Parenting Future-Focused Kids: Recent Episodes
Madison School District
Parenting Future-Focused Kids, hosted by Madison's Director of Community Relations and Marketing, Nicole Rodriguez, is a podcast for families that provides tips for supporting your child’s academic success, social, emotional and physical wellness. Each episode will focus on a different topic such as early childhood education, independent learning, social/emotional support and more. Learn how to inspire creativity, collaboration and critical thinking all while preparing your child for the future.
This episode features Madison's Deputy Superintendent, Lori Garvey. Ms. Garvey has over 30 years of experience in Arizona public schools and holds an MBA. She has served in the Madison Elementary School District for the past 13 years and brings a deep understanding of both the financial and instructional workings of a school district. She successfully guided Madison through challenging budget reductions and has implemented strategies to ensure long-term fiscal stability. This episode discusses school funding and finance.
This episode features Dr. Kimberly Guerin, Madison School District's new Superintendent. Dr. Guerin welcomes families, students and staff to the 2022-2023 school year and discusses her vision for the future as she joins the Madison family.
This episode features Dr. Kenneth Baca, Superintendent of the Madison School District. Dr. Baca discusses the last few years and the importance of social-emotional wellness in the Madison School District.
In this episode, we focus on the Importance of Before and After School Programs with guest, Quisha Breiling, Director of Community Education. Quisha has worked in community education for 16 years helping serve families when students are out of school, and is an advocate for afterschool programs. She serves as the current president of the Arizona Community Education Association and is on the planning committee for the Arizona Center for Afterschool Excellence.
This episode of Parenting Future Focused Kids features Kristin Soulsby, Director of Food and Nutrition Services at the Madison School District. The podcast episode will cover how Madison is fueling the next generation of students and ways nutrition can set up your student for success!
Madison School District Food Services social media accounts:
Facebook: @MadisonAZFoodServices
Instagram: @madisonaz_fs
Twitter: @MadisonAZ_FS
Episode 8 focuses on resilience and how families can adopt a strengths based approach. Guest, Edie Dolan, Director of Student Services, has advanced degrees in General Education, Special Education, and Administration/Leadership, and has served in diverse roles as general education teacher, special education teacher, coach, coordinator, liaison, administrator, and mentor for new administrators. She is a certified Life Space Crisis Intervention and Therapeutic Crisis Intervention in Schools Trainer, and is particularly passionate about behavior supports and the interplay between social emotional learning with student performance. In this episode, she will discuss why using a strengths based approach is crucial for student success, how it improves mental health, and how a strengths based approach and resiliency work together.
Guest Jason Bruso, IB Digital Design 7 & 8th grade teacher at Madison Meadows , discusses the importance of technology education and how tech education can prepare students for future careers. Jason has taught for the Madison School District for eight years and grew up in Phoenix. He was a tinkerer, artist and problem solver for as long as he can remember. Growing up with the rise of personal computers, the internet, and smart phones gave him a unique perspective on technology use, especially for young people. He followed his path as a teacher from writing to science to Technology and Engineering.
Guest Katey McPherson discusses being a responsible digital citizen, the impacts of social media on social-emotional health, and tips on how to promote healthy behaviors online.
Katey brings experience in school leadership, prevention, and organizational change with 25 years as a secondary school teacher, guidance counselor, and K-12 school administrator.
Katey currently serves as a Regional Sales Manager for Bark For Schools, an artificial intelligence app that protects over 5 million children nationwide, and is a national public speaker on youth mental health and suicide prevention.
During the podcast, Katey discusses additional resources which can be found here: www.kateymcpherson.com/resources.
Parenting Future-Focused Kids - Episode 5: "Finding Your Child's Passion: Visual & Performing Arts". Mrs. Cassandra Diffie, Dance Teacher, Athletic Director and Pom Head Coach at Madison No. 1, joins us to talk about our Visual and Performing Arts Program, the importance of dance, physical activity and arts education and how it supports students' social, emotional, and physical wellbeing! "Finding Your Child's Passion" is a new sub-series of our podcast focusing on how Madison's Signature Programs support students' social, emotional, and academic growth.
Madison School District's Executive Chef and Wellness Coordinator Lauren Kemmer, RDN, joins us to talk about nutrition education and how to support healthy eating habits for the whole family.
This episode of Parenting Future Focused Kids discusses how families can support kids' social and emotional needs as well as ways to build resiliency. Guest Jaustina Santos, school counselor at Madison Park Middle School, holds a master’s degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling and is a licensed counselor through the Arizona Board of Behavioral Health.
This episode of Parenting Future Focused Kids will focus on the unique academic challenges of the new school year and strategies to help your child thrive. Guest Dr. Mike Winters is starting his eighth year as the Executive Director for Curriculum and Instruction in the Madison School District and his 23rd year in education. Prior to serving in his current role, Dr. Winters was a principal, assistant principal, middle school science teacher, and a high school biology and chemistry teacher.
This podcast will focus on the importance of Early Childhood Education and preparing your young learner for the new school year. Guest, Dr. Eric Bucher, Community Education Program Manager, holds a Doctorate of Education in Leadership & Innovation from Arizona State University. His research focused on early childhood professional development and early childhood Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math known as STEAM.