General
-
Ellis is a teaching companion, powered by AI, and developed by Children’s Health Council. It provides evidence-aligned guidance to support educators as they address learning, behavior, and emotional challenges.
-
Ellis is designed for K–12 educators across roles, including teachers, counselors, specialists, administrators, and paraprofessionals.
-
We combine a thoughtful, human-centered approach with clear communication and reliable results. It’s not just what we do—it’s how we do it that sets us apart.
-
Ellis is currently available to individual educators at no cost.
-
Ellis is developed by Children’s Health Council, a nonprofit organization with over 70 years of experience supporting students and schools.
-
Contact our support team at ellis@chconline.org with the Subject line: Improvement.
-
Ellis gets its information from resources provided by trusted partners with expertise in mental health, learning differences and education. Each partner undergoes a vetting process to ensure that their content is evidence-aligned. Content is cited at the end of each suggestion with links to the original source.
-
New partners and content topics are added on a regular basis. Content within Ellis is updated on a six-month basis.
-
Our goal is that Ellis meets WCAG 2.2, Level AA, and we are currently making changes to resolve issues that don’t meet this standard. Ellis is tested through both manual and automated testing to ensure new features don’t introduce new accessibility issues.
-
While Ellis does not currently integrate with school learning management systems, we are actively planning integrations with several LMS and in-classroom platforms. If you have specific needs or requests, our support team would love to hear from you at ellis@chconline.org.
-
While Ellis does not currently support these capabilities, we are planning future enhancements that include authentication options (e.g., Google or Microsoft), role-based access, audit and logging features, and reporting metrics for districts and partners.
Website and Account Troubleshooting
-
Try resetting your password by clicking the “Forgot your password?” link from the login screen. If you are still having issues, contact our support team at ellis@chconline.org.
-
Contact our support team at ellis@chconline.org.
-
Log in to Ellis and scroll down to the bottom left to find your account area, which shows your name and a person icon. Click on your account to update your profile.
-
Ellis is currently designed for educators in the USA — our registration flow is built around US states, so we don't have an official pathway for international users just yet.
That said, nothing on the Ellis website or app is geo-locked, so educators anywhere in the world are welcome to explore what's available. If you're outside the US and interested in Ellis, we'd love to hear from you — international interest genuinely shapes where we take the product next.
AI and Safety
-
Ellis uses AI to surface guidance from a curated knowledge base of trusted resources. It does not generate information from the open internet.
-
Ellis uses an AI approach called retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), which means it looks up information from a curated library of trusted, research-based resources before responding. When you ask a question, Ellis finds relevant guidance from this knowledge base and then uses Gemini 3, the AI model behind Ellis, to generate a clear and helpful response. This approach ensures answers are grounded in vetted content rather than information from the open internet.
-
Ellis is designed to only use information from its curated, trusted knowledge base and the details provided by the user, which helps prevent made-up or inaccurate responses (hallucinations). It also includes built-in safety protections that monitor for unsafe or inappropriate requests and prevent Ellis from engaging with them. This ensures guidance stays reliable, appropriate, and educator-focused.
-
Ellis uses trusted third-party services, such as AI and analytics providers, to operate and improve the product. User data is not used to train public or general AI models, and AI interactions are limited to the context of your current session. Any usage data shared with analytics tools is aggregated and used to understand how Ellis is used, not to identify individual users or students.
-
Ellis typically responds within 30–40 seconds for a first question, with follow-ups often taking less than 10 seconds. If an error occurs, Ellis will let you know, and you can simply retry your question. While there are no fallback or failover systems, the tool is stable, and most questions are answered successfully.
-
If an educator asks Ellis about self-harm or suicide, Ellis does not provide guidance on those topics. Instead, Ellis will follow a safety-focused flow that checks whether a student may be in danger. If a student is at risk of harming themselves, Ellis will not continue the conversation and will refer the educator to follow school and district policies for mandatory reporting.
Student Data and Security
-
No personally identifiable student information (PII) is collected or stored.
-
Ellis is designed with security in mind and aligned with FERPA principles. We strongly recommend that educators avoid entering student names or other personally identifiable information. Ellis includes signposts within the app to remind users not to include identifying information, and as an additional layer of protection, a safeguard that automatically detects and removes PII before your message is processed by the AI. This safeguard is designed as a backup, not a replacement for responsible use. Ellis does not collect or store personally identifiable student information.
See our Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy for more information. For district-level engagements, we welcome conversations about additional agreements to meet your compliance requirements.
-
Ellis collects basic information from educators during registration, such as role and experience, and general, non-identifying details about student situations to provide relevant guidance. This may include grade level, strengths, learning needs, and whether a student has an IEP or 504, but not names or other identifying details. Ellis does not collect or store personally identifiable student information and is designed to align with FERPA.
-
We strongly recommend that educators avoid entering student names or other personally identifiable information. Ellis includes signposts within the app to remind users not to include identifying information. As an additional safeguard, Ellis automatically detects and removes PII before your message is processed by the AI. You will see that the information has been anonymized in your message. This safeguard is designed as a backup, not a replacement for responsible use.
-
Ellis uses security best practices such as encrypted data storage and transmission, strong password requirements, session timeouts, and restricted access for authorized users only. The system is hosted on secure infrastructure and is designed to collect only the minimum information needed to provide guidance. Ellis also follows FERPA-aligned practices and clearly discourages the use of personally identifiable student information.
-
Ellis uses trusted third-party services, such as AI and analytics providers, to operate and improve the product. User data is not used to train public or general-purpose AI models. We may use aggregated, de-identified usage data to improve how Ellis retrieves and surfaces relevant content for educators. AI interactions are limited to the context of your current session. Any usage data shared with analytics tools is aggregated and used to understand how Ellis is used, not to identify individual users or students.
-
While Ellis does not currently integrate with school learning management systems, we are actively planning integrations with several LMS and in-classroom platforms. If you have specific needs or requests, our support team would love to hear from you at ellis@chconline.org.
For more information, please refer to our privacy policy and terms and conditions.