As the new school year started, Boys Town Nevada’s education team was hard at work preparing to bring Boys Town models to schools across the valley.
At Boys Town Nevada, building a child’s behavioral and social skills is one of the most powerful ways to positively impact their school environment. In 2023, our Behavioral Interventionist worked with 6,046 students in their classrooms to develop stronger social skills that promote more positive learning. In addition, we trained over 2,000 Clark County School District (CCSD) educators in our Well-Managed School model and supported 83 schools in the 2023/2024 school year.
Kellyann Scalise (picture on the far-left backrow), Educational Services Supervisor with Boys Town Nevada, looks forward to showing schools the unique “magic” that our staff provide to make sure kids excel.
“One of the biggest differences between Boys Town and other programs in local schools is that we are not just a one and done training. We are there to support teachers and schools with implementation. We are there to coach, encourage, and celebrate their wins,” said Kellyann. “We don’t just give schools something to do to help kids. We back up our practices with our supervisors acting as consultants in their schools. We give them a person on campus every day to make sure that we are making a difference in kids' lives.”
Originally trained as a special education teacher and participating in Boys Town’s Well-Managed School program, it was a natural move for Kellyann to come to Boys Town in 2021. She loves what she does and the schools she works with love her. She has seen many remarkable success stories throughout the schools served by Boys Town Nevada.
During the 2023/24 school year, Behavioral Interventionist Lisa Falcon (pictured to the right of Kellyann) experienced one of these success stories. A student was experiencing behavioral challenges and struggled to follow directions, causing constant disruption in the classroom.
“The teacher was not having any success and was resistant to Boys Town’s help in her room at first,” said Kellyann, Lisa’s supervisor. However, Lisa continued to work with the student to improve his behavioral skills. After working with the young man, Lisa connected the child and his family to Boys Town Nevada’s In-Home Family Services where the same behavioral skills are taught within the child’s home.
After seeing improvement in the student’s behavior, the teacher was finally open to some coaching and help with her classroom management skills.
“She was having big struggles, and I was able to help her turn her class around,” said Kellyann. “Even the school administration saw the improvement.”
This year, it is our goal to continue to positively impact children in schools and their families.
“Students who had been labeled a ‘discipline case’ are given the tools and treatment they need to be successful in school and into the future,” said Kellyann. “A family being torn apart by the inappropriate behavior of a student can now have access to new skills so everyone in the family gets the attention they need.”