Article Link: http://exchangepress.com/article/meet-ellen-clippinger-of-ays-inc.-indianapolis-indiana/5017460/
“What’s special about Ellen Clippinger?” I posed this question to Ellen’s colleague Tracey Ballas, editor of School-Age NOTES. “It’s her integrity. This is what I think of first,” said Tracey. “Through her agency’s continuous evolution, Ellen has been true to the core philosophy of the agency she started. She created a quality program that has impacted so many children’s lives, and I believe she has maintained high standards by continually asking the best questions of her colleagues and the families and schools AYS serves.”Ellen Clippinger founded AYS, Inc. (formerly At-Your-School Child Services) 27 years ago. She had an idea �" help working families keep their children safe after school, safe in the very school their children attended during the day. The concept today is well known. However, in the early 1980s few in Indianapolis had conceived of such an idea. Ellen approached The Indianapolis Foundation and Indianapolis Public Schools (IPS) with the concept. It was embraced by both. The first program opened in 1980. Ellen has persevered, refining the concept, developing a board, securing funding, and expanding into other schools. Today, AYS operates more than 45 programs in central Indiana, including before- and-after school, early childhood, kindergarten wrap-around, summer ...