Who is Scott M. Ellis, and why is our elementary school named after him?
In 1916, Scott M. Ellis graduated from the Greenville Free Academy (today the building is known as the Greenville Public Library).
In 1922 he started working at his alma mater as a teacher and in 1929, went on to become principal.
Mr. Ellis was one of the strongest advocates for "centralization" - bringing together the local schoolhouses to create one district. He was respected as an educator and authority figure and worked hard to create the school system we know today. He was known as "strict but fair" and eventually dubbed "Mr. GCS."
In 1930, his hard work paid off. 22 local "districts" (schoolhouses) joined together with the Greenville Free Academy to form Greenville Rural School District. Voters approved a bond and Greenville became the first rural district in the county to establish a central school building. In 1932, at the height of the Great Depression, students walked through the doors of their new building, the current Elementary School, for the first time.
Scott M. Ellis remained as supervising principal of Greenville until his retirement in September 1964. He oversaw the construction of, and two additions to, the building that houses our elementary students today. In 1980, the District renamed the elementary school to honor the man whose work established our school district.
In 1964, the yearbook published the following: "For 45 years, Scott M. Ellis has guided the destinies of the youth of Greenville or the surrounding area. Not only the parents, but the grandparents of students now in school were furthered by him on the pathway to adulthood. And now he is retiring. The school will go on. Greenville youth will receive its education. But it will not be the same. A man of high moral standards, strong convictions and vast experience, Mr. Ellis has left a permanent stamp upon the school. His traditions have been ingrained in the students and the staff."
So here's to Scott M. Ellis, 60 years after his retirement, for giving us the Greenville we know today!
*Information from "A History of Greenville Central School District" and the yearbook archive.