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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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.…
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…
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…
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…
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…
