Clare Ellis, Ballarat Clarendon College
Co-ordinator of English Year 11-12
Ellis has shattered the negative perception VCE students had of English, resulting in the best results the school has ever had.
She altered the school’s approach to teaching English by collaborating with colleagues outside of English and embracing instructional strategies that have not been historically considered in an English setting. This initiative has been proven successful when in 2019, Ellis’s two Year-12 classes posted a value add of more than seven in English according to VCAA data analysis; while the school achieved, on average, value added 6.6 study scores. She even enlisted other team members to implement the approach, allowing more students to gain the benefits of her expertise and care.
Ellis also takes an active role in the school’s pastoral care team. She is particularly interested in the development of its health and wellbeing curriculum, which provides proactive strategies students can use to manage the anxiety and social problems they face on a day-to-day basis.