Honoring Patricia D. Keenan and welcoming Dawn Hayes  L to R: Patti Keenan and Dawn Hayes on Ellis's South End campus. This February, Ellis Early Learning will celebrate the retirement of Patricia D. Keenan, Vice President of Advancement, Community, and Equity, whose leadership over the past five years has helped propel Ellis into a new season of growth and innovation. Patti is succeeded by Dawn Hayes, who steps into the role of Chief Advancement Officer. When Patti joined E

Mr. Phil (left) and his music liven up many Ellis celebrations. Phil Berman – “Mr. Phil” to all Ellis children – followed a winding path to his career in music and early childhood education, but once he found his way, he knew he was where he belonged. After studying and working in serious adult theater, Phil found work at the Brookline Puppet Showplace and quickly produced 10 programs for 10 weeks, all targeted to children under three. “That was a trial by fire! I was totall

Highlights from a season of events that capped off a remarkable year. Celebrating Ellis and Our 140th Birthday!  On November 6, 2025, the Ellis community gathered at the historic Cyclorama at the Boston Center for the Arts for Celebrating Ellis and Our 140th Birthday. Team members, families, friends, and advocates of early education came together to honor 140 years of impact at Ellis, and to help launch the decades ahead. With remarkable attention to detail from the team at

Part of a series: Where Education Begins  Pree Dawn teaches infants in our Ladybugs classroom. As an Ellis Infant educator, Pree Dawn begins each day with drop-offs, greeting families, welcoming the students, and connecting with parents about their child’s latest updates. Those conversations help guide everything that follows during the day. Pree and her co-teachers in the Ladybugs classroom – Emani, Tiaja, and Niurka – shape the curriculum around each child’s unique needs an

Part of a series: Where Education Begins For Jackie Deschamps and her husband, Steve Krikorian, choosing Ellis for their children felt natural from the very beginning. As neighbors of Ellis’s South End campus, they were thrilled to secure a spot before their first child, Axel, was even born. The Krikorian Family (L to R): Jackie, Steve, Axel, and Wyn Axel began in the Infant program in 2023 at just three months old, followed by his younger brother, Wyn, in 2025 at two months

Part of a series: Where Education Begins Not many people think of the words “infant” and “curriculum” together, but Ellis takes education of infants as seriously as the word curriculum implies. The new Infant curriculum, collaboratively developed with Neighborhood Villages (NV) and five early childhood programs in Boston, will take the excellence of Ellis’s programs for its youngest learners to a new level. It will provide guidance for teachers, educational enrichment for inf