Jo Ellis
Jo Ellis is a national award-winning teacher, former middle-school administrator, and former Head of School at a number of private schools in the Bay Area. She has worked with dozens of Bay Area families and guided them through the process of finding the right high school or college for their students.
Jo has worked with multiple students seeking admission into top-tier high schools, colleges and universities both in the US and overseas. As the mother of three successful college graduates herself, Jo understands all the many concerns of parents in this highly competitive Northern California education market, but she is realistic about the process and reassuring regarding outcomes.
Whether you have an eighth-grader whom you wish to shepherd into just the right-fit high-school program, or a child who has a special talent - like a consuming sport or artistic gift - and needs a program that will accommodate their practice schedule, Jo can help you navigate the options. Or if you have a high-school junior who is trying to get his/her head around the college application process and figure out the right path, Jo can sit down with your family and work with you to make sure your son or daughter is on-track. From looking at the options, to doing the application, to waiting for results then choosing the best offer - Jo will be with you every step of the way to make sure it’s the right school for your child and your family.
Jo holds a BA and MA from Cambridge University in the UK, a post-graduate high-school teaching qualification from the University of London, and is a nationally recognized gifted and talented teacher - a Sarah D. Barder Fellow - through Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Talented Youth. Jo also holds a Montessori teaching qualification at the adolescent level through Association Montessori Internationale. Jo ran the San Francisco branch of the National Shakespeare Competition for local high schools for 10 years and was on the Board of the English-Speaking Union of San Francisco from 2007-2017.
Jo has worked with multiple students seeking admission into top-tier high schools, colleges and universities both in the US and overseas. As the mother of three successful college graduates herself, Jo understands all the many concerns of parents in this highly competitive Northern California education market, but she is realistic about the process and reassuring regarding outcomes.
Whether you have an eighth-grader whom you wish to shepherd into just the right-fit high-school program, or a child who has a special talent - like a consuming sport or artistic gift - and needs a program that will accommodate their practice schedule, Jo can help you navigate the options. Or if you have a high-school junior who is trying to get his/her head around the college application process and figure out the right path, Jo can sit down with your family and work with you to make sure your son or daughter is on-track. From looking at the options, to doing the application, to waiting for results then choosing the best offer - Jo will be with you every step of the way to make sure it’s the right school for your child and your family.
Jo holds a BA and MA from Cambridge University in the UK, a post-graduate high-school teaching qualification from the University of London, and is a nationally recognized gifted and talented teacher - a Sarah D. Barder Fellow - through Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Talented Youth. Jo also holds a Montessori teaching qualification at the adolescent level through Association Montessori Internationale. Jo ran the San Francisco branch of the National Shakespeare Competition for local high schools for 10 years and was on the Board of the English-Speaking Union of San Francisco from 2007-2017.