Stay ConnectedThe CharacterStrong Podcast: Weekly conversations for anyone in education.
CharacterStrong provides an evidence-based, multi-tiered solution to support whole child success. Curricula and trainings that improve behavior, increase safety, and support mental health.
For more information visit our website: characterstrong.com
Tessa Mcilraith is the District Nurse for Burlington-Edison school district. She has been a nurse for 12 years, is going into her 6th year as a school nurse. Tessa serves as the Legislative Chair for the School Nurse Organization of Washington working on legislative advocacy, and is on the board for NW career and technical academy's nursing assistant program supporting the instructor. She also serves on the Burlington Healthy Community Coalition and Sedro-woolley R.I.S.E supporting healthy communities for youth. In edition Tessa has served in youth ministry for 11 years.
Corey has spent the last 37 years of his life in schools...19 of those as an educator! He started his career at a private Christian school in Renton teaching in multi-aged classrooms comprised of 19 different ethnic groups. For the last 13 years, he has served in his home community district, SBLSD, as a classroom teacher, Behavior/Family Support Specialist, Student Success Dean, and Assistant Principal at the elementary level. His passion is in coaching both the hearts and minds of the students he serves.
We talk with Ryan about how students respond to failure, how social media effects how we deal with failure, the importance of modeling and teaching failure, and how we can help and support students when they experience failure. 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.
Jon Harper is the host of My Bad and the co-host of Teachers' Aid. He has had the chance to interview and learn from over 150 of the top minds in education and psychology. For over 20 years Jon has worked in education. He spent 10 years in the classroom teaching 1st, 2nd, 4th and 5th grade, during which time he earned National Board Certification. Jon was also a math coach for 3 years. For the past ten years he has been an assistant principal. He is currently the assistant principal at New Directions Learning Academy, an alternative school for students in grades 3-12. Jon has spent the past 23 years laughing, crying and celebrating with teachers. He knows what they go through each day and he is on a mission to help make their days better.
Dara Feldman is the Chief Enthusiast Officer (CEO) of Virtues Matter. She is a passionate educator, speaker, coach, consultant and the author of The Heart of Education: Bringing Joy, Meaning and Purpose Back to Teaching and Learning. Dara has been an educator for 35 years and was honored as Disney's 2005 Outstanding Elementary Teacher of the Year and Maryland's 2015 Mother of the Year.
Trish Brown is the Counseling Department Chairperson & 9th Grade Counselor at Mercy High School, as well as a Therapist for Better Help in Farmington Hills, Michigan. She is a wife, a mother, an Executive Officer for the PTA at her daughter's elementary school, and a lover of yoga.
Jake Kelfer is a lifestyle entrepreneur and life elevator. He is the bestselling author of Elevate Beyond and Elevate Your Network, a high-energy motivational speaker on a mission to inspire millions of people to achieve personal success and happiness. He is the founder of the Professional Basketball Combine which helps NBA draft prospects turn their dreams of playing pro basketball into their reality. He and his work have been featured on Forbes, Sports Illustrated, ESPN, NBC Sports, USA Today, Bleacher Report and many other major media outlets. Connect with Jake on social @jakekelfer
We talk about the work that Vincent is doing specifically around historicizing conversations, he shares about the audit tool that he has created, and gives some first steps to get started in this work.
Vincent Perez currently leads Rethink Manhood, working with men and boys to deconstruct and counter, cultural narratives regarding what it means to be a "real" man. Vincent's practice is rooted in experiential education with a focus on culturally responsive pedagogy, trauma-informed systems, juvenile justice reform, ethnic studies, family engagement, near-peer mentorship and Latina bilingual leadership. He frequently speaks at schools, facilitates student programs and trains adult staff to better serve their students. As a 20+ year veteran in education, Vincent Perez aims to sustain the integrity, courage, and commitment of children, families, and service providers.
Jordan Osborn is in his 10th year of working in education. He started off as a social studies teacher in several different schools in Oregon where he also coached football and basketball. During his 10 years he has spent 7 years as an Athletic Director and 5 years as a vice principal most recently at Chiloquin Jr/Sr High School in Southern Oregon. Jordan is in his first year as Principal at Bonanza High School in South Central Oregon.
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.
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