Meet Stanley Ellis

Dr. Stanley Ellis was hired as the superintendent of Columbus Municipal School District in May and started work in mid-June. Ellis sat down with Peter Imes for an interview in early October.

Tell me about where you grew up.

I was originally born in the Mississippi Delta in Bolivar County. There was a little small hospital in Shelby, Mississippi. But I grew up in a place called Mound Bayou, Mississippi – Mound Bayou and Laurel, Mississippi is where I grew up. It was an agricultural type of environment. My grandparents – dad’s father and my mother’s father – were farmers, and my parents were educators, both. My grandparents just basically instilled the importance of getting a quality education.

What drew you to Columbus and Columbus Municipal School District in particular?

I’ve been eyeing Columbus for probably nine or 10 years. I know that Columbus is a good place, a place that has potential. I’ve kind of been tracking superintendents that have been here since Del Phillips left. And since that time, it seems that it’s been a little unstable. When the job became available last year, I felt that I had the requisite skills, the background and the ability to move the district forward. So I did not apply for any other jobs this past year. This was the job that was the best fit for me. Columbus has similar demographics to where I came from in Tunica – similar challenges academically – and I felt that this would be a good fit for me and my skill set.

How do you measure success in a school district?

Well, success is measured with a lot of different data points. The state’s accountability rating is one of the major things that we measure, but I believe in measuring success over time. And here in our district, as far as academic success, we have four and a half week assessments and the nine weeks assessments. You have to look at a lot of different things, you have to look at the human capital that you have, you have to look at the teacher retention, that is a major issue that we’ve had. We’ve got a teacher mentoring program that we have that we are implementing. The mentors will get a stipend, and they have a certain amount of teachers that they’re able to mentor. And that is going to be on our board agenda for the October meeting.

I found that we have a revolving door with teacher retention. When you don’t have people to stay – just like with a leader or superintendent – then you’re not going to have any stability. So what we’re working on is making sure that we have stability. We met with all of the new teachers and employees to do a check in with them to see if there’s anything that we need to do better. As a leader, I don’t believe in bringing somebody somewhere and not supporting them and checking in to make sure that they have the things that they need to be successful.

The district maintained its C rating with the state accountability scores. How much of a focus is there – in the classroom – on those grades?

Myself, as well as my assistant superintendents and the principals, make sure that we put a laser-like focus on accountability and understanding the strategies of utilizing the accountability system to get the points. An example: Some of our students don’t do well in ELA, lots of times, it’s because we don’t do well in writing. So that’s a lot of points that are left on the table. And so we have those types of conversations with our principals. And principals have conversations with the teachers to make sure that they understand the strategies that are needed to do well on the state tests. But the most important thing is making sure that the students understand the data points. If the students don’t understand what the goal is, then they’re not going to do well.

You’re very near your first 100 days as superintendent of CMSD. How’s it going so far?

I am very satisfied with the progress that we’ve made. Of course, I’ve been getting acclimated to the community, meeting the movers and shakers in the community, those individuals that are gonna help to push the agenda to make CMSD greater than what it currently is. So the first 100 days has been good, I’ve been able to connect with a lot of the business and philanthropic community, the superintendent’s roundtable with the students with the teachers, with the community has allowed me to connect in many ways, and to kind of spread out and touch some resources that I may not have been privy to. And so I’m understanding the culture and the climate of Columbus. I’m feeling a whole lot more comfortable than I did on day one.

I think there is a desire in the broader community to help CMSD succeed. How can the broader public get involved in CMSD?

We don’t publicize the things that we do well, and so when you do those things, you show people that you are a worthy partner, and when people see that you are moving in the right direction, that you’re reaching out. Part of what we’re doing is rebranding our district, making sure that people know about the good things that we’re doing. And when people see those types of things, I believe that that’s going to open the door, and people are going to see that we are moving in the right direction, and that people are going to want to come in to work with us. 

Otherwise, I’ve already reached out to EMCC, working to rebuild some of the relationships that we’ve had with them in the past. I’m looking forward to building those relationships. I’ve been working with the president of the W several times, and we’re working on some things to collaborate. As recently as last week, we’ve got a student that’s going to be interning with Bill Russell Ford. Another thing is that we have a vocational program that we need to capitalize on. I know that the county is opening up a cosmetology program. So I’m going to be talking with them to see how we can collaborate, to blend some of those types of things that they have to extend to some of our students’ options.

I know you’re busy running the district, but what do you like to do in your spare time? What are your hobbies?

I like to spend time with my wife because she’s not in Columbus. She’s here maybe two days a week, working from home, and then she comes back on the weekends. But I like to spend time with my wife, my family. I’ve got a farm. So I like to spend time on the farm riding horses. I don’t hunt, but I do a lot of target shooting with still targets. Flying my drone, reading, going out volunteering, helping other people. Those are some of the things that I really love to do. I’m looking for a church home here. I love my job. I feel like I am a professional football or baseball player. They just happen to get paid for something that they love. I never dread coming here each and every day. So I look forward to being here. I told him when I came I didn’t plan on leaving, and I’m not. When I leave here, I’m going home to retire.

INTERVIEW BY PETER IMES

PHOTOS BY DEANNA ROBINSON