The CharacterStrong Podcast

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 into the broader work of intentionally building, maintaining, and restoring relationships with students.

In this conversation, John offers important reminders for educators and leaders:

• Direct compliments can sometimes feel off-putting to students you haven't connected with yet. Indirect recognition through another adult can feel more credible and genuine.
• The secondhand compliment only works when the positive observation is specific and real, it cannot be fluff.
• Delivering recognition through a coach, counselor, or administrator creates a network of adults who are actively affirming students together.

Learn More About CharacterStrong:

• Access FREE MTSS Curriculum Samples
• Request a Quote Today!
• Learn more about CharacterStrong Implementation Support
• Visit the CharacterStrong Website

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 MTSS works best when it's treated as a district-wide priority, not a department, and why celebrating incremental progress is just as important as reaching mastery, especially for the most vulnerable students.

In this conversation, Dr. Susanne Thompson offers important reminders for educators and leaders:

• MTSS should be owned across an entire school system, not siloed in special education or guidance, the right adult response needs to show up everywhere students are.
• Protecting time for teachers to actually use student data is one of the highest-leverage decisions a leader can make.
• Investing in educator skill and confidence is the most direct path to better student outcomes. Many teachers aren't unwilling, they're undertrained.
• Progress deserves celebration at every point on the scale, not just at the finish line. Movement matters, especially for your most vulnerable students.

Learn More About CharacterStrong:

• Access FREE MTSS Curriculum Samples
• Request a Quote Today!
• Learn more about CharacterStrong Implementation Support
• Visit the CharacterStrong Website

About Dr. Thompson:

Dr. Susanne H. Thompson serves as Vice President of Business Development at SESI, where she leads growth strategy, programs, services, and market expansion. She is deeply focused on strengthening partnerships and building new relationships that extend SESI's reach—helping more students in need truly shine.

Susanne began her career as a classroom teacher in Pennsylvania and went on to serve as a building administrator, director of curriculum and instruction, and superintendent of schools. She has held senior leadership and executive roles at organizations including Discovery Inc., Discovery Education, Northwestern Lehigh School District, Carbon Lehigh Intermediate Unit, and Colibri Group with Moreland University.

Her expertise spans business development, sales and marketing, operational effectiveness, curriculum and instructional design, technology integration, and education-industry partnerships. Career highlights include presenting at ERDI, AASA, and state superintendent councils; writing for Teach Secondary in the UK; serving as a keynote speaker during National Digital Week in Ireland; supporting the launch of the Egyptian Knowledge Bank in Cairo; and teaching in Australia.

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 as an add-on, but as the core driver of academic and behavioral outcomes. When students feel seen and supported in small-group settings, attendance goes up, behavior challenges go down, and learning accelerates.

In this conversation, Devon offers important reminders for educators and leaders:

• Praising the process over the product builds resilience and strengthens relationships with both students and staff.
• High-impact tutoring done well produces four to six additional months of learning in just 10 to 12 weeks, and those gains tend to stick.
• Relationship is not something you add to the work when there's time, relationship is the work.

Learn More About CharacterStrong:

• Access FREE MTSS Curriculum Samples
• Request a Quote Today!
• Learn more about CharacterStrong Implementation Support
• Visit the CharacterStrong Website

About Devon Wible: Devon Wible serves as the Vice President of Teaching and Learning at Catapult Learning, where she leads the design, development, and implementation of high-impact academic programs and instructional initiatives. She oversees curriculum development, instructional quality, special education, and academic services—driving efforts that empower educators and improve student outcomes. Devon is passionate about ensuring equitable access to rigorous instruction and has championed initiatives in literacy and math intervention, high-dosage tutoring, professional development, and data-informed teaching practices.

Under her leadership, Catapult has expanded its use of evidence-based programs, adaptive technology, and educator training models that support measurable academic growth. Most recently, her teams contributed to a 5% year-over-year increase in students meeting national growth benchmarks in reading and math.

Devon partners across teams to align strategy, execution, and innovation in service of Catapult's mission to close learning gaps and create brighter futures for all students. Devon began her career as a high school teacher and Teach For America corps member in Camden, NJ. She holds a bachelor's degree in history from Princeton University and a master's degree in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Kansas.

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-loading expectations before transitions, tasks, and high-risk moments. When implemented consistently, it shifts behavioral responsibility to students over time.

In this conversation, John Norlin offers important reminders for educators and leaders:

• Constant correction increases interpersonal conflict, which damages classroom climate and drives disengagement.
• Pre-correction means intentionally reminding students of expected behaviors before they enter a new setting or begin a task.
• Effective pre-correction requires three steps: identify the situations, define the expected behaviors, and teach students why those behaviors serve them.

Learn More About CharacterStrong:

• Access FREE MTSS Curriculum Samples
• Request a Quote Today!
• Learn more about CharacterStrong Implementation Support
• Visit the CharacterStrong Website

Today, host John Norlin shares a strategy called Grandma's Rule, a practical, research-backed approach to building predictability into the classroom through first-then scheduling and visual routines. John walks through why predictable environments lead to regulation, engagement, and ultimately learning, and how educators can set this up in a way that increases student motivation from the start.

This episode is part of the CharacterStrong Weekly series — short, immediately applicable strategies educators can put to work the same day.

In this episode, John offers important reminders for educators and leaders:

• Students crave predictability, when they can anticipate what is coming and why, they are better regulated and more ready to learn.
• First-then scheduling makes routines visible and explicit, giving students something to reference and helping educators get ahead of behavior proactively.
• Sequencing preferred and less preferred activities strategically increases student motivation without requiring more time or resources.

Learn More About CharacterStrong:

• Access FREE MTSS Curriculum Samples
• Request a Quote Today!
• Learn more about CharacterStrong Implementation Support
• Visit the CharacterStrong Website

Today, host John Norlin shares a strategy called the Tactical Pause, a simple, trainable habit of pausing before responding in high-emotion situations so that reactions come from intention rather than regret. John walks through what it looks like in practice and why building this habit in low-stakes moments is what makes it available when it matters most.

In this episode, John offers important reminders for educators and leaders:

• Responding from emotion in the moment is easy, the Tactical Pause is a trainable habit that creates space between a situation and your response.
• Practicing the pause in low-emotion situations is what makes it accessible when things get hard and the stakes are high.
• Simple cues like walking through a doorway can serve as a daily reminder to set an intention before entering a space or interaction.
• Responding with skill and empathy instead of emotion isn't one more thing on the plate, it is the actual plate.

Learn More About CharacterStrong:

• Access FREE MTSS Curriculum Samples
• Request a Quote Today!
• Learn more about CharacterStrong Implementation Support
• Visit the CharacterStrong Website

Today, host John Norlin shares a simple approach to staying focused in conversations when the noise of the day makes it hard to truly hear what someone is saying. He walks through exactly how to use it, step by step, in a way that makes the other person feel genuinely seen and heard.

In this episode, John offers important reminders for educators and leaders:

• Truly listening to someone is harder than it sounds, the Click On strategy gives you a practical tool to cut through mental noise and stay present in conversation.
• Listening for key topics and emotions gives you something concrete to hold onto and return to, which deepens connection in even short interactions.
• Simple, intentional strategies practiced consistently are what make relationships stronger over time.

Learn More About CharacterStrong:

• Access FREE MTSS Curriculum Samples
• Request a Quote Today!
• Learn more about CharacterStrong Implementation Support
• Visit the CharacterStrong Website

Today our guests are Rebekah de Peo-Christner, Assistant Director of Counseling, and Amy Lawrence, Director of Counseling and Social Work, both at Denton ISD in Texas. We discuss how their district created WRAP — the Wilson Restorative Action Plan — a family-centered alternative to exclusionary discipline that wraps support around students and families rather than cycling them through punitive consequences. Rebekah and Amy share how WRAP helps schools address the underlying reasons behind student behavior by building communication, conflict resolution skills, and real partnership with families.

They also explain how their district's SHIFT program helped administrators change the way they see and respond to student behavior, and why building systems around this work is what allows it to actually take hold across a district.

In this conversation, Rebekah and Amy offer important reminders for educators and leaders working to reduce exclusionary discipline and strengthen family partnerships:

• Behavior is a form of communication, getting curious about the reason behind it leads to better outcomes than responding with punishment alone.
• Families come in feeling defensive, and leading with vulnerability and empathy is what breaks down those walls and builds real partnership.
• Exclusionary discipline without skill-building just cycles students back to the same place, schools need systems that address root causes, not just remove students.
• You are only as strong as your community, lasting change happens when families, schools, and community partners are all working together.

Learn More About CharacterStrong:

• Access FREE MTSS Curriculum Samples
• Request a Quote Today!
• Learn more about CharacterStrong Implementation Support
• Visit the CharacterStrong Website

About Rebekah de Peo-Christner & Amy Lawrence:

Amy Lawrence is a passionate advocate for student and family well-being with 35 years in education, including 13 as Director of Counseling and Social Work in Denton ISD. She leads a robust team of counselors and social workers and was instrumental in launching two Family Centers that provide free counseling services. A graduate of Texas State University and the University of North Texas, Amy actively serves on the Denton County Behavioral Health Leadership Team. Her heart for service and commitment to trauma-informed care continue to shape safe, supportive systems across one of Texas's fastest-growing school districts.

Rebekah de Peo-Christner brings over 27 years of experience in education and counseling, with a focus on student mental health and trauma-informed care. She currently serves as Assistant Director of Counseling for Denton ISD and helped establish the district's Family Center, offering free counseling to students, families, and staff. Rebekah holds degrees in psychology and marriage and family therapy, is a TBRI® Practitioner, LPC Supervisor, and adjunct faculty at Texas Woman's University. She also maintains a private practice and previously served as a Mobile Assessor for psychiatric crisis response.

Today, host John Norlin shares a powerful reminder about the reach of educator influence, sparked by an unexpected email from a former exchange student, now living in Slovakia. What follows is a reflection on why the work educators do matters far beyond what they can see or measure. Drawing on the Amazing Law of Influence and a story about a smile that changed a life, John reminds us that small, intentional actions ripple outward in ways that are impossible to fully track, but no less real.

In this episode, John offers important reminders for educators and leaders:

• Educator influence doesn't end at graduation, it travels across years, careers, and continents in ways you may never hear about.
• Small, consistent actions like a smile, a greeting, or a kind word can shift someone's entire experience without you ever knowing it.
• The greatest weight in education isn't the workload, it's understanding that what you do matters every single day.
• You don't need to see the outcome of your influence for it to be real, most of it happens quietly, long after students leave your classroom.

Learn More About CharacterStrong:

• Access FREE MTSS Curriculum Samples
• Request a Quote Today!
• Learn more about CharacterStrong Implementation Support
• Visit the CharacterStrong Website

Today our guests are Michelle Marcellin, Staff and Student Support Consultant, Nancy Buyle, School Safety and Student Assistance Consultant, and Sara Orris, School Health and Homeless Education Consultant — all at Macomb Intermediate School District. We discuss how schools can ensure every student is connected to at least one caring adult through a practical, research-backed approach called Silent Mentoring. They share how this three-step process helps schools identify disconnected students, match them with caring staff, and build the kind of intentional relationships that improve attendance, behavior, and belonging.

They also explain why this work isn't just a teacher responsibility — and how small, consistent actions from any adult in a building can dramatically shift school culture and student outcomes.

In this conversation, Michelle, Nancy, and Sara offer important reminders for educators and leaders working to strengthen student connection:

• Every student needs at least one adult in their building who knows them, not just an adult they know best.
• Silent Mentoring works because students feel genuinely cared for rather than assigned to an adult out of obligation.
• A hello, a quick update, and a goodbye a few times a week is enough to build real trust with a disconnected student.
• Research shows just one caring adult can significantly impact a student's resilience, and school is often the best place to find that person.

Learn More About CharacterStrong:

• Access FREE MTSS Curriculum Samples
• Request a Quote Today!
• Learn more about CharacterStrong Implementation Support
• Visit the CharacterStrong Website