Core Value Award for Growth - Anthony Mead

Each year Methodist Children’s Home recognizes staff members who exemplify the Core Values of the organization. Staff are nominated by their peers and are recognized at an all-staff meeting during which the Core Awards are given.

The Core Awards for MCH are:

Christian Principles
Relationships
Responsibility
Growth
Service
Hope

Anthony Mead, afterschool coordinator, received the Core Award for Growth at the 2015 spring all-staff meeting. The recipient of the Core Award for Growth is defined as someone who provides opportunities for spiritual, emotional, physical, and intellectual development.

Mead has worked for MCH for three years. He started as a youth care counselor (YCC) for the Boys Ranch and began in the recreation department in 2013.

According to Mead’s nomination, “Anthony approaches his job with enthusiasm and an eagerness to grow and learn. He is willing to take on jobs he may not know much about. For example, this fall he learned to lead out in drumline cadences so he could step into the gaps when our drumline instructor had to be out. He also spent countless hours arranging for our youth to compete in the fine arts contest for the first time. He carries out his daily activities with faithfulness and a positive attitude. Anthony enters into conversation and life with our youth in a way that seeks to create growth. He holds our youth to their commitments and takes time to affirm them in areas he has seen them grow. Further, Anthony allows youth interactions to grow him, re-approaching youth when he has made a mistake and is willing to ask their forgiveness. Through such actions, Anthony models to staff and youth alike what it looks like to live out the Core Value of Growth.”

Kimberly Bobbitt, director of recreation services and Mead’s supervisor had this to share: “Anthony approaches each day with a positive mindset that is evidenced in his daily enthusiasm and dedication to not only being here, but being fully present with our youth and staff. He acts out of a heart that wants to be here and this mentality is so much of what allows him to foster both his own growth and the growth of our youth. I am grateful he is part of the recreation department.”

MCH students receive floral certification

Two Methodist Children’s Home School students, Justice and Hawa, successfully completed their high school Level 1 floral certification this month as part of their agricultural science class. To receive their certification, the students had to pass a 100 question test related to floral design and handling as well as a skills test.

The girls passed the question test on April 23 and traveled to Dallas Skyline High School on May 2 to demonstrate their design skills. They each constructed a symmetrical carnation triangle and a boutonniere within one hour. These two designs are the fundamental arrangements for work in the floral industry. On the boutonniere portion, both girls scored an 8 out of 10 on the overall visual appeal. They both received a score of 7 on the symmetrical triangle arrangement.

Now that they received their certification, Hawa and Justice are able to become student members of the Texas Student Floral Association and entitled to all the benefits of membership. A certificate of accomplishment for each student will be presented during the school award ceremony on May 26. 

Justice and Hawa with teacher James Fairchild at the design challenge in Dallas. 

MCH Fine Arts Spring Variety Show 2015

Our talented MCH students took to the stage for the 2015 Fine Arts Spring Variety Show at the Harrell Memorial Chapel on May 14. The show hosted by the recreation department featured performances from afterschool programs including drumline, one act play, and choir as well as dance and rap performances.  Many of the students recently competed in the Texas Christian Athletic Fellowship’s fine arts contests and received high marks for their performances.

“Our students really excelled in their craft this year!” said Kira Rockwell, MCH recreation coordinator. “We had an outstanding experience with our first year in TCAF competitions. Our students worked hard to walk away with prestigious awards from both the Fine Art competition and the One Act Play competition. It has been such a blessing to see our students blossom with confidence and discover new talents!”

Below is a list of the students who shared their talents with the MCH community during the Spring Variety Show:

THEATRE: One Act Play performing “David’s Mother”

Actors:

Emberlynn as “Sally”  (1^st All Star Cast at State)

Ben as “David” (Best Actor at State)

Apryl as “Bea” (Honorable Mention at State)

Jessica as “Justine”

Grace as “Gladys” (2^nd All Star Cast at State)

Alfred as “Phillip”

Rae as “John”

Kelli as “Susan” (2^nd All Star Cast at State)

Crew:

Lights - Natasha (All Star Tech at State)

Sound - Trey (All Star Tech at State)

Props - Josh

Costumes - Tameka

Makeup - Lizbeth

CHOIR

Vanessa – “Hold Us Together” (Superior rating at State)

Alexis – “He Wants it All” (Excellent rating at State)

Katelyn – “Here I am to Worship” (Excellent rating at State)

Hawa – “Background” (Excellent rating at State)

Jenny, Nadia & Alex – “Thankful 4 You”

DANCE

Hawa – “East to West”

Kelli – “Explosions” (Superior rating at State)

DRUMS

Nick – “Strike Out” (Superior rating at State)

“The students were eager and a little nervous to show off their fine-tuned skills in the Spring Variety Show for their peers and the staff members of Methodist Children’s Home, but, boy did they bring it!” Rockwell said. “They overcame their fears and truly provided a wonderful evening of entertainment for all. We are so very proud of all their accomplishments this year.”

Congratulations to our MCH fine arts students!

TCU teams up with MCH board member for training strategies

Methodist Children’s Home (MCH) board member, Dr. Jeffrey Clark, recently found an opportunity to further support the children, youth and families of MCH by sharing his professional expertise.

Clark, a neurologist and director of the residency program at Scott and White Hospital in Temple, helps train medical professionals/physicians using a clinical teaching program developed at Stanford University. The program provides strategies for teaching complex concepts to students and residents who are in a clinical, non-classroom setting, such as at a teaching hospital where learners are involved in direct patient care.

“Physicians are not always taught to teach, but are often required to pass their knowledge on to students and resident physicians,” explained Clark. “This model provides structure that gives teaching faculty an organized and effective way to do so while taking care of patients.” 

  

Dr. Karyn Purvis of Texas Christian University’s Institute of Child Development recently made a presentation to the MCH Board of Directors on Trust-Based Relational Intervention (TBRI), a model of care currently used at MCH that was designed for treating children and youth who have experienced relationship-based trauma. After the presentation, Purvis and Clark arranged a meeting to discuss the Stanford teaching model and how it could be helpful in training staff in TBRI.

“We wanted him to help us think about how we could revise our training so people could understand it at a different level,” Purvis said.

Clark presented the model to several MCH staff and representatives from TCU on April 22. In the Stanford teaching model, the curriculum includes seven educational categories that are taught through a combination of didactic presentations, group discussions, role-play exercises, video and setting of personal and institutional goals. During his presentation, he showed videos and led discussions on methods to improve the learning environment among other teaching methods.

Dr. David Cross, co-developer of TBRI, agreed that the Stanford teaching model could be an effective tool in communicating the curriculum for TBRI training.

“What was exciting about it was with TBRI, we’ve got a great model for content of trauma-informed care, but we didn’t really have a model in the formal sense for how you can train people and deliver that model to other people and organizations,” Cross said.

Purvis said what attracted them to the Stanford model is that it is interactive with no lecture and students have to be active participants. Through this collaboration between Clark, Purvis and Cross, TCU is currently revising some of their training to incorporate the Stanford model into the TBRI training process.

“TCU has decided to create learning objectives partly based upon the content and core skills of TBRI and partly based upon the different aspects of the Stanford model,” Cross explained. “It will help us see where the holes are and where we could do some things differently.

New building planned for Waco Campus

It is with great excitement we announce that on June 19, 2015, Methodist Children’s Home will break ground on a new, state-of-the-art home unit. The one-story home will be located on our Waco Campus and provide capacity for up to 10 youth in our care.

The home will be the first new residential building constructed on the Waco Campus in five decades. This decision is the result of a strategic initiative that challenged MCH to develop a new home design that considers our current population, cost and maintenance efficiencies, and the expertise our organization has gained through our cutting-edge methods of care such as TBRI.

Breaking ground on the home unit is the culmination of years of planning, and is a special chapter in our 125-year history. We are blessed to have the opportunity to continually increase the already high level of care offered through our residential program, and look forward to providing updates on the new home unit as time progresses. 

Core Value Award for Relationships - Korey Wright

Methodist Children’s Home recognizes staff members who exemplify the Core Values of the organization. Staff are nominated by their peers and are recognized at an all-staff meeting during which the Core Award is given.

The Core Awards for MCH are:

Christian Principles
Relationships
Responsibility
Growth
Service
Hope

Korey Wright, unit manager, received the Core Award for Relationships at the spring 2015 all-staff meeting. The recipient of the Core Award for relationships is defined as someone who builds healthy relationships through communication, trust and love.

Wright has worked at MCH for nine years, first as a youth care counselor (YCC) and then as a Lead YCC. He was promoted to unit manager of the Price home unit in 2014.

“Healthy relationships are the cornerstone of our program, to be recognized as someone that cares deeply about forming relationships with youth and coworkers is humbling,” Wright said. “Not only am I grateful for the recognition, but I am grateful to be part of the MCH family.”

According to Wright’s nomination, “Korey has a natural ability to connect with youth. He has a gentle but impacting influence on others. He gives youth a sense of felt safety and unconditional acceptance as he meets youth where they are. He never places his agenda above the needs of the youth, and will often stop what he is doing to help in a difficult situation. Korey’s dedication to our youth is not measured in a 40 hour week but is evident in the growth of the youth in his care. Korey has supportive connections with staff also. He offers words of encouragement or an email to show appreciation to his staff and co-workers and is intentional by helping others achieve their professional goals.”

 Erica Rosas-Reyes, associate administrator and Wright’s supervisor had this to share: “If you have ever spent any time with Korey, you know he is gentle, caring, and connecting. Korey is an example of Trust-Based Relational Intervention in practice and of unconditional Christian acceptance and character. I truly do not know anyone else who finds the depth of value in others and the intentionality of connecting with others like Korey.”

Core Value Award for Responsibility - Pat Close

Each year Methodist Children’s Home recognizes staff members who exemplify the Core Values of the organization. Staff are nominated by their peers and are recognized at an all-staff meeting during which the Core Awards are given.

The Core Awards for MCH are:

Christian Principles
Relationships
Responsibility
Growth
Service
Hope

Pat Close, director of ranching at the Boys Ranch, received the spring 2015 Core Award for Responsibility. The recipient of the Core Award for Responsibility is defined as someone who is accountable for self and others.

Close has worked at the Boys Ranch for 28 years. “I felt honored to receive the award,” said Close. “It does not feel like work because I love what I do.”

According to Close’s nomination, “Pat is responsible, hard-working and humble. Pat oversees the equine program and ensures the Ranch acreage, stock ponds, lakes and animals are well taken care of. He often has to work in all types of weather. Pat is extremely knowledgeable of animals, he manages their medications, vaccinations and overall well-being. He even has helped mama hogs deliver their babies in the middle of the night. Pat also enjoys working with our youth. He creates opportunities for the staff and youth to work on life skills through ranch chores. He assists the MCH Ag program by selecting quality animals for our youth and works alongside them giving pointers about their animals and assisting them in the animal’s care before and after the shows.”

Laura Bonner, ranch administrator and Close’s supervisor had this to share: “I am grateful for Pat. He works hard every day to maintain the Ranch property and animals. I also appreciate his positive relationships with our youth. He is very deserving of the Core Award.”