Title: Teacher Emeritus (Retired)
Location: Muskegon Heights, Michigan, United States
Ulis Ellis Jr., retired teacher emeritus, has been recognized by Marquis Who’s Who Top Educators for dedication, achievements and leadership in Education.
Mr. Ellis, now retired, enjoyed a long and successful career in education that spanned nearly two decades, earning recognition as a teacher emeritus in 2012. Having extensively contributed to his field through his innovative teaching philosophy and commitment to student success, he centered his approach on individualized instruction, repetition for long-term memory retention and the integration of reading, writing and speaking to foster articulation and comprehension. Mr. Ellis is particularly proud that more than 90% of his methodology has proven effective throughout his career in the classroom, with many former students advancing to university-level studies and attaining doctoral degrees.
During his emeritus status, Mr. Ellis last taught for various educational organizations in his hometown. He taught part-time at Timberland Charter Academy from 2018 to 2020, teaching middle school students. Between 2015 and 2017, Mr. Ellis was a faculty member at Muskegon Charter Academy. The greater parts of his career is as an educator in the South Carolina State school system and Savannah, Georgia School District where he spent over 10 years refining his instructional strategies. Mr. Ellis’s teaching assignments included physical science, biology, chemistry and environmental science, with a year dedicated solely to physics. His students develop into highly motivated leaners, often making connections between scientific phenomena and real-world experiences.
Apart from his work in the classroom, Mr. Ellis was employed by Chrysler Corporation, where he was involved in procurement and supply. He worked in management as a supervisor for three different facilities: assembly, corporate, and stamping. Mr. Ellis’s professional journey began with service as a medic in the U.S. Army from 1972 to 1974, where he developed discipline and a commitment to service that would inform his later work as an educator.
In preparation for his future, Mr. Ellis earned a master’s degree from Eastern Michigan University. Also, an Eisenhower grant awarded advanced his graduate studies providing him with significant scientific experiences, gaining hands-on expertise with Scanning Electron Microscope, and various laboratory techniques. Mr. Ellis holds a DX endorsement, qualifying him to teach any science subject, and a secondary endorsement in chemistry. Additionally, he received a teacher certification from the state of Michigan.
Beyond his professional achievements, Mr. Ellis is engaged as a member of Healthy 2 Connections, contributing his insights on neuroscience research initiatives that address minority representation in experimentation and focus on substance abuse, addiction and family awareness. He is also a member of Toastmasters International, and volunteers with Food for the Hungry at Community Church.
Mr. Ellis attributes much of his success to the teaching approach he developed over years of classroom experience, one that was grounded in articulation through reading, writing and speaking, as well as cooperative learning, open forums, critical thinking and more. Frequently assigning rotating roles in lab groups, he required students to write individual reports and paragraphs to reinforce learning. He also used real-life examples to engage students, especially in challenging topics like stoichiometry, acids and bases.
Mr. Ellis believed his methods led to improved student performance on standardized tests and full classroom participation, which he considered results of his unorthodox but effective strategies. His dedication to education, community service and personal growth has made him a respected figure within his professional circles. Mr. Ellis is a lifelong learner of Black history, quantum mechanics, Abrahamic religions, philosophy, psychology, STEM, New Age, and politics.
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