Life at Ellis
Culture & Community Life
Ellis is a community that pursues, supports, and honors diversity in all its forms.
At The Ellis School, culture and community life are rooted in our school motto, Esse Quam Videri, “to be rather than to seem.” We believe that belonging cannot be something we simply name. It must be something our students, families, faculty, and staff experience every day.
We recognize the collective strength that comes from our individual identities, lived experiences, perspectives, traditions, and stories. Here, each student should feel welcomed, known, heard, safe, valued, and trusted to become fully herself.
Our commitment to culture and community life is grounded in dignity, equity, justice, and care. We work intentionally to build an environment where every girl can grow with confidence, lead with purpose, and understand both her own worth and her responsibility to others.
At Ellis, we are not only preparing students to belong in the world as it is. We are helping them develop the courage, wisdom, and character to help shape the world as it should be.
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Commitment to Equity and Inclusion
We understand that this work requires intention, humility, and consistency. It calls us to reflect on our culture, systems, and daily interactions while preparing students to engage the world with empathy, courage, and responsibility. We are committed to building a community where dignity is protected, voices are respected, and every girl has what she needs to thrive. -
Culturally Sustaining Learning
We are committed to teaching and learning that honors students' identities, broadens their understanding of others, and encourages thoughtful curiosity. Through meaningful experiences and inclusive classrooms, every girl is empowered to see herself as both a learner and a leader in a diverse and interconnected world. -
Partnering with Families
We believe strong family partnerships are essential to a thriving school community. By fostering relationships rooted in trust, respect, open communication, and shared purpose, we work together to support each girl's academic, social, and emotional growth throughout her Ellis journey. -
Valuing Every Individual
We believe every girl at Ellis is more than a student in our classrooms. She is a whole person with a unique story, voice, culture, family, perspective, and future. We honor that individuality by creating a community where every student is known, valued, supported, and empowered to flourish.
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Student Affinity Groups
Student Affinity Groups bring together students who share a core identifier, providing a safe environment in which students who share a specific identity can come together for building community while supporting and empowering one another. Affinity Groups prepare community members to engage effectively in cross/intercultural exchanges. -
Family Affinity Groups
Family partnership is one way our values take shape in the daily life of the school. Parent Affinity Groups create space for families who share a core identity to build connection, support one another, and partner with the school so Ellis students feel seen, supported, and rooted in a community that honors who they are. -
Ellisians for an Inclusive Community
Ellisians for an Inclusive Community (EFIC) brings together faculty, administrators, and staff to help ensure that Ellis’s values are not only stated, but practiced. The group supports the ongoing work of building a school culture rooted in equity, dignity, inclusion, and care.
Middle School Affinity Groups
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Upper School Affinity Groups
Upper School Alliance Groups
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Culture Jam
Culture Jam is an annual student-led and produced conference focused on diversity, designed to empower students to engage in courageous conversations alongside their peers. The event offers a safe, inclusive space for high school students to explore identity, reflect on lived experiences, and discuss equity-related issues present in schools, the Pittsburgh region, and the broader global community.
Walk a Mile in My Shoes was 2026's Culture Jam theme, calling our community to listen deeply, reflect honestly, and connect more meaningfully across difference. Through storytelling, dialogue, and shared experiences, participants are invited to step into perspectives beyond their own—recognizing both the common threads that unite us and the unique identities that shape how we move through the world.
Walk a Mile in My Shoes was 2026's Culture Jam theme, calling our community to listen deeply, reflect honestly, and connect more meaningfully across difference. Through storytelling, dialogue, and shared experiences, participants are invited to step into perspectives beyond their own—recognizing both the common threads that unite us and the unique identities that shape how we move through the world.
Dr. Christine Herring
A Note from the Director of Culture and Community Life
At Ellis, culture is not a statement on a page. It is the daily experience of our students, families, faculty, and staff. It is felt in how we greet one another, how we listen, how we lead, how we repair harm, how we communicate, and how we make room for every girl to become fully herself.
The work of Culture and Community Life is grounded in the mission, vision, and motto of The Ellis School, Esse Quam Videri, “to be rather than to seem.” That motto calls us to live with integrity. It asks us to make sure that who we say we are is reflected in how we teach, lead, gather, partner, and care for one another.
This work is leadership work. It is communication work. It is trust-building work. It asks us to create the conditions where every student is known with care, respected with dignity, challenged with purpose, and supported with intention. It also asks us to build strong partnerships with families and to communicate in ways that strengthen connection, clarity, and shared responsibility.
This work is leadership work. It is communication work. It is trust-building work. It asks us to create the conditions where every student is known with care, respected with dignity, challenged with purpose, and supported with intention. It also asks us to build strong partnerships with families and to communicate in ways that strengthen connection, clarity, and shared responsibility.
At Ellis, each girl brings more than her academic gifts to our community. She brings her identity, her experiences, her relationships, her questions, and her hopes for who she is becoming. Our responsibility is to shape a school culture where every student feels known, valued, and connected to something larger than herself.
Culture and community life are not separate from academic excellence. They make academic excellence possible. When students feel known, trusted, and valued, they are more willing to take risks, ask questions, lead boldly, and grow with confidence.
This is the heart of Esse Quam Videri. We do not want our values to simply be beautifully written. We want them to be deeply lived. Through intentional leadership, thoughtful communication, honest reflection, and shared care, we will continue building an Ellis community where who we are is felt every day by every student.
