Middle School Walk and Talk Podcast

Middle School Walk & Talk Logo

This podcast series offers 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. Learn more about The Successful Middle School Program.

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About the Hosts

Phyllis FagellPhyllis Fagell works full-time as a school counselor in Washington, DC. She’s also a therapist who works with kids and families in private practice and an author and journalist. She’s the author of “Middle School Matters” and a frequent contributor to the Washington Post. She also writes for Psychology Today, Working Mother, Time, U.S. News & World Report and Your Teen, and her ideas have been shared in outlets including The New York Times, The Atlantic, The New Yorker and NPR. Phyllis lives in Bethesda, MD with her husband and three children, ages 18, 16 and 11.

Jessica McGuireJessica McGuire is the proud principal of Douglas Middle School which was an AMLE inaugural School of Distinction. Over her 21-year educational career, she has taught all grades Kindergarten through 12th. She has a background in video production within the classroom, elementary and middle-level writing instruction, and has also coached competitive fast pitch softball at all levels of play through high school. Jessica lives in Douglas, Wyoming with her husband and two children ages 6 and 9. She is passionate about all things middle school and enjoys collaborating with middle-level educators