After nearly 30 years at Scarborough High School and 20 years as the school’s Academic Decathlon coach, Ellen Ross is retiring at the end of the year.

On Monday, a group of some 50 current and past members of the Academic Decathlon team along with parents honored her years of service with a retirement party. Ross was the founder of Scarborough’s team and created a dynasty at the school, winning 16 state championships.

Linda Cohen, a parent volunteer for the Academic Volunteer team, said the large number of Academic Decathlon team members attending the party showed the impact she made on the lives of her former and current students.

“I’ve never seen anyone get their hands so dirty doing what they love,” Cohen said.

Mike Richards was a member of Ross’s first team and is outgoing president of the Maine Academic Decathlon program. Even in that first year Ross understood what was necessary to win, he said.

“Even back then she knew how to motivate us, what buttons to push to get the most out of us,” he said. “To have kids from the 80s, 90s and today here is a testament to the impact she’s had on our lives.”

Members from this year’s state champion team also were present and said that it was Ross’s unique ability to understand and motivate them that made the hard work and time they invested into the decathlon worthwhile.

“I learned how to be dedicated to an activity and continue forward with something even if it was not always pleasant,” Stephanie Guitard said.

Unlike other coaches, Ross acted as a guide to help the students become better, Cohen said.

“She’s right there guiding them, not doing the work for them, but keeping them on track,” she said. “She kind of gives them the tools and sets them off to build their own.”

Ross said she has enjoyed her 35 years in education and has fond memories of the students she has had during that time. There are few jobs that can keep people feeling young or keeping up to date with the latest in lingo and fashion, she said.

But there have been some significant changes in the education field from when she first began. Today it seems that teachers spend nearly as much time doing paperwork then teaching students.

“It’s gotten a lot more demanding,” she said.

Ross, a biology teacher, said she became interested in coaching Scarborough’s Academic Decathlon team because it provided an opportunity to visit California for the national championships. It was that same opportunity that motivated many of the team’s founding members to join. Scarborough did win the state title that first year and has continued winning ever since.

Even during retirement Ross will continue working with the Academic Decathlon program. She said she would assist with Scarborough’s team until a replacement can be found. She also will work with the state organization to help create new teams and assist with fundraising.

“I really would like to do something,” she said. “It’s been so long that it’s in you and you can’t just walk away.”

She also plans on building a log cabin in Waterboro during retirement and hopes to do some farming and ride her horse. Overall, Ross said she plans on listening to the birds and frogs rather than dissecting them.

While Ross has had a great run as coach of the Decathlon Team, she said it is the students’ hard work and education that made the program as successful as it is today. Even students who people may not think would be successful in the competition have done well over the years, she said.

“I think the decathlon is made for students who get bored in school or turned off by the public system,” she said.

Ellen Ross was honored for her years of coaching the Academic Decathlon team by former and current team members at a party on Monday. Pictured with her is Scarborough High School student Noah Cohen.