Soft skills in the classroom is a natural fit.  Soft skills are deeply embedded within Social/Emotional learning and truly cannot be separated. Soft skills are not new to any classroom, it’s truly just...

I live in Los Angeles. It’s the epicenter of health crazes and fitness influencers. I’ve worked out at Gold’s Gym where Arnold Schwarzenegger - the actual Terminator - lifts weights. I’ve failed enough...

Quarantine. Social distancing. Shelter in place. These are now common phrases in every household around the world. We have watched as schools everywhere have worked to adjust to distance learning and have a...

So, we are a month into this new normal. I know that there is an end in sight, but what I can’t yet picture, is what that end is going to look like. What I can picture are the people that I want to be in...

“Every problem is a character-building opportunity.” -Rick Warren. “Well, what in the world are we going to do now?” This was just one of the myriad questions my IB History 12th graders had for...

As I reflect through my administrator lens on the halfway point in a school year, it is a crazy and satisfying place to be. You are beginning to truly see thegoals for the year that were set out start to grow...

As we took our first break of the day after spending ninety minutes intentionally connecting and playing as a staff, a veteran educator walked briskly past me and said, “I’ve been working in this school...

It is the end of another year and the closing of a decade. At CharacterStrong, we make time at the end of the year to reflect on what we’ve done (as individuals and as a team), on where we can improve, and...

Another holiday break is upon us and, for many educators, it is a needed time to reset, reflect, and rejuvenate. Great educators are always lifelong learners who strive to stay on top of consuming new material,...

Justin Pierce has been a teacher, coach and assistant principal for the last 12 years in SW Washington. He is blessed to have married his best friend who challenges and supports him, has birthed their 3 boys,...

Hans Appel has worked as a counselor in the Richland School District for the past 19 years and at Enterprise Middle School since it opened. He’s passionate about school culture, servant leadership, and kindness....

Charlie was the kid I watched for every day as I waited to welcome my students into the room. It was my third year teaching and I knew that I had to keep my eye on him. Not in the, “I’m expecting you to...

Happy World Kindness Day! On this episode CharacterStrong Co-Founders John Norlin and Houston Kraft talk about how a kindness poster that is in a lot of schools today is missing the mark, what it means...

Dr. Bill Ziegler is the principal at Pottsgrove High School in Pennsylvania. He has served as a school leader for twenty years at the middle and high school levels and is the co-author of a Corwin book, Future-Focused...

When did education become so complex? When did words such as standards, report cards, grades, discipline, and testing start to supersede experience, fun, laughter, passion, creativity, and caring? I served...

On this episode we learn from some of the team at Clear Brook High School. Dr. Michele Staley has been the principal at Clear Brook High School for the past 11 years. She has been in public education for...

Beth Houf is the proud principal of Fulton Middle School in central Missouri. She is the Co-Author of Lead Like a PIRATE: Make School Amazing for Your Students and Staff. Beth also serves as a facilitator for...

Ashanti Branch works to change how students, especially young men of color, interact with their education and how their schools interact with them. Raised in Oakland by a single mother on welfare, Ashanti left...

There is no argument that teachers are exhausted, but the constant strain on leaders for time and resources leaves the focus on the Whole Teacher low on the priority list. Here are some quick and easy strategies...

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...

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...

I just entered my 8th year of teaching and it has always been important for me to start the year by really understanding who my students are and the stories they come to my classroom with.  So, from the...

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,...

As another school year nears, educators are preparing to welcome their students back from summer break with the excitement and anticipation of the wonderful possibilities that lie ahead. While students are...

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...

Most athletic competitions end with a winner and a loser.  So, how is success measured in school-based athletics?  Is it the final result of a competition?  How did each team or athlete grow...

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...

Enterprise Middle School has, in their own words, gone from “good” to pushing on the door of “great.” Great looks like a lot of things internally at a school like Enterprise: maintaining strong attendance...

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,...

Picture this: You've just enjoyed an invigorating, productive morning on an out-of-state trip to plant CharacterStrong seeds of inspiration, but when it comes time for you to leave, you're told that there’s...

Many of us in our search for meaning and significance in our lives, whether we realize it or not, tend to view our worthiness in terms of a math problem: <em>My performance + others’ opinions of me = my...

In 7th grade, I got my first ASB position. I was the treasurer at my middle school and to be completely honest with you, I thought I was pretty dang cool because of it. My mindset quickly flipped from wanting...

On April 1st, we launched our CharacterStrong Podcast and have been humbled by the response with nearly 1,000 subscribers. Today, May 1st, we are officially launching for pre-sale our much-anticipated Elementary...

&nbsp; Second period on October 31st, 2017 was just like any other ordinary second period on All Hallows Eve in my classroom full of 12th graders; a few students were in their Halloween costumes and...

&nbsp; What does it take to be prepared for the future? In the 20th Century world there were mostly predictable patterns of going to college or learning a trade and then getting a job and working in...

&nbsp; On August 27, 2017, in the dark hours of the morning, I turned on the TV and the images shown there will never leave me. I saw a neighborhood I knew well, a neighborhood which over a third of...

Written By: Parvati Shallow When I was 25, I competed on a little game show that some of you may know called <em>Survivor</em>. For those of you who somehow missed it...or if you have just gotten swept...

&nbsp; I remember it like it was yesterday; I was in the process of planning my wedding, remodeling a house that I needed to have ready by my wedding day of September 23, 2017, I was speaking at assemblies...

“It’s all about relationships!” I heard myself saying to more than a few teachers last week. As a campus principal at an intermediate school, I truly believe this with all of my being. I firmly believe...

For the past 20 years I have been presenting to students, educators, and parent groups on how to create stronger classrooms and schools by teaching strong relationship skills and the principles of servant-leadership....

In a typical school year, you will pass by all of your staff at one point or another. Some staff you talk with regularly, whereas some colleagues you only see at staff meetings. It’s possible for an entire...

In the summer of 2017, I had the privilege to travel with a group of educators to study the culture, history and meet the people of South Africa. We, a group of mostly white educators from all across the...

About a year ago, I was speaking at a high school in Texas. After my assembly, a senior boy walked up to me and said, “After listening to you today, I realized I am a really nice person.” I laughed and...

At CharacterStrong, we believe that real impact happens if there is PRACTICE alongside PROTEST. The right to assembly and protest has, and will continue to be, a foundational part of our democracy. The fact...

As testing season for many schools sets in, it is very easy to get stuck focusing on the constant pressures of performance, test scores, and end of the year data. Most of this is a reality for schools and is...

Inspired by Simon Sinek’s "How Great Leaders Inspire Action" the high school leadership theme at Harrison Preparatory is “why.” Why we are leaders. Why it’s important to care. Why it’s important to...

“Anyone can step up and lead. Anyone can step back and serve.” For teachers who are in charge of either creating or developing a student leadership program in their first year as an advisor, it can be...

One of the hallmark skills of great educators is the ability to give and receive feedback. At CharacterStrong, we think of feedback as the breakfast of champions — it demonstrates humility and courage and...

Coming back to the classroom after two weeks off is often times not only difficult for students, but teachers as well. It's important that we all take a day to ease back into the swing of things and also gauge...

What does&nbsp;SCHOOL SPIRIT&nbsp;have to do with this? While the traditional definition of school spirit falls flat and may only reach 10% of your school, creating a community where everyone belongs, seems...

Clock Partners is a simple and effective tool that any classroom teacher can use to immediately create four different partner pairings as well as a vehicle to promote interactions between students that you...

Today is a day we are excited to celebrate as people all over the globe will be participating in #CharacterDay2017 created by&nbsp;Let it Ripple. The goal of Character Day is to spend time within your classroom,...

It’s pretty common, especially in a larger school, that there will be someone in the audience at an assembly that doesn’t want to pay attention. Usually, a dramatic pause or a carefully placed moment of...

Have you ever been frustrated with your brainstorming process? Have you felt like your projects have been disconnected from the people they are serving? Do your Kindness Weeks feel too generic? Check out this...

I met a boy last week at a middle school who is in the transgender process. Born a female, but identifies as a male. The teacher introduced me to him specifically saying that he embodied so much of what I talked...

It was the second to last day of school and our leadership group had just come back in from helping to clean up from a school wide activity. Once we were back in my room, I looked around and noticed that everyone...