LifeChanger of the Year Nominee Profile

Jon Goodfriend was nominated by Pam Goodfriend, a family member.

"Coach Goodfriend has committed his entire teaching career to positively impacting the lives of his students," explains Ms. Goodfriend. "Coach Goodfriend loves to serve others and give back to people. He is happiest when everyone else is smiling, and he works to help others feel good about their day. Coach Goodfriend strives to live up to the definition of his last name - to be a Good Friend. He continually seeks opportunities to interact with and influence students. Coach Goodfriend is highly motivated and organized. He is a leader in his school and has great communication and leadership skills that help him to work with adults and students in his school. He is committed to developing improvement and achievement with his students while building up parents, faculty, staff, and our local community."

Coach Goodfriend has taught 6th, 7th, and 8th-grade social studies in his classroom for over eight years. He has taught in rural, suburban, and urban settings throughout his teaching career. He has also taught at Title I schools, impacting the most vulnerable communities. Coach Goodfriend has demonstrated his commitment to being a lifelong learner to his students. He's continuing to improve his teaching craft by seeking his Gifted certification and pursuing his Doctorate in Education. Coach Goodfriend also impacts students through coaching, including his current school's softball, basketball, and track teams. In the past, he coached football and soccer.

In leadership capacities, Coach Goodfriend has been a faculty sponsor for Student Council, where he assists students in planning events throughout the year for student morale and climate. He also sponsors the Fellowship of Christian Athletes huddle on campus. Coach Goodfriend has served on PBIS Committees, which aims to increase the amount of positive behavior interventions throughout the school to reward good behavior. In 2019, he received a grant for $1,000 to help bring his vision of the "Mustang Market" into reality, where students could shop for incentives. The Mustang Market helped improve the student climate and decreased the number of office referrals in half! He has also volunteered his time and talent to serve on the district assessment writing and curriculum writing teams. He has attended school improvement workshops to improve achievement at the school and district levels.

In his free time, Coach Goodfriend enjoys spending time with his family and being out in the community. He is a member of Midway Church. Coach Goodfriend also serves on the City of Villa Rica Recreation Board. He has been a volunteer & supporter of Keep Carroll Beautiful. Coach Goodfriend graduated from the County Citizen's Academy in 2015. He enjoys running as a hobby and is a member of the Atlanta Track Club and West Georgia Track Club to encourage others to live a healthy lifestyle.