# How Schools Can Build Systems That Address the Root Causes of Behavior - Rebekah de Peo-Christner & Amy Lawrence

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-characterstrong-podcast-458738/how-schools-can-build-systems-that-address-the-root-causes-of-behavior-rebekah-de-peo-christner-amy-lawrence
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-characterstrong-podcast-458738/how-schools-can-build-systems-that-address-the-root-causes-of-behavior-rebekah-de-peo-christner-amy-lawrence.md
Podcast: [The CharacterStrong Podcast](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-characterstrong-podcast-458738)
Published: 2026-04-03T07:01:00+00:00
Episode link: https://characterstrong.com
Audio file: https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/characterstrong/S8._Ep35_-_Rebekah_de_Peo-Christner__Amy_Lawrence_mixdown.mp3?dest-id=1088075
Processing state: not_requested
JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-characterstrong-podcast-458738/episodes/how-schools-can-build-systems-that-address-the-root-causes-of-behavior-rebekah-de-peo-christner-amy-lawrence
Duration seconds: 1355

## Resource

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-Chris…

## Actions

- request_transcript: `POST https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-characterstrong-podcast-458738/episodes/how-schools-can-build-systems-that-address-the-root-causes-of-behavior-rebekah-de-peo-christner-amy-lawrence/transcription-requests` — Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode.
- read_markdown: `GET https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-characterstrong-podcast-458738/how-schools-can-build-systems-that-address-the-root-causes-of-behavior-rebekah-de-peo-christner-amy-lawrence.md` — Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource.

A page view does not enqueue transcription. Agents should invoke `request_transcript` explicitly when they need this episode processed.

## Transcript

Full transcripts are not published on public pages unless there is a clear rights basis.