Andre’ Hayes Andre' grew up in a single parent home in a South Central Los Angeles neighborhood. In his mother's attempt to shelter him from the harsh realities of his environment, she struggled and sacrificed to send him to parochial schools every year of his pre-college education. In the fall of 1981, Andre' entered the University of Washington where he was quickly acclimated to the rigors of being a student-athlete (he played for Head Football Coach Don James from 1981-85’). As a result of him being ill-prepared to deal with these rigors, he subsequently flunked out of school (on two separate occasions) and was forced to attend junior college before he could be reinstated. It was during his stint at Seattle Central that he finally realized the tremendous educational opportunity he was wasting. Andre' went on to improve his academic record and eventually graduate from the University of Washington with a degree in Criminal Justice in 87’. He co-wrote/ self-published his first book entitled “The Sport of Learning” in 1996, and his second book “Your Brain is a Muscle Too!” was published by Harper Collins Publishing in 2001. He began teaching high school in 1997, and became fully credentialed in 2005. Andre completed his Master’s Degree in Secondary Education in 2009, and is currently in the research phase in pursuit of his PhD. He is the father of six children, three of which he has been raising as a single dad since the Summer of 2012. His latest book: “Dad Interrupted: Divorce, Custody and Fighting to be a Father” is due to be completed in 2020.