the school’s assistant principal made another announcement: Jonas was Oregon’s high school principal of the year for 2022.

Jonas’ family members, who had been hiding nearby, came out cheering. Her mother, seated in a wheelchair and holding flowers, rubbed her teary eyes. Craig Hawkins, the executive director of the Coalition of Oregon School Administrators, presented the award. T-shirts had been made describing Jonas as the Greatest Of all Time, or G.O.A.T. Afterward, the congratulatory messages poured in from family and friends and educators from across the state.

“It was a little bit shocking,” Jonas said Tuesday.

The award capped two years in which Jonas played a major role in helping struggling local students. Working with the district, she helped create a system that pairs mentors with students who struggle academically, financially or with their mental health.

“If they have a caring adult, and they know their story, they’re more likely to succeed,” said Jonas. “Every student comes to us with their own backstory.”

Those efforts helped the high school’s graduation rate surge in the 2020-2021 school year to 98%, the highest in Central Oregon. But Jonas focused more on those who helped her than her own efforts.

“I just feel like everything we’ve achieved as a high school is part of a team,” said Jonas.

Meanwhile, Jonas championed the idea of returning kids to school earlier than many other regional districts, despite concerns among some families and educators over the risk of infection. It was a controversial move that some educators say helped the school’s graduation rates soar and aided isolated students at a time of dire need.

The pandemic has prompted educators throughout the region to be flexible. That was especially true with Jonas. Some highlights she pointed to were planning graduations and freshman orientation while navigating pandemic precautions. She also worked with school officials to connect students with different clubs and programs to help them find their place at school.

And as student mental health problems increased districtwide, she and other school officials created a red, yellow and green light system that informed educators about struggling students who needed help. The school also added a full-time counselor. It was a sorely needed position in an area where families struggle to connect students with mental health services, partly due to a lack of local professionals and high costs for families who don’t have insurance, according to district officials.

But some of Jonas’ efforts have gone beyond the typical duties of a principal, said Scott Cooper, chair of the district’s school board.

Cooper recalled her helping a low-income student gain access to laundry services.

He recalled her going to great lengths to help a student obtain a scholarship for college. “With 175 graduates, she could have passed over that, but she was determined to get that kid a scholarship somewhere,” Cooper said.

Cooper even recalled Jonas responding to his own children’s text messages late in the evenings as they inquired about school issues.

“She just thinks that’s what you do,” Cooper said. “She doesn’t recognize that’s not what most principals do.”

Cooper pointed to a moment before the award ceremony as emblematic of Jonas’ character. A TV news reporter approached her and asked her where would be the best place to set up a camera for the state principal awards ceremony. Cooper was sure he had spoiled the surprise.

But Jonas corrected the reporter, saying that wasn’t what the ceremony was about. To Cooper, it was clear she didn’t believe she could possibly be receiving this recognition.

Cooper said, “I don’t think Michelle always sees in herself what the rest of us see.”