Ellis Stephens
HARRIETT BALL EXCELLENCE IN TEACHING - KIPP Public Schools Northern California
Ellis Stephens, an art teacher at KIPP Navigate College Prep in San José, CA, is honored with the 2024 Harriett Ball Excellence in Teaching Award. This award recognizes outstanding teachers from the KIPP network. The winning teachers, nominated by their school leaders, were recognized for their leadership and dedication to improving outcomes for students.
Mr. Stephens does an amazing job of engaging ALL students in transformative learning experiences. His achievements as an art teacher can simply be measured by the incredible level of engagement he inspires in each art scholar. During his three years, he has consistently achieved over a 95% passage rate. This fall, his passage rate reached 100%. In Art 1, 42% of his students earned As and 28% earned Bs.
Mr. Stephens’ classroom is a haven, and his unwavering commitment has earned him the love and admiration of our student community, or as he puts it, "street cred.” He makes a unique impact because he walks the walk.