The CharacterStrong Podcast

We reflect with CharacterStrong Co-Founder Houston Kraft about things that are going on in education, and how disappointment is the result of unmet expectations. Houston also shares how we can be proactive with the time that we have, and gives 3 strategies that put a focus on well-being.

Today our guest is Dr. John Salovardos. Dr. Salovardos is the Director of Pupil Services in the Athol-Royalston Regional School District, in Athol-Royalston, Massachusetts. He has been working in special education in public schools for the past 23 years. We talk with Dr. Salovardos about ways that we can help all students feel connected at school, and how we can help students to thrive in our communities after high school.

John talks with CharacterStrong Co-Founder Houston Kraft & Team Member Don Bartel about the recent CharacterStrong leadership conference, and the role and impact that student leadership has in school culture & climate.

Michele Borba, Ed.D. is an internationally-recognized educator who has spoken to over one million parents and educators. She is recognized for her solution-based strategies on raising resilient kids, and has appeared over 150 times on the TODAY show and featured in New York Times, Washington Post, Time, and Dateline. Her 24 books are translated in 20 languages and her latest (March 2021) is Thrivers: The Surprising Reasons Why Some Kids Struggle and Others Shine. Web: micheleborba.com. Twitter @micheleborba. Instagram @drmicheleborba.

Tyler Bastian is an educator, filmmaker, father and the founder of Roots Charter High School. Tyler loves to teach and has a passion for discovering and developing potential in everything around him. For four years Tyler taught Character Education at a local High School and believes positive character is the greatest indicator of success. In 2012 Tyler began to develop the concepts that have become Roots Charter High School. Roots Charter High School is Utah's first farm-based charter high school. Roots works with students that come from risky environments, helping them find and reach their potential. Learn more at www.rootshigh.org.

John shares a powerful reminder of a teachers impact thru perseverance, a short reading from Jacob Riis, and he gives some encouragement as we live, teach & work during this season.

Dr. Bikowsky is a Child & Adolescent Clinical Therapist and an Educational Staff Associate Certified School Counselor with a Ph.D. in Educational Counseling/Psychology. Bella has diverse experience in the education and mental health fields spanning 20 years. Over her career, Bella has gained clinical experience working in long-term residential treatment centers as well as at Seattle Children's Hospital in their inpatient psychiatric unit. Additionally, Bella has been a school counselor in the Seattle Public Schools as well as a Counselor and Behavior Specialist in the Edmonds School District. Bella is also a part of Brooks Powers Group, an Educational and Psychological Assessment team in the Seattle area as well as Sound Supports, an educational consulting company focused on building systems through a 3-tired model—Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS). Bella has extensive knowledge working with school teams and districts in helping to create systemic change using the Multi-Tiered Systems approach capitalizing on evidenced-based interventions such as Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports, Trauma-Informed and Culturally Responsive Practices, Social-Emotional Learning, Mental Health integration into the school systems, and Function-Based Assessments and interventions.

Kelly has been in education for the last 15 years. She did her undergraduate work at the University of Portland, majoring in Political Science and got my Masters in Teaching through Concordia University. Kelly began her career teaching pre-school in Ireland and when she moved back to the states, she began teaching Kindergarten. Kelly spent the last two years before becoming a principal working as a Student Success Specialist, coaching teachers and students on creating systems of support for students with challenging behaviors in the general education environment. Kelly is currently in my first year as an administrator, serving as the Principal at Lincoln Elementary in the Grants Pass School District where she has had the opportunity to lead an incredible staff through these challenging times.

Josh Godinez is a high school counselor at Centennial High School in Corona, California. He also serves as the Board Chair for the California Association of School Counselors (CASC) and was named the 2019 California School Counselor of the Year. Josh supported the development of a data informed program for a new high school in Fontana, California, where he served as head counselor prior to his current assignment. He also has served on the California Safe, Healthy, Responsive Schools Pilot & Network Design team member, the California State Superintendent of Public Instruction's Data Transition Team, California Department of Education's Mental Health Coalition Meeting, and the CASC Policy, Advocacy, and Legislation Committee. He is a champion of advocacy and the advancement of school counseling. Prior to school counseling, Josh was a high school social studies teacher for nine years, a Beginning Teacher Support mentor, and served as an adjunct professor in the Teacher Education Department at Claremont Graduate University.

For the past 12 years, Michael Adams has been passionately serving youth in the K-12 setting as a School Counselor. Growing up on the Hopi reservation in Northern Arizona, Michael is driven to support Native/Indigenous populations through educational experiences. His youthful energy has been invited to speak all across the southwest to share messages of inspiration. Michael's book "A Warrior's Mindset" helps kids retrain their personal attitude for personal/social success.