Middle School Walk & Talk
A podcast series offering heart, hope, and health to members of our middle school communities. Hosts Phyllis Fagell and Jessica McGuire model wellness as they walk and talk while recording each episode. Listeners are encouraged to take a walk, too, as they listen to discussions on self-care, student well-being, school culture, and more. Middle School Walk and Talk is designed to support the concepts found in the book, The Successful Middle School: This We Believe, and is a production of the Association for Middle Level Education. For more information, visit www.amle.org.
Episodes
55 episodes
Ditching "Divide and Conquer": A Refreshing Blueprint for Middle School Leadership with Guests Bryan Rickert and Katie Laird
In this episode of the Middle School Walk and Talk podcast, hosts Phyllis Fagell and Jessica McGuire sit down with Brian Rickert and Katie Laird, a dynamic principal + assistant principal duo from Trumbull, Connecticut, who share their innovati...
•
Season 4
•
Episode 27
•
27:20
Avoiding Firefighter Syndrome with Guest Darrin Peppard
In this episode of Middle School Walk and Talk, hosts Jessica McGuire and Phyllis Fagell sit down with Darrin Peppard, a former middle school teacher, principal, and superintendent turned leadership coach, who shares his unexpected jou...
•
Season 4
•
Episode 26
•
19:58
Defining What "It" Is: Managing our Mental Models with guest Clay Cook
In this episode of the Middle School Walk and Talk Podcast, hosts Jessica McGuire and Phyllis Fagell are joined by Clay Cook, the Chief Development Officer of Character Strong. Clay shares his extensive background in education and his work with...
•
Season 4
•
Episode 25
•
24:24
The Power of Putting Yourself in Another's Shoes with guests Gabby Ferguson and Kristen Engle
In this episode of the Middle School Walk & Talk Podcast, hosts Jessica McGuire and Phyllis Fagell chat with Gabrielle "Gabby" Ferguson, winner of the 2024 Middle School Student Sound Off Contest, and Kristen Engle, a veteran 7th grade lang...
•
Season 4
•
Episode 24
•
18:03
Managing Student Boredom and Teacher Frustration: We're Replacing Knees When We Need an Appendectomy with Guest Katie Powell
Katie Powell joins hosts Phyllis Fagell and Jessica McGuire for this episode of Middle School Walk & Talk. Katie, AMLE Director of Middle Grades Programs and author of Boredom Busters and Frustration Busters, shares insigh...
•
Season 4
•
Episode 23
•
18:56
Change the Way you Look at Things to See a Different Picture with guest Don Parker
Hosts Phyllis Fagell and Jessica McGuire sit down with Don Parker, a seasoned educator and former principal. Don shares his journey from a PE teacher in Chicago to a pivotal figure in educational leadership. He discusses how understanding the r...
•
Season 4
•
Episode 22
•
25:53
Transforming Trauma into Teaching with guests Molly Mee, Dara Yin, and Thaisan Nguon
Hosts Phyllis Fagell and Jessica McGuire are joined by Molly Mee, Dara Yin, and Thaisan Nguon of Street Cred Education Consultants. The guests share their personal stories of overcoming educational and personal challenges, including dropping ou...
•
Season 4
•
Episode 21
•
22:02
Revisiting the Interview Chair with guest Jimmy Casas
Hosts Phyllis Fagell and Jessica McGuire talk all things school culture and leadership with award-winning principal and best-selling author Jimmy Casas. Jimmy shares his journey from a disillusioned principal to a culture advocate, discussing h...
•
Season 4
•
Episode 20
•
21:58
Productive Noise: Elevating Student Voice in Middle School with guest Sandy Cameli
Join hosts Jessica McGuire and Phyllis Fagell as they chat with Sandy Cameli, a seasoned middle level educator and author of Successful Middle School Student Voice, about the nuances of fostering young adolescent student voice. Sandy s...
•
Season 4
•
Episode 19
•
26:03
You Can Only Go Halfway: The Role of Trusted Adults in Middle School with guest Brooklyn Raney
In this episode of Middle School Walk and Talk, hosts Phyllis Fagell and Jessica McGuire converse with practitioner researcher Brooklyn Raney about the crucial role of trusted adults in schools. Raney discusses her work on how to ensure every s...
•
Season 4
•
Episode 18
•
26:54
Winning Screen Time - It's more than "put the phone down...put the phone down...put the phone down" with guest Patrick Green
In this episode of Middle School Walk and Talk, Phyllis Fagell and Jessica McGuire sit down with Patrick Green, a former middle school teacher turned digital wellness expert, to discuss the challenges of managing technology in schools ...
•
Season 4
•
Episode 17
•
25:26
Students Sound Off on the Modern Middle School Experience
In this episode of "Middle School Walk and Talk," hosts Phyllis Fagel and Jessica McGuire dive into the heart of middle school life through the voices of today's students. Featuring finalists from AMLE's Student Sound Off contest, the episode e...
•
Season 4
•
Episode 16
•
26:21
Financial Literacy Ed - Its More Than Balancing the Checkbook
Cryptocurrency... digital banking... online scams... How can we prepare kids to be financially empowered in a constantly changing world? Khalia Murray, Education Partnership Specialist, and Kevin Mechenbier, Content Manager for Financial...
•
Season 4
•
Episode 15
•
32:12
Back to School Trends 2024: Beeping at you all day long
From the latest TikTok trends causing chaos and the increasing push to limit cell phones in middle schools, to continuing rates of chronic absenteeism, Phyllis and Jessica are back and they’re talking all the trends they’re seeing as we head ba...
•
Season 4
•
Episode 14
•
27:30
Emerging AI Trends for the Middle School Educator with Special Guests from the AMLE Teacher Leaders Committee
Whether or not you've begun to explore the capabilities of AI, your students certainly have. How can educators help students leverage AI to deepen their learning, instead of just using it as a shortcut? Megan Vosk, Joe Pizzo, Dustin Purdy, and ...
•
Season 3
•
Episode 13
•
29:35
When Kids Don't Know How to Attribute Success or Failure, They Make Up Reasons with special guest Miriam Plotinsky
What does it mean for a student to have an academic identity? Miriam Plotinsky, author of Writing their Future Selves and Teach More, Hover Less, stops by the podcast to talk how teachers can value kids brains as well as their identities as peo...
•
Season 3
•
Episode 12
•
23:14
Middle School is a Lot About Finding Yourself with Special Guests Students Laila Hayes and Gabriela Berrios Ortiz
What’s it like being a middle schooler today? 8th grader Laila Hayes and 9th grader Gabriela Berrios Ortiz dropped by the podcast to dispel what they believe are common myths about middle schoolers, the traits of their most effective teachers, ...
•
Season 3
•
Episode 11
•
18:44
We are So Done Pivoting with Special Guest Kelly Coash-Johnson
As Executive Director of the American Association of School Personnel Administrators, representing school HR professionals, Kelly Coash-Johnson heard frequently about the impacts of the educator shortage, but noticed more finger pointing ...
•
Season 3
•
Episode 10
•
23:19
Back to Mental Health Basics with Special Guest Anitra Warrior
Dr. Anitra Warrior, psychologist and owner of Morningstar Counseling, stops by the podcast to talk about youth mental health and getting back to the basics of adolescent development. Dr. Warrior specializes in Native youth mental health and off...
•
Season 3
•
Episode 8
•
27:54
The False Dichotomy of College or No College with Special Guest Jean Eddy
Middle school is the perfect time to introduce career exploration opportunities to kids. They're developmentally tuned to think about their future and investigate their interests. But, too often, kids start to self-select based on what they per...
•
Season 3
•
Episode 9
•
17:39
The Most Brilliant Use of 60 Seconds with Special Guest Laurie Barron
Believe it or not…schools have a leg up on mighty social media when it comes to engaging kids, especially tweens. While so much of the affirmation kids receive online is artificial and fake, schools can create true belonging and spaces where th...
•
Season 3
•
Episode 7
•
25:54
Learning Doesn’t Stop at the School Door with Special Guest Autumn Rivera
From riding roller coasters to rafting down the Colorado River, AMLE Educator of the Year Autumn Rivera is always finding ways to integrate the community as a source of learning for her 6th grade science students. She stopped by the Walk & ...
•
Season 3
•
Episode 6
•
16:53
The Misunderstood Middle with Special Guest Kevin Armstrong
Too often, the middle grades get lumped in with elementary or high school instead of being recognized as its own, unique entity. Even worse, middle grades leadership can be seen as just a stepping stone to high school leadership, instead of req...
•
Season 3
•
Episode 5
•
16:06
Leave the Gun, Take the Cannolis. Empowering Teachers to Drive Student Participation with Special Guests Bill and Persida Himmele.
Leveraging their diverse backgrounds in speech pathology, bilingual education, elementary and secondary teaching, and more, Persida and Bill Himmele are on a mission to empower educators to engage every student. They join co-hosts Phyllis and J...
•
Season 3
•
Episode 4
•
24:38
Middle School is a People Business with Special Guest Dr. Daryl Williams
Just by the very nature of young adolescents, middle school should be a fun place! But it seems we’ve lost some of that joy in our schools. Dr. Daryl Williams, former Superintendent of Baltimore County Public Schools and current Professor of Pr...
•
Season 3
•
Episode 3
•
25:50