The Strength of Our Academic Program
As I mentioned in my last GreenSheet, I am spending a great deal of time this year listening and learning about our school community in hopes of understanding what students, parents, faculty, staff, alumnae and supporters care about, wish we would do differently, and never want to change. When I asked parents to describe why they chose Ellis for their daughters, almost every parent talked about the strength of our academic program, and the benefits of an all-girls education. It can be challenging in a pre-kindergarten through grade 12 community for parents to have a sense of what is happening in different parts of the school, and I want to be sure you get a chance to see the richness in the Ellis academic experience that I am lucky enough to witness every day.
Our program begins with an excellent college-preparatory core, but also includes exposure for all girls in each division to classes in the arts, technology, athletics, health and wellness, and service. In addition, girls have opportunities to explore areas of particular interest more deeply through our extensive elective and club offerings. While the breadth and depth of these offerings are, by themselves, impressive, it is particularly exciting to watch the work Ellis girls get to do in our interdisciplinary, project-based activities. Here are some examples of the many remarkable experiences Ellis girls are having:
In the Lower School, students in grade 3 practice being archaeologists by making observations, examining debris, looking at the context of found artifacts, and forming inferences about human activity. Students excavate a site, using a grid and authentic tools to discover artifacts as they connect biology, earth, and space sciences with social studies in a tactile way. In grade 4, girls delve into robotics for the first time when they use Hummingbird robotics kits to design and create dioramas depicting settings of fantasy literature books they have read as part of their curriculum.
Every Middle School student learns to code, and every girl in grades 7 and 8 extends her technology studies further through either a robotics or an app design course. Additionally, Ellis Entrepreneurs in the Middle School introduces girls to basic business concepts and tests their entrepreneurial spirit in a collaborative, supportive environment. Required in grades 5 & 6 and an optional club in other grades, students learn about business concepts, new product development, supply and demand, and marketing.
In the Upper School, Integrated Studies courses use interdisciplinary approaches to enable students to develop a meaningful understanding of the complexities of real-world problems outside of Ellis. Through a course each year, girls are challenged to work collaboratively and present innovative solutions. Following final exams in the spring, the Upper School puts a pause on traditional academic courses and transitions into mini-courses for the final weeks of the year to encourage students to explore their passions and step outside their comfort zones in a pressure-free, hands-on, and joyful learning environment.
I couldn’t be prouder of the work our faculty do in developing and delivering these academic experiences for Ellis girls. Nor could I be prouder of the ways in which our students shine in the classroom, in the Ellis community, and in the larger world. My hope is that every Ellis girl graduates with a palpable passion for life and learning, a strong sense of her own voice, and the resilience and confidence she needs to be successful in any future learning or work environment. Our academic program is at the center of making that possible.
Envision Her at Ellis
If you're interested in exploring Ellis for your daughter, let's connect! Request information about enrollment, attend one of our upcoming events, or hear about Ellis from those who know it best: our students.
