Scott Young - he/him

Mr. Young / Mr. Why

English Teacher

syoung@sierraacademy.net

A fourth-generation Californian, Scott was born in the Bay Area and raised on the beaches south of Santa Cruz where he developed a profound love of the sea, an endless thirst for knowledge, and a lifelong commitment to social justice and environmentalism. As a sophomore in high school, which coincided with the Bicentennial of the US, Scott and his family traveled across the country for a year in a little motorhome, accompanied by a giant dog, a dozen 8-track tapes(!), and hundreds of books. They visited every state in the lower 48, nearly every art museum in nearly every city, and every national park in the country. Oh, and the Betty Crocker factory. During the last couple of years of high school, Scott also studied oceanography, took Anatomy and Physiology at Cabrillo College in which he dissected cadavers, and got an EMT license.

Scott headed off to college intending to be either a doctor or an oceanographer, but ended up graduating with a degree in Literature and Writing from UC San Diego. He was the Editor-in-Chief of the university’s twice-weekly newspaper, and volunteered in the Mission Beach Free Clinic. While in college he co-founded and directed a nonprofit organization dedicated to teaching differently-abled children and adults to ride horses as a form of physical and emotional therapy. The organization continues to this day. Check it out.

After graduation, he headed up to San Francisco for a high school English teaching credential from San Francisco State, where he also enrolled in the Masters in Creative Writing program, and co-founded the school’s literary magazine. Over the next 15 years, he taught school, helped found a nonprofit providing sports programs to disadvantaged kids, traveled for 18 months in Europe, New Zealand, Australia, and Indonesia, owned the only children’s bookstore in San Francisco, and managed a nonprofit job training program on Pier 39 employing unhoused people in a retail store selling excess public property from the City of San Francisco, including street signs, stop lights, parking meters, bricks from Lombard Street, and other miscellany. He also worked for a time as a baker, a bicycle tour leader, and a gardener, eventually getting a Landscape Contractor’s license to design and build showcase gardens. 

In late 1999, Scott and his young family moved to a raw piece of land in Nevada City, and he began teaching again, first at Grizzly Hill School and then at Nevada City School of the Arts. He designed and built a house (with a LOT of help!) and began acting locally, and writing and publishing poetry. He took time off from teaching to earn a Masters in Fine Arts in Writing from Pacific University in Oregon, then taught at Forest Charter, Bitney Prep High School, and, most recently, the Adult Education program at Nevada County Jail. He also helped run a local nonprofit called Good Sun which is responsible for solar installations at a variety of schools and other nonprofits in town. Best of all, he and his wife have raised 5 incredible kids to become happy, curious adults.

When not teaching, Scott does a lot of garden and home projects. He fervently believes that his house will be finished one day. He loves cooking, especially baking, reading, and films. He also tries to write every day.

At SAEL, Scott has found a perfect blend of his passions for education and community service. He sees his role in the classroom as mentor, coach, guide, dictionary (and occasionally herder of cats!), and looks forward to infecting students with a love of learning that lasts forever, and a passionate commitment to creating a better world.

By the way, since SAEL already has a Mr. Young, Scott is going to be Mr. Why!