Dr. Andy Jacks has a passion for the success of every single child ensuing that school is a place filled with meaningful relationships and support for even the most at-risk students. Andy is the principal of the award-winning Ashland Elementary School in Northern Virginia where they have skyrocketed student achievement and created a unique school culture that even brought the U.S. Secretary of Education there for a tour. Andy also serves on the Autism Society of Northern Virginia Board of Direct...
Sep 16, 2019•15 min•Season 2Ep. 5
Shreeya Arora is a junior at the Gatton Academy of Mathematics and Science in Kentucky. She believes in driving positive outcomes through technology. From increasing the efficiency of the response to natural disasters to developing a sustainable transportation service for new refugees at no cost, her love for computer science has allowed her to make a change in her community. Along with coding and graphic design, civic engagement is also important to Shreeya as it allows her to learn more about ...
Sep 12, 2019•10 min•Season 2Ep. 4
CharacterStrong Co-Founders John Norlin & Houston Kraft have some fun and talk about the first thing that comes to mind on different School Culture & Climate topics. Topics: Back to School: Helping everyone feel welcome, School Dances, Back to School for Staff
Sep 09, 2019•13 min•Season 2Ep. 3
Jonathan Alsheimer is a teacher from “The” Fred Lynn Middle School, Speaker, and author of the upcoming book “Next Level Teaching” published by Dave Burgess Consulting - All about how teachers can make a profound impact on the culture and climate of their classroom and school! We talk about how making a difference at school starts in the classroom, three characteristics of a great teacher, and how we can re-engage the fire and passion for education.
Sep 05, 2019•15 min•Season 2Ep. 2
Season 2 Kickoff Episode!! CharacterStrong Co-Founders John Norlin & Houston Kraft have some fun and talk about the first thing that comes to mind on different School Culture & Climate topics. Topics: Kindness Weeks, Back to School for Students
Sep 02, 2019•13 min•Season 2Ep. 1
Evonya Cornelius is a speech language pathologist with over 25 years of experience in schools, hospitals, and rehab settings in the United States and the Caribbean. She is the product of the Monroe County Public School System in Rochester, NY. She earned a Bachelor's degree in Communication Disorders from Nazareth College of Rochester and Master's degree in education from Buffalo State College. She owned and operated Manner of Speaking consulting services in Southeast Florida for 12 years. Her i...
Aug 29, 2019•14 min•Season 1Ep. 55
Katherine is the American School Counselor’s Association 2016 National School Counselor of the Year. Katherine began serving as the Flagstaff High School (FHS) Counseling Department Chair in the 2008 and Student Government Advisor in 2012. Through a data-driven, comprehensive school counseling program, Katherine and her team have received both state and national recognition. Katherine joined the American School Counselors Association (ASCA) board of directors in 2017 and is an adjunct faculty me...
Aug 26, 2019•16 min•Season 1Ep. 54
Krista Gypton taught for 19 years and has received numerous awards for her teaching and student community service, including the 2008 Arizona Teacher of the Year Ambassador for Excellence. She is an emphatic believer in the power of service to others and has traveled as far as South Africa with students to give back. She has been a keynote speaker and trainer for the past 11 years, both nationally and internationally. Krista is the new CharacterStrong School Implementation Specialist. We talk wi...
Aug 22, 2019•12 min•Season 1Ep. 53
Robert Hand teaches at Mount Vernon High School. His subjects are Family and Consumer Sciences and Leadership. He is currently teaching Careers in Education - Recruiting Washington Teachers, Leadership, Nutrition, and Life After High School. Robert is the 2019 Washington State Teacher of the Year. We talk with Robert about the strategies that he uses to help keep the important things as priorities in his life, and how that starts with looking at how he spends his time.
Aug 19, 2019•18 min•Season 1Ep. 52
Jeff Baines’ career in education has spanned nearly 30 years as a teacher, coach, athletic director, assistant principal and now he is entering his 1st year as principal of Burlington-Edison High School. Jeff has also served as a high school coach for football, baseball, fastpitch, softball, and track & field. He was named the Unsung Hero for the Sumner community in 2017 and the WA state AD of the Year in 2018. With the love and support from Neil, Aaron, Sadie and especially his wife Marguer...
Aug 15, 2019•16 min•Season 1Ep. 51
Jared Smith is a student at Central Washington University and when he is not in class he is traveling around to speak on the importance of love. He also runs a company called Project Love People that is on a mission to remind the others that in the stress and hatred of the world what really matters is to GROW MINDS. HAVE FUN. and LOVE PEOPLE. We talk with Jared about what it means to Grow Minds, Have Fun, and Love People, how love is an intentional choice, and the importance of being intentional...
Aug 12, 2019•11 min•Season 1Ep. 50
Marla Mattenson is a relationship & intimacy expert specializing in coaching couples in business together with a desire to learn how to take their drive for success and growth mindset in business and apply it to invigorate their relationship. Over the course of her 25 year career, she’s helped more than 12,000 couples including Academy Award winning actors, producers and directors, NBA players and coaches, Grammy Award winning artists, and millionaire entrepreneurs. Marla was also a National...
Aug 08, 2019•17 min•Season 1Ep. 49
Sally Rusk has taught middle school for 20 years. She's taught in the Edmonds, Bellingham, and most recently she spent 12 years as the activity coordinator at Inglewood Middle School in the Lake Washington School District. She was on the planning team for Timberline Middle School which opens in the Fall. She was the 2018 Washington State Middle Level Advisor of the Year and teaches social and emotional learning centered classes to over 250 kids a year. She is also a Character Strong presenter an...
Aug 05, 2019•16 min•Season 1Ep. 48
Thane Marcus Ringler is a former pro golfer turned speaker, author, coach, and entrepreneur living in Los Angeles, CA. After competing for nearly four years as a professional, he transitioned out of the world of golf into his new endeavors. In his current work, Thane's mission is to help others live and work better. He is passionate about speaking to the journey from the journey, and wants to empower this generation to take ownership of their lives and never settle for less than they are capable...
Aug 01, 2019•17 min•Season 1Ep. 47
Natalie Fikac is an educator with over 23 years of experience. Her educational experience began as an elementary school teacher, reading interventionist and dyslexia specialist, Professional School Counselor at both the elementary and secondary level, campus administrator and district level administrator. In her previous educational experience, she served as the Director of Guidance & Counseling in Spring Branch ISD where she supported 85 Professional School Counselors, the district CYS cris...
Jul 29, 2019•14 min•Season 1Ep. 46
Ryan Healy who has taught for 13 years at Ridgeline Middle School in Yelm, WA. Ryan is the 2019 Capital Region ESD 113 Teacher of the Year and was a finalist for the 2019 Washington State Teacher of the Year. He was also honored with the Association of Washington Student Leaders Middle-Level Adviser of the Year Award in 2014. We talk with Ryan about the importance of being available for our students and he shares some intentional ways that we can make time for the students and staff at our schoo...
Jul 25, 2019•15 min•Season 1Ep. 45
Paul has spent the last 23 years as a classroom teacher. The last 21 of those years have been spent at Monrovia High School in beautiful Southern California, mostly as a social science teacher. In 2008 he became the Renaissance Coordinator. In 2018 Paul became the school's first Climate & Culture Coordinator, with responsibilities of Renaissance Coordinator, Activities Director and Link Crew Coordinator. In 2012 he was chosen as the Monrovia Unified Teacher of the Year. In 2013 Jostens Renai...
Jul 22, 2019•15 min•Season 1Ep. 44
As the professional development leader in Wyoming’s largest high school, Amy Rose serves as an assistant principal willing to make changes and challenge the high school norm. Focused on literacy intervention, accountability, and graduation data, Amy has challenged Kelly Walsh High School to “do hard things.” Recently, Amy has paired with Gear Up Wyoming to challenge leaders to think differently about the impact of leadership and literacy in a secondary setting. In her 20th year in education, Amy...
Jul 18, 2019•17 min•Season 1Ep. 43
Marc Gallaway who is the Principal of Selah Middle School in Washington State and has been in the same district for 21 years. He was the 2018 Washington State Middle-Level Principal of the Year and is a force for change in his state and beyond. We talk with Marc about the intentional things that his school is doing to help get new 6th grade students started academically and he talks about different strategies that have helped set 6th graders on a great path at the beginning of the school year....
Jul 15, 2019•9 min•Season 1Ep. 42
John & Houston have some fun and talk about the first thing that comes to mind on different School Culture & Climate topics. Topic: Social Media
Jul 11, 2019•11 min•Season 1Ep. 41
During her almost 40 years of working with student activities, Terry has coached a cheer team, advised NHS and student council, and served as an Activities Coordinator. She has been a co-director of a National Leadership Camp, a leadership consultant and curriculum coordinator for the Texas Association of Activities, and been presented with the Earl Reum award. She is currently vice-president of the National Association of Student Council Executive Directors and the Director of the Texas Associa...
Jul 08, 2019•15 min•Season 1Ep. 40
CharacterStrong co-founders John & Houston have some fun and talk about the first thing that comes to mind on different School Culture & Climate topics. Topics : Inclusion, favorite ideas to recognize people in unique ways,
Jul 04, 2019•12 min•Season 1Ep. 39
We sit down with student leaders Jenna, Gibby, and Cheney, at the Texas Association of Secondary School Principals State Conference. They chat about student perspective on what should be focused on in education today, and also share what they are grateful for.
Jul 01, 2019•15 min•Season 1Ep. 38
Coach Don Bartel has been a teacher and coach in Washington state for 22 years. He has coached and/or taught at the middle school, high school, and collegiate level. He has served as a head coach at three different high schools for a combined 15 years; and has been the head football coach, leadership teacher, ASB advisor, and activities coordinator at Eastlake High School in Sammamish, Washington for the past six years. We talk with Coach Bartel about how their school branding campaign, “Wolf St...
Jun 27, 2019•13 min•Season 1Ep. 37
Roman is a HS ELA Teacher in Rockland, Ontario, Canada. An educator for 15 years, Roman is passionate about student success, school transformation and building HOPE in schools through authentic learning experiences. Husband, father to two beautiful daughters, educational leader Roman collaborates with educators from across the world to spread kindness, to build impact globally and to tear down the four traditional walls of a school. We talk with Roman about how we can give more voice, choice, an...
Jun 24, 2019•14 min•Season 1Ep. 36
Alicia Jensen is the Principal at Ptarmigan Ridge Elementary in Orting WA. She was a cast member at Disney World in the college internship program and she also is an incredibly passionate administrator who is always looking for different ways to serve her students and staff. We talk with Alicia about the Staff Chips, a simple and creative tool that she uses to intentionally connect with her staff.
Jun 20, 2019•11 min•Season 1Ep. 35
Robert Hand teaches at Mount Vernon High School. His subjects are Family and Consumer Sciences and Leadership. He is currently teaching Careers in Education - Recruiting Washington Teachers, Leadership, Nutrition, and Life After High School. Robert is the 2019 Washington State Teacher of the Year. We talk with Robert about what it means to be an authentic teacher, and he shares about how important it is to model authenticity for our students everyday.
Jun 17, 2019•12 min•Season 1Ep. 34
Youth motivational speaker Scott Backovich has dedicated his life to doing one thing: inspiring teens through speaking at their level. He’s been a featured speaker at conferences and schools across North America, appeared regularly on both television and radio as a teen help advocate, and established himself as a worldwide youth speaker that students can trust. His stories connect. His lessons inspire. Best of all — Scott’s advice sticks. We talk to Scott about climate mapping, looking at the hi...
Jun 13, 2019•9 min•Season 1Ep. 33
Youth motivational speaker Scott Backovich has dedicated his life to doing one thing: inspiring teens through speaking at their level. He’s been a featured speaker at conferences and schools across North America, appeared regularly on both television and radio as a teen help advocate, and established himself as a worldwide youth speaker that students can trust. His stories connect. His lessons inspire. Best of all — Scott’s advice sticks. We talk to Scott about Ask to Give, a practical tool that...
Jun 10, 2019•9 min•Season 1Ep. 32
Marc Gallaway who is the Principal of Selah Middle School in Washington State and has been in the same district for 21 years. He was the 2018 Washington State Middle-Level Principal of the Year and is a force for change in his state and beyond. We talk with Marc about the intentional things that his school is doing to help get new 6th grade students off to a great start as they begin middle school.
Jun 06, 2019•13 min•Season 1Ep. 31
