An Assistant Provost at the American College of Education accurately described the impact AI can have on teaching when he said, “Imagine having a tireless teaching assistant who never calls in sick, never misses a deadline, delivers consistent support and is available 24/7 to provide you with real-time support and insights. Furthermore, imagine having access to tools that can help with everything from student engagement and lesson planning to accessibility and grading. That’s the promise of AI in the modern classroom.” (Klein, 2025)
Since the public release of ChatGPT in 2022, teachers have been experimenting with how to use this new technology to make their teaching more efficient and effective. Generative AI tools quickly pull information from a massive pool of resources across the internet to respond to each prompt, which puts a plethora of ideas at your fingertips in mere seconds. However, when you have a specific instructional need or a student who requires an individualized approach, ensuring the reliability of the source is essential for educators. Enter Ellis.
Ellis: AI for The Classroom
Children’s Health Council (CHC), based in California, shares expertise about learning differences and mental health to support youth from diverse backgrounds as they work towards reaching their full potential. As part of this mission, CHC has developed an AI tool called Ellis to help K-12 educators and specialists access evidence-based resources to assist with learning, behavior, and emotional challenges in the classroom. While traditional generative AI platforms like ChatGPT, Claude, or Google Gemini are immensely helpful, the question of credibility always looms in the background. To ease this concern, CHC has partnered with trusted experts in the education field who provide the vetted resources that feed Ellis. Landmark Outreach is honored to be on this list of partners; our resources being used to fuel the Ellis model. Ellis uses AI technology, but instead of drawing from everything on the internet, it pulls only from specific sites that have been curated and reviewed. These resources are updated biannually, and new ones are continually being added to the Ellis database.
Ellis uses an AI approach called retrieval-augmented generation (RAG). When you ask Ellis a question, it searches a curated database of resources and uses the AI language model Google Gemini to generate a clear, grounded response. Critically, nothing you enter into Ellis is used to train any public AI model; your interactions remain private. This RAG approach also reduces the risk of the inaccurate or fabricated responses (often called “hallucinations”) that can occur with general-purpose AI tools.
How to use Ellis
After signing up for a free account, there are two main pathways within the Ellis platform:
- Resources: This page allows for a more traditional search function within the Ellis database. Type a keyword or phrase to identify what topic you would like more information about, and Ellis will search its database for relevant resources. Once a list appears, you can access each resource by clicking its linked title, which opens in a new window. There are also icons on each resource tile that allow you to copy the link or bookmark it to a saved library of your own personal favorites.
- Scenarios: This feature is what sets Ellis apart from other databases or AI tools. If you are seeking targeted advice about a student or a class, Ellis is a time-efficient, simple tool that wants to know as much as possible to provide a specific, relevant response. If you are asking about a single student, you can describe their strengths, include a formal diagnosis, and identify if they are on an IEP or 504 plan before describing what you need help addressing in the classroom. For a class, Ellis asks about the grade(s) the students are in, as well as their gender(s), before providing space for you to describe your needs. In both of these instances, you get a response tailored to your prompt with instructional suggestions that are linked to reliable resources from the Ellis database.
Ellis is continually growing and improving to best serve educators in their quest to provide targeted, effective instruction for students who benefit from a more personalized approach. Generic AI tools cannot provide this level of nuanced student support; Ellis helps educators review trusted guidance in one place. It is quickly positioning itself as that dream teaching assistant who is always there to answer your questions and support your teaching.
An important note on student privacy: Educators are always encouraged to enter student data anonymously, deleting any personally identifiable information. Ellis includes reminders for educators to remove student identifiers from their prompts, and it includes a safeguard that automatically detects and removes personal information. Despite these safeguards, educators should always check what they enter into AI to ensure student privacy is protected. Ellis does not collect or store any specific student information.
References
Children’s Health Council. (2026). FAQ’s. Ellis. https://www.askellis.org/faqs
Klein, E. (2025, June 20). AI in the Classroom: Enhancing Learning Experiences | ACE Blog. American College of Education. Retrieved April 6, 2026, from https://ace.edu/blog/revolutionize-your-classroom-the-ultimate-guide-to-ai-tools-for-teachers/
