Ellevation
It started with passion.  

Jordan Meranus and Teddy Rice have devoted their careers to education. Jordan has been a teacher and entrepreneur, and Teddy has funded great organizations and worked in publishing. Both have focused primarily on how innovation can make a difference for our nation’s underserved and struggling students.

Through their work they learned more about the rapidly increasing number of English learners in US schools, the wide and persistent achievement gap between EL students and their native speaking peers, and the strain experienced by teachers and school districts. They listened to educators across the country who shared their struggles and their hopes for the students they serve.

 

 

 

This talk is part of a series of presentations featuring social entrepreneurs from across a variety of sectors, including health, education, the environment, immigration, and media. Hosted by Emerson Collective, the presentations showcase leaders from organizations committed to solving familiar problems in oftentimes unfamiliar ways.

 

They took action.

Jordan and Teddy were distressed by the lack of solutions for educators, and saw a clear need for innovation focused on English learners. They envisioned a solution that would help educators and school districts address their unique challenges, and a company that would serve the EL community with passion and enthusiasm equal to that of the dedicated educators that have devoted their careers to the work with English learners. That's when they met Carrie Hill.  

And, partnered for success.  

Carrie was an EL educator in North Carolina who had become frustrated by an overwhelming administrative burden that took so much time away from preparation, intervention with students, and collaboration with her colleagues. Like all great entrepreneurs, she decided to do something about it. Carrie created a simple database to help organize, track and share EL information in an effort to meet the needs of teachers. Jordan and Teddy met Carrie and immediately saw the value in the product that she created. Carrie joined the team and became one of many passionate professionals to bring their real-life experience to work at Ellevation.

It became a movement.  

In addition to the extraordinary Ellevation team, our school district partners and the amazing teachers, specialists and administrators Ellevation has the pleasure of serving, are driving the work forward. By sharing effective practices, recording and distributing videos, hosting user gatherings, visiting districts that also use Ellevation, and providing us with the most helpful feedback possible, they are fueling the effort to ensure all teachers are teachers of language. We must work together to ensure all children can achieve their highest aspirations. As our partners increasingly develop a community of practice, they are taking advantage of the best resource available - each other - and accelerating the work we all care so deeply about. 

Here's what we believe.  

  • Linguistic and cultural diversity should be valued in our schools and communities. Language is not a barrier - it’s an asset.

  • The success of our nation’s underserved students is closely tied to effective teaching. With the right training and tools, teachers can make an enormous impact.

  • School district professionals deserve world-class software that is responsive to their needs, and which brings joy and dignity to their work.

  • Every student in America deserves an opportunity to achieve their highest aspirations.

Who We Serve

In 2020, there were an estimated 4.9 million children in U.S. public schools learning the English language. Although they come to the United States from all over the world, the reality is that the majority of English learners (ELs) are born in the United States. Each of these students relate to their own culture, traditions, and in most cases, their own native language. As the number of ELs continues to increase in most states, educators struggle to meet their academic, social, and emotional needs in the classroom.

Although Spanish is the most common language spoken by ELs at home, some states have more variation in the home language, which makes supporting EL students and their families even more challenging. The majority of large school districts have over one hundred different home languages. Lastly, immigrant enforcement policies change frequently, which in turn impacts the academic, social, emotional, and cultural needs of students.

Celebrating the Diversity of ELs

EL students face unique challenges but also represent a tremendous asset for our country if their full potential can be unlocked and harnessed. Their diversity makes for richer communities, increasing creativity, offering different knowledge, information, and perspectives to situations. Their resiliency allows them to take greater risks and drive innovation. And lastly, their cultural sensitivity lays the foundation for building relationships with those who might differ from them, allowing everyone to develop and maximize their skill sets and talents. 

Ellevation Education is an indispensable partner to school district administrators, teachers, and students across the United States, who use our products to manage complex program requirements, build the capacity of teachers to serve multilingual learners, and empower students with the academic language necessary for success in school.

Our Product
This is how we do it.  

Through our educator-centered design process, we have created a three-pronged approach
to provide the most comprehensive EL tool possible:  

Data at your
Fingertips

We lighten your administrative load by providing tools that provide a “one stop shop” for all of your data needs, streamline your administrative processes and simplify compliance. 

Fostering
Collaboration

We help educators better understand their students' strengths and needs and enable EL specialists and classroom teachers to more effectively collaborate in helping students succeed.

Improved
Instruction

We provide strategies for differentiated instruction by providing key student information, language supports and instructional resources as well as a digital library of high quality activities. 

And, this is who helps.  

Ellevation is a team of passionate professionals with expertise and real-world experience. Our staff includes many former EL educators who joined Ellevation after using our product. We are constantly striving to improve our products and service, and are pleased to collaborate with top language acquisition experts as well as EL educators who use our products.  

 

Ellevation
Our future.

At Ellevation, we are dedicated to providing the EL community with the best possible products and services.
To this end, we will continue to listen, innovate, and adapt to the changing needs of our clients.