Boys Home of Virginia has hired Ryan Kern as a houseparent.
Ryan grew up in Clifton Forge, VA and graduated from PennFoster High School online. He worked for Total Action for Progress (TAP) for three years as Mentor and Program Coordinator.
Ryan came to Boys Home because he has such a passion for working with youth. He felt like Boys Home was a perfect fit for him. Ryan states, “Boys Home is so welcoming. I enjoy spending time with the young men on campus and learning what their goals and ambitions are.” It is clear Ryan Kern has a natural gift in connecting with the students and Boys Home welcomes him to the staff.
Alisa Hayslett has received recognition for 25 years of service to Boys Home of Virginia. Alisa has worked as the business office manager throughout her time at Boys Home. When asked about Alisa as an employee, Director of Support Services Bobby Trice says, “For a quarter century, Alisa has dedicated her life to ensuring the success of our mission. She is actively involved in all facets of the Boys Home program and would do anything to help someone in need. Twenty-five years is a long time to serve with any organization and we are fortunate that she chose to serve that time with us. Her work is top-notch and greatly appreciated by everyone in the Boys Home family. It has been my pleasure to work alongside her for the past two years and I look forward to many more years.” Alisa says the favorite aspect of her job is getting to be around the students each day. Congratulations, Alisa!
Director of Support Services Bobby Trice presents Alisa Hayslett with 25 years of service certificate
New to the Boys Home Applied Trades program this year, Danny Cale’s home wiring class is a project-based, hands-on class that teaches not only home wiring, but the basics of budgeting, teamwork, and managing a company.
A former Boys Home resident himself, Mr. Cale designed the class with Boys Home students in mind. The class is structured like a company; of the five students, the one with the best grade is the owner of the company, and the one with the second-best grade is the manager. Like a real company, the class gets “paid” for jobs completed, and they must “pay” for parts, tools, and training. As they learn more, they are able to bid on more complex jobs and “earn” more money for the company. The structure of the class has proven effective, as students compete to take control of the company, and all students strive to learn more and work together in order to take on more complex jobs.
“What I find amazing is how competitive they are with their grades in order to take over the company,” says Mr. Cale. “And the competitiveness of the company is driving them to learn newer and bigger things.” Of the five students, four have A or A+ averages and show up on time every day.
Here’s how it works: at the start of each project, the customer (Mr. Cale) requests a quote for work to be done, such as wiring a GFI outlet, a switch, a new light, and/or a three-way switch. The students create the proposal, and the customer has the option to accept or decline. Once the customer accepts the proposal, students create a purchase order for the parts and tools. Everyone works together to do the work; once complete, the electrical inspector (Mr. Cale) ensures everything is done properly, and the customer pays the company for the job. After each transaction, the company receives a balance sheet showing how much money is in their account.
If the customer requests a quote for something the company hasn’t learned how to do, they must first pay to take a class and learn how to do the project. If they don’t have the money to pay for materials or training, first they must complete a smaller job to earn what they need. Fairly quickly, the class learned that if they don’t create an accurate proposal, or if they purchase more materials than they need, the company loses money. To correct their mistakes, they have begun creating practical schematics for each project before submitting a bid.
Learning from mistakes
Despite their initial mistakes, Mr. Cale is confident in their knowledge and abilities. When asked if he would hire them to wire an outlet in his house, he responded with, “Yes, absolutely. Any one of them.” Putting their practical knowledge to use, the class plans to install the wiring in the new Applied Trades building later this year.
Mr. Cale’s class is a great example of Boys Home School’s hand-on approach to education, which promotes learning through experience-based projects and models.
Students demonstrate the components of a breaker box, three-way switch, outlet, and light fixture.
At the Boys Home basketball game on December 3rd, Boys Home honored Ingevity for their generous partnership with Boys Home over the past several years. Their contributions have ranged from conducting mock job interviews, to making possible the Ingevity Student Center in the lobby of the gym, hosting back-to-school picnics, playing GaGa, and most recently, providing funding to renovate the gym floor. In recent years, the gym floor had begun to buckle and develop soft spots in several places, presenting a tripping hazard for those using it. After its renovation, the floor is safer to play on, and the lightly finished maple flooring makes the whole gymnasium lighter and brighter.
Leading up to the game, Athletics Director Bobby Trice spoke about how Ingevity has not only provided financial support, but employees have taken the time to get to know and care for the students at Boys Home. Mr. Trice spoke for the whole Boys Home community when he said, “Ingevity is not only a supporter of Boys Home, they’re family.”
A group of Ingevity employees then stayed to watch the game, which was a close competition between Boys Home and Bath County, ending with a 32-35 loss for Boys Home. Regardless of the score, Boys Home students, staff, and supporters are proud of the Boys Home basketball team for a game well-played, and all continue to be thankful for a beautifully renovated facility to play in.
The Fall 2019 Boys Appeal Newsletter can be viewed below.
The Boys Appeal is a newsletter to supporters, parents, alumni, and friends with updates about what’s going on at Boys Home. Boys Home publishes the Boys Appeal 3 times a year.
