Our Founder

 

As a young teen living on the east side of Cleveland, Ohio, Christopher Scott was like most young males that live in his area. He did not see any value in education, because in his community's culture being smart and valuing education made you a "geek" which was considered uncool. As a result of a life changing experience in junior high, Chris began to have a different outlook on education. He began to seriously dive into his academics in a more serious light throughout his high school career and even went as far as to enroll in an early college program, to evolve is college readiness skills. Towards his senior year of high school, Christopher developed a passion for public speaking. His passion was born out of realizing the multiple beneficial changes his life had undergone since he had decided to take his education seriously. In 2009, Mr. Scott graduated Salutatorian of his high school graduation class at East Technical High with a 4.0 grade point average. The following fall, Christopher started his freshman year of college at The University of Toledo on a full ride scholarship, becoming the first student in his family to attend college. Throughout Christopher's first year he experienced a number of great struggles which were financial, institutional, as well as family based. After successfully overcoming these struggles Mr. Scott found it imperative to the growth of the youth in his community to share is struggles and success.

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Today, Mr. Scott holds two Associates degrees in the Arts and Sciences, A Bachelor of Science in Interdisciplinary Studies, and a Masters of Education, geared towards the Theories and Social Foundations of Education. Rounding out his educational achievements, Mr. Scott also completed coursework that has granted him an Educational Peace Certificate. This Peace Certificate is grounded in a learning process designed to provide global citizens with the understanding of violence and the patterns that support violent thinking. The hope is that this knowledge will support certificate holders in the creation of a more just and peaceful world. 

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Reach to Teach History

 

In the summer of 2012 the Reach to Teach Motivational Speaking tour was born. This was an endeavor that sought to go into the inner-city neighborhoods of Cleveland, and share the story of making it out of the inner city and into college. Furthermore, Chris also aimed to share the skills, resources, and resilience it takes to survive in college, a new and uncharted territory for many inner-city kids. 

 

During the first Reach to Teach speaker series, Reach to Teach programming was provided to 200 students at 15 different locations throughout Cleveland, OH. Since the initial Reach to Teach tour, our organization has expanded tremendously. During the summer of 2013  Reach to Teach expanded its audience and delivered services to over 2,500 youth throughout 40 different locations in Toledo, Ohio. Subsequently, between 2014 and 2015 Over 5,600 youth were engaged through outreach efforts of Reach to Teach 5,000, the third and largest leg of our motivational tour, .

 

Our Future

 

The ultimate goal of Reach To Teach National is to motivate students across the United States to reach beyond the work that is completed at the end of their High School career. Reach to Teach National aims to inspire youth to seek and actively utilize post-secondary education or professional training, no matter their background or current circumstances.