Bryan Taylor has studied in Paris and founded a national company aimed at improving how each student in America earns an education.

He credits a successful start at St. Clair County Community College for providing him with a strong foundation to reach his academic and career goals.

Taylor, 38, founded Partnership for Learning in 2000 as a way to create a roadmap for students to achieve success in education.

Through publications, Web sites, training and events, Taylor and his award-winning non-profit organization help schools, communities and students nationwide work together to boost learning from birth through the transition to college.

“Our job is to take lessons learned and pass them on to people coming up,” he said.

Taylor started at SC4 in 1987 and then transferred to the University of Michigan, where he earned a bachelor of arts degree in political philosophy.

After, he spent a year studying philosophy at the Sorbonne University in Paris on a scholarship from Rotary International.

Taylor said that when he entered his career field he realized he made mistakes in his educational journey that cost him money and headaches.

“After school, I realized students were struggling with similar things. I asked myself, isn’t there an easier way to reach our educational goals?” he said.

Taylor first started working on education reform, targeting colleges and universities.

But he soon discovered the best way to improve how people learn is to teach parents, families and the students directly.

“Institutions have room to improve, but focus more on equipping real people to make real progress,” he said.

Taylor lives in Lansing with his wife, Rebecca, and children, Grant, 7, and Claire, 4.

For more information about Partnership for Learning, visit www.partnershipforlearning.org.

Reprinted from SC4 College Connection newsletter, April 2007 (pdf)