Today our guest is Robert Mueller, Middle School Assistant Principal at Platte County R3 Schools. Robert shares his unique approach to implementing CharacterStrong at his school by personally leading an advisory class as an administrator. He highlights how this hands-on strategy fostered meaningful connections with staff and students, setting the s…

Today our guest is Ty Harris the Director of the Office for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at Virginia Beach City Public Schools. We talk with Ty about the powerful ‘why’ behind his work and how his own high school experiences paved the way for what he does today. Ty shares insights on building a community of practice that fosters a genuine sense…

Today our guest is Colton Moore an amazing intern on our Secondary team! We talk with Colton about the importance gratitude and well-being. Colton shares how CharacterStrong integrates gratitude into lessons and highlights the transformative impact of being specific when expressing appreciation. He also discusses how embracing constraints can spark…

Today our guest are Justin Moorman & Katie Thornton from Centerville City Schools & the (Re)Education of Schools Podcast. We talk to Justin & Katie about how they have integrated the CharacterStrong curriculum with additional resources like on-demand professional development to foster trauma-informed, restorative, and inclusive school environments.…

Today our guest is Leandra Torra - Social Emotional Learning and Trauma Informed Care Manager at Jefferson County Public Schools. We talk to Leandra about best practices for using data to track and enhance social and emotional learning. Leandra discusses how data not only informs decision-making but also requires careful monitoring, prioritization,…

Today our guest is Barbara Gruener a seasoned consultant, mentor, author, and coach. Barbara sheds light on the significance of names in fostering respectful and compassionate relationships, particularly in school settings. We explore how using names thoughtfully can help nurture a more inclusive and caring environment for both students and staff. …

Today our guest is Cindy Bourget - Middle School Counselor, Elk Mound Area School District and also a 2024 ASCA School Counselor of the Year finalist. We talk to Cindy about how she integrates CharacterStrong as a Universal Tier 1 support, helping teachers effectively use it in their homeroom settings. Cindy emphasizes that Tier 1 is about the day-…

We talk with Dr. Clay Cook the Chief Development Officer at CharacterStrong about the brand new Tier 3 Solution. Clay shares valuable insights into how this tool is designed to provide targeted support for students with more intensive needs. He discussed the key features of the solution, how it aligns with CharacterStrong’s overall mission, and the…

In today's episode, CharacterStrong Co-Founder John Norlin discusses the 'Law of the Lid,' reminding us that we are all leaders with more influence than we often realize. He also offers three powerful insights for educators, providing practical reminders that can inspire and elevate our leadership in and out of the classroom. Learn More About Chara…

Today our guest is Dr. Lillie Cox - Owner/Founder, WE Lead also the Executive Director of North Carolina Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (NCASCD) and the Piedmont Triad Education Consortium (PTEC) We talk to Dr. Cox about how WE Lead supports women in educational leadership and how women can find their voice and develop a leg…

In this episode, we kick off Season 7 with CharacterStrong Co-Founders John and Houston! They discuss the latest updates and exciting developments at CharacterStrong, including the recent CASEL SELect designation, new bullying prevention lessons, high school lesson updates, and a series of new videos. Plus, they introduce the brand-new Behavior Res…

CharacterStrong co-founder Houston Kraft and Stanford Psychologist Dr. Jamil Zaki talk about practical insights and strategies to provide hope and empathy in this new school year. They discuss hopeful skepticism and meaningful ways to support students (and adults) as we start the first few weeks of school. Learn More About CharacterStrong: Access F…

Today our guest is A.J. Howard the CEO and Co-Founder of Tracked Learning. We talk with A.J. about the importance of progress monitoring and data collection. A.J. highlights the common challenges special education teachers often face in collecting and tracking data while supporting students. He also shares how he helped develop a solution that addr…

Today our guest is Dr. Jim Van Allen, President of The Energy Bus for Schools We talk to Dr. Van Allen about building a positive school culture. He talks about how culture isn’t one thing, it’s everything and it dictates all that schools want to accomplish. Dr. Van Allen reminds us that we need to focus on the roots of positive school culture as we…

Today our guest is Dr. Chris Clayton the Director of Education Services for the Educator Pipeline and Profession for the Pennsylvania State Education Association. We talk to Dr. Clayton about the importance of developing and supporting a robust educator pipeline. He highlights several of the opportunities available for building pipelines and shares…

Today our guest is Karissa Bachman, 3rd grade teacher at Maple Lawn Elementary, in the Sumner Bonney-Lake School District. We talk to Karissa about creative strategies that enhance student learning and engagement in the classroom. She shares a variety of practical approaches, including setting up a "relaxation station" to help students manage stres…

Today our guest is Lemar Wilson, Educational Leader at Uplifting Minds Enterprise. We talk to Lemar about the importance of fostering a culture of mindfulness and intentionality before engaging with technology. He highlights the significant influence phones can have on our lives and shares strategies he has used to help students rethink their relat…

Today our guests are Kate Nichols, and Jill Gleason, School Counselor & Intervention Director at Beaver Valley Elementary in Brush, Colorado. We talk to Kate and Jill about ways that they integrate their current PBIS system at Beaver Valley Elementary with curriculum like CharacterStrong. They share about the PBIS matrix that they use for their sch…

Today our guest is Dr. Cynthia “Mama J” Johnson - Educator Consultant, Author, and speaker with a message of HOPE. We talk to Dr. Johnson about the vital role of school, family, and community partnerships in education. She emphasizes the need for a new approach to transform our education system from a "village of despair" to a "village of hope." Sh…

Today our guest is John Nwosu, School Counselor in Cobb County Schools, Founder of Think DIF, LLC and the 2024 Georgia School Counselor of the Year. John emphasizes the importance of inspiring students, helping them connect with their environment, and leveraging available resources and relationships to support their success. He describes how he ach…

Today our guest is Debbie Beagle, Assistant Principal of Summer School & Director of Student Activities at Vernon Hills High School. We talk with Debbie and explore a few methods for fostering a positive campus culture. Debbie shares the innovative idea of "Bring Your Child or Parent to Work Day," explaining how this simple initiative and others li…

Today our guest is Chad Elsberry, Assistant Director of the Iowa High School Athletic Association and & Co-Executive Director of the Iowa Association of Student Councils. We talk with Chad to about the crucial role of student leadership in high schools. Chad shares how fostering leadership skills in students today can shape their futures and impact…

Today our guest is Dr. David Arencibia the Principal at Colleyville Middle School in Grapevine-Colleyville ISD. Dr. Arencibia shares about his new book, “Foundations of an Elite Culture: Building Success with High Standards and a Positive Environment.” He shares how high standards and a positive culture are the two pillars of a healthy campus, and …

Today our guests are Ryan Breen, a sophomore at Chaminade High School and Adam Giardina, Guidance Counselor at Chaminade High School. We talk to Ryan & Adam about an article that Ryan wrote for the New York Post Scholars Contest that focuses on the mental health of of young men. Ryan shares why he wrote the article and the needs that he is seeing i…

Today our guest is Dr. Andre Stout, Principal at Truman Middle School in Tacoma, WA. We talk with Dr. Stout about building capacity rather than seeking buy-in to implement social & emotional learning with fidelity. He explains the distinction between capacity and buy-in, emphasizing the importance of staff truly possessing the capacity to effective…

Today our guest is Chris Young, Principal at North Country Union High School in Newport, Vermont. We talk with Chris about the innovative Community Development Days at North Country. These events provide students with a dedicated space to discuss and learn about crucial topics such as mental health, wellness, and bullying. Chris shares the journey …

Today our guest is Marcy Carter the Middle School Dean of Students at Parchment Public Schools in Kalamazoo MI. We talk with Marcy the integration of PBIS and social emotional learning in a building. She emphasizes the necessity of combining both these elements and the significance of a PBIS matrix as a foundation. Marcy also highlights the importa…

Today our guest is Felisha Santiago, Director of School Supports at CharacterStrong. We talk to Felisha about the impact of Restorative Practices can have in our schools, with both students & staff. She discusses how restorative practices assist students who have committed an offense to reflect and rectify the situation. Felisha talks about how res…

Today our guest is Dr. Lori Lynass, Director of Tier 2 and Tier 3 at CharacterStrong. We talk with Dr. Lynass the impact of student behavior on educator burnout and possible solutions. She gives a current statistic that shows that teachers have the highest burnout rate among professionals right now. Dr. Lynass explains that student misbehavior ofte…

Today our guest is Dr. Clay Cook, the Chief development Officer at CharacterStrong. We talk to Clay about the importance of connectedness when it comes to Chronic Absenteeism. He first asks the question “What happens when people don’t feel connected?” and shares about the SERVE model that helps educators intentionally connect at school. Dr. Cook al…

Today our guest is Dr. Clay Cook, Chief development Officer at CharacterStrong. We talk to Clay about ways that we can begin to solve for Chronic Absenteeism. Dr. Cook emphasizes the need for a process to identify the root causes of chronic absenteeism. He shares that merely defining the problem isn't sufficient. Instead, we should look to understa…

Today our guests our Jennifer Klauss, Executive Director of Secondary Teaching & Learning and Derek O'Konek, Executive Director of Elementary Teaching & Learning both in the Richland School District. We talk to Jen & Derek about the CharacterStrong partnership that the Richland School District has as they support students. They highlight the succes…

Today our guests are Caroline Oleson the Tier 2 SEL and Intensive Support Team for the Madison Metropolitan SD and Kelly Nelson the SEL Tier 2 Elementary Teacher Leader for the Madison Metropolitan School District We talk to Caroline & Kelly about their experience implementing CharacterStrong in their district. They share some implementation succes…

Today our guest is Alexis Goddard, School Counselor at Centennial High School in Corona, CA and the 2024 California School Counselor of the Year. We talk to Alexis about the importance of creating support for others everyday, both with students and staff. She talks about how impactful it is to check in with others and shares some systems that she h…

Today our guest is Tyler Wolfe, the Director of Student Wellness at Dublin City Schools. We talk to Tyler about the increase in the mental health needs of students and how, to help meet these needs, they created a 2 year program that supports teachers in the district to go back to school to get their Masters degree. This is possible thru a partners…

Today our guest is Orlando Dobbin, School Counselor at Aversboro Elementary School. We talk to Orlando about how to center joy and happiness in the experiences of students. He shares about how he works to build his programs around the students and allows them to help shape the spaces to allow students to grow, rest and play. Learn More About Charac…

As we celebrate #SELday 2024 we wanted to share an episode from Season 2 the Adult SEL Podcast where Dr. Clayton Cook lays out the Outside-In and an Inside-Out approach when it comes to adult social & emotional learning. He highlights the importance of leaders cultivating healthy work environments while also supporting all staff in order to help pr…

Today our guest is Kelly Mountjoy, Professional School Counselor at Parkhill Junior High in Richardson ISD in TX. And Kelly is also the 2023 Lone Star School Counselor of the Year. We talk to Kelly about a collaborative system they have implemented to identify and support underrepresented student populations to take advanced level classes. Kelly ex…

Today our guest is Greg Moffitt, the Director of Principal Development for the District of Columbia Public Schools. We talk to Greg about leading with empathy and how empathy connects to the greater work of education. He talks about why empathy matters, and how we need to be curious about people, who they are, and the place that they are coming fro…

Today we talk with CharacterStrong's Chief Development Officer Dr. Clay Cook about what’s needed for a full Tier 3 Solution. He lays out 4 critical parts when it comes to tier 3: a process, personalized interventions, good data tools, and professional development. Dr. Cook explains that Tier 3 isn’t just interventions but it’s a system of personali…

Today our guest is Jason Thompson, a school counselor and school counseling coordinator. He also serves as an adjunct professor for several local universities and won the “Adjunct of the Year” award in 2019. We talk with Jason about how schools can collaborate with their communities to better serve students while also recognizing the work school co…

Today our guest is Scott Miyagi who currently serves as a Student Services Coordinator in Hawaii after serving as a school counselor for several years. We talk with Scott about the value of having different minds and perspectives at the table and how he works collaboratively with school counselors and teachers to ensure the learning environment is …

We are joined by John Burnett who explains whole child advocacy and creative steps he has taken to support the whole child. He shares how he created a social media poll to gather data and how he used the data to create a school-wide mental health fair that involved teachers, families, and other community partners. He walks through the steps he took…

Dr. Yuri Nava and Dr. Dawn Mann kick off National School Counseling Week by diving into a discussion about the powerful and important work of school counselors. They explain some of the shifts that have surfaced in the school counseling profession as a result of the changes that have happened within our students these past few years. They also shar…

Today we talk with CharacterStrong's Chief Development Officer Dr. Clay Cook about why Schools Struggle with Tier 3 Supports. He outlines 3 basic reasons that schools and districts encounter roadblocks as they implement Tier 3. Dr. Cook dives into solutions to help overcome them such as increasing educator confidence, shifting the internal locus of…

Today we talk with CharacterStrong's Chief Development Officer, Dr. Clay Cook about what needs to happen when Tier 1 and 2 Supports aren’t enough. He explains that when Tier 1 & 2 supports are lacking, a lot of students can look like they are in need of Tier 3 supports. As schools begin to work towards implementing Tier 3 supports, Dr. Cook emphasi…

Today our guest is Liz Ritz the Director of Teaching and Learning, at Oak Harbor Public Schools. We talk to Liz about her experience infusing CharacterStrong throughout the Oak Harbor district, and she shares difference between implementing with fidelity and integrity. Liz highlights the importance of building relationships in meetings, professiona…

Today our guest is Kiley Luckett the District Mental Health Coordinator with Lawrence Public Schools in Lawrence Kansas. We talk to Kiley about how they have planned, selected, and implemented the CharacterStrong curriculum over this last year. She shares about what they did as a district to make initial & ongoing implementation successful with bot…

Today our guest is Sharon Bradley, School District Administrator who supports Character, Attendance, and Restorative Practices & Founder and Principal Consultant at RestorativeFlo Educational Solutions. We talk with Sharon about how about 80% Restorative Practices are dedicated to building a strong community and relationships, not just resolving co…

We're counting down the top 6 podcasts of 2023! Today our guests are Amber Benson & Ruby Voss, better know as BensonVoss. We talk to BensonVoss about the role that Positive Relationships & Data-Based Decisions play in Student Growth. They share how they work to build positive relationships from day one of the school year, and the positive impact th…