Title: Teacher Emeritus
Company: Muskegon Covenant Academy
Location: Muskegon Heights, Michigan, United States
Ulis Ellis Jr., teacher emeritus at Muskegon Covenant Academy, 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.
Before his emeritus status, Mr. Ellis taught for various educational organizations. He taught part time at Muskegon Covenant Academy from 2010 to 2012, teaching high school students. Between 2008 and 2010, Mr. Ellis was a faculty member at Charter Academy. Earlier in his career, he taught in the South Carolina school system, where he spent over 10 years refining his instructional strategies, starting in 1995. Mr. Ellis’s teaching assignments included physical science, biology, chemistry and environmental science, with a year dedicated solely to physics. His students were highly motivated, 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 from 1983 to 1987. He then worked in management as a supervisor for the organization until 1995. When Mr. Ellis’s daughter graduated from college, he chose to leave the corporate sector and return to education.
Mr. Ellis’s professional journey began with service as a medic in the U.S. Army from 1979 to 1983, 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 the University of Washington in Seattle in 1979. His graduate studies provided him with significant scientific experience, gaining hands-on expertise with electron scanners, electron microscopes 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 the Optimist Club of Muskegon Heights in Michigan and 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 both locally and within his professional circles.
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