Faculty Spotlight: Mrs. Cindy Ellis, 2025 High School Teacher of the Year

Framing the Future: The Influence of an Art Teacher
By: Josie Evans, SRCS Advancement Communications Coordinator
 

Cindy Ellis knew at the tender age of 7 what she wanted to be.

“When I was in second grade, I wrote out in my little second-grade handwriting, I was just learning cursive, that I wanted to be an art teacher, and my mom, I think, still has it.”

Today Ellis is living out her little girl dreams as the High School Visual Art Teacher at Strong Rock Christian School and also serves as SRCS’ 2025 High School Teacher of the Year.

Ellis estimates she teaches around 70 students a year. They tackle everything from painting and weaving to sculpture and ceramics.

“We get our hands on so many materials.” With a laugh, she added, “My room is never clean!”

Ellis joined SRCS in 2020, right in the middle of COVID. She quickly fell in love with instructing high-school students.

“They are just capable of so much, and I feel my favorite part is just to foster that creativity, and they really gain confidence and realize how much they’re capable of.”

She explained, for many of her students, her art class becomes an outlet for relieving stress. They often play music in the background as the students work on individual projects and quietly chat amongst themselves.

Shawnee Spurlock, a junior at SRCS, has been taking art with Ellis since her freshman year. 

“She has such a unique way of looking at things. Like, if you make a mistake, she doesn’t really see it as a mistake. She just sees it as an opportunity to make something new or something better,” explained Spurlock.

For Ellis, art is a form of worship to God. “He was the first and greatest creator…Just getting to look at His creation and replicate that on our paper or canvases is amazing. It’s a way of connecting to God.”

Ellis now advances to the Georgia Independent School Association’s State Teacher of the Year competition.