The CharacterStrong Podcast

Today our guest is Marelenise Phillips-Roberts, a District Leader of MTSS. Marelenise shares how she thinks about professional development for MTSS not as a one-time training event but as a continuous learning system that mirrors the same tiered, needs-based approach schools use to support students. She also explains why getting curious before concluding, and connecting before correcting, is the f...

Today, host John Norlin shares a Leadership Toolbox episode built around one of the most important questions in education: if leadership is influence, how do you actually earn it? The answer, he argues, is through service and sacrifice, and he makes the case with a story about a high school math teacher who changed the trajectory of how he saw himself as a learner. He also explains how the everyda...

Today our guest is Alex Alvarado, co-founder and CEO of Daybreak Health, a school-based mental health company partnering with hundreds of K-12 districts to connect students with the care they need. Alex shares a three-part framework for how schools can build a team-based approach to turning a concern about a student into a real connection to care. He also explains why the answer to serving struggl...

Today our guest is Chris Moore, Director of Behavioral Health at Salem-Keizer Public Schools. Chris shares a poem he wrote and delivered as a commencement address to a cohort of leaders, a piece that started as a love letter to leadership and became a ritual reminder of why educators show up, stay in it, and choose to keep going even when the work is hard. He also reflects on the importance of bui...

Today our guest is Dr. Stefan Bean, Orange County's 12th Superintendent of Schools and author of Lifted to Lead . Dr. Bean shares the LIFTED framework, a practical leadership model built around the idea that a leader's job is not to be first up the ladder but to hold it steady so others can climb. He also explains why listening is the foundation everything else in the framework depends on, and how...

Today our guest is Sonia Ruiz, Principal at Jane Addams Middle School in Bolingbrook, Illinois and 2026 National Middle Level Principal of the Year. Sonia shares how her school built a system for gathering student voice that goes beyond surveys, turning what students share into concrete action, staff training, and a more inclusive school community. She also explains why collecting student voice on...

Today, John Norlin and Houston Kraft mark the launch of Season 9 of the CharacterStrong Podcast by digging into a framework that was unpacked this summer around what it actually takes to cultivate the conditions where students and adults can thrive. They also reflect on what nine seasons of conversations with educators have made clear, that the leaders who create lasting change share three consist...

Today our guest is Torrin Johnson, Executive Director of MTSS at Merced Union High School District in California. Torrin shares how his district built a Tier 2 support system from the ground up, what they got wrong at first, and how pairing trained intervention coordinators with explicit skill-based curriculum helped bring their suspension rate to below 1% across 11,000 students. He also explains...

Today our guest is Angela Walle, a teacher at Geiger Montessori in Tacoma Public Schools and recipient of the Tacoma Public Schools Whole Child Champion Award. Angela shares how replacing classroom rules with explicitly taught character traits transformed her classroom from one of the most difficult she had ever managed to one where students described it as their safest place in school. She also e...

Today, host John Norlin shares a strategy called Staff Chips, a simple physical system that helps building administrators be more intentional about connecting with every member of their staff, not just the ones they naturally gravitate toward. He also explains why systems matter more than goals when it comes to relational work. Having the intention to connect more with staff is not enough. A concr...

Today, host John Norlin shares a strategy called Deck of Destiny, a simple way to weave relationship-building into the daily fabric of the classroom without adding time to an already full schedule. Using a deck of cards connected to get-to-know questions, educators can create two-minute connection moments that are random, engaging, and easy to sustain. He also explains why the real barrier to rela...

Today, host John Norlin shares a strategy called the Kid in the Middle, a simple, low-burden approach to recognizing the students who rarely get attention in either direction. By calling home to compliment a family member on a positive trait their child brings to the classroom, educators can make an impact that lasts far longer than they might expect. He also explains why this matters most for the...

Today, host John Norlin shares an evidence-based reflection strategy called EMR, developed by Dr. Clayton Cook. Using a simple roster exercise, educators categorize each student or staff member into one of three relationship phases: Establish, Maintain, or Restore, and then focus their energy where it is needed most. He also explains why this kind of intentional reflection matters. You cannot be a...

Today, host John Norlin shares a practical classroom check-in strategy called the Temperature Check. Using three simple questions at the start of class, educators can get a quick read on how students are actually doing before instruction begins, and act on what they learn. He also explains why that information matters beyond academic readiness. Knowing where students are emotionally on any given d...

Today, host John Norlin shares a simple weekly strategy for helping students get to know the adults in their school: True Story Friday. By taking two to five minutes at the end of Friday to share a personal story, educators give students something they often want but rarely get, a real look at who their teacher actually is. He also explains how a little preparation goes a long way, having stories...

Today, host John Norlin shares a leadership concept called The Law of the Lid, drawn from Dr. John Maxwell's work. The core idea is straightforward: as a leader, you cannot expect the people around you to bring more energy, effort, or authenticity to the room than you are willing to bring yourself. He also explains how this principle applies at every level of a school, from the classroom teacher s...

Today, host John Norlin shares a simple strategy for connecting with students, even thought who may have been hard to reach: The Student Becomes the Teacher. By asking students what they could teach you, educators can gain personal insight that opens the door to genuine connection, often in less than three minutes. He also explains how a small investment of time outside the classroom, looking up s...

Today our guest is Brandon Bakke, assistant principal at Gig Harbor High School and author of  Lessons from the Bench . Brandon shares the core ideas behind his new book, a nine-lesson framework for bench players and role players in any organization who want to understand how to contribute meaningfully to a team's success. He also explains why broadening the definition of success to include relati...

Today our guest is Derrick Lawson, co-executive director of CATLL and CASCD and a former principal at all three school levels. Derrick shares practical strategies for building relational capacity with staff and students at the start of the school year, and why the first days of school should be spent on connection, not content. He also explains how school leaders can build staff capacity for relat...

Today, John Norlin, Houston Kraft, and Lindsay Norlin mark a milestone: the 500th episode of the CharacterStrong Podcast. More than a celebration of numbers, this episode is a reflection on what 500 voices from educators across the country have taught the CharacterStrong team. and where the work is headed next. They also share an honest look at where education stands right now, why relationships r...

Today our guest is Steve Smith, CEO and co-founder of IntelliSpark. Steve shares how IntelliSpark helps educators get to know students as people — not just learners — by making it easier to capture, share, and act on student information across an entire school team in real time. He also explains how the platform addresses two persistent gaps in schools: the friction of sharing critical student inf...

Today, host John Norlin shares a practical relationship-building strategy called the secondhand compliment — an intentional approach to recognizing students through another trusted adult, especially before a strong connection has been established. He also explains why indirect recognition can land more credibly with students who don't yet feel seen, and how this simple three-step practice fits int...

Today our guest is Dr. Susanne Thompson, Vice President of Business Development at SESI (Specialized Education Services, Inc.). Dr. Thompson shares five practical strategies for superintendents and building leaders who want to build stronger, more responsive tiered support systems, with a focus on reaching the most vulnerable students and celebrating progress along the way. She also explains how M...

Today our guest is Devon Wible, Vice President of Teaching and Learning at Catapult Learning. Devon works directly with schools and districts to design high-impact tutoring programs that fit inside existing MTSS systems — helping the students most likely to fall through the cracks actually get the support they need. She also explains how relationship-building sits at the center of this work, not a...

Today, host John Norlin shares a practical classroom strategy called pre-correction a proactive approach to reducing behavior correction before it's needed. This episode helps educators understand why constant correction increases conflict and disengagement, and what they can do instead to get ahead of it. He also explains how pre-correction works as a system, not just a technique, by front-loadin...