Potentia Academics | The Team |
Scott Rowles
Scott Rowles, MAT, CBC, P/ET
Founder, Coach, and Professional Educational Therapist
Since 2012, Scott’s has counseled, coached, and individually instructed over 1,000 students, each with their own combination of learning disabilities, anxiety, depression, executive function profiles, motivation challenges, LGBTQ+ issues, homelessness, or substance use that informs their complex individuality. His diverse experience has led him to become an expert in guiding students to navigate the complex systems of public schools and higher education institutions while wrestling with learning disabilities and a complicated academic track record. As the founder and clinical director of Potentia Academics he is constantly pursuing best practice of psychology, modern learning and self-management techniques, and educational therapy as he leads the Potentia team to help today’s students find more ownership, balance and success in the pursuit of their goals.
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Longer Bio
Academic Director at College Excel - 2012-2020
After moving out of the high school classroom in 2012 Scott began coaching students with College Excel, one of the nation’s original residential college support programs. Moving into the Academic Director position in 2015, he was responsible for the academic development of all students in the program, collaborating with educational consultants, families, psychiatrists, therapists to ensure wrap-around support for struggling adolescents. He integrated cutting edge research about learning disabilities, motivation, anxiety, and behavior into lessons and tools that helped students take control of their pursuit of success in academic and life endeavors.
College Instructor & Educator - 2015-2020
Scott taught in the Human Development department at Central Oregon Community College from 2015-2020 and has an extensive history of curriculum development to match the current needs of today’s students. This tenure at COCC was primarily instructing and developing HD100CS – College Success, a class that focuses on teaching the skills, mindsets and strategies necessary to be a successful college student and independent young adult in the college environment. In 2018 in response to a growing need in the lives of 17-19 year-old college students, Scott engineered and spearheaded an effort to create HD103 – Strategies for Life Management. This class focuses on the awareness, tools and skills that it takes to be a successful student outside of the classroom. Drawing from various fields of psychology and science-based principles that support healthy living, the course material focuses on sleep, diet, mental health, physical health, substance-use and personal awareness to create skills that support healthy independent living for today’s adolescent.
Educational Therapist & College Advisor 2020 - Current
In 2020, Scott opened up Rowles Academic Coaching and began a private practice of academic coaching, advising, and mentoring students in middle and high school, and college. Scott was certified as an Associate Educational Therapist by AET (Association of Educational Therapists) in early 2022 amidst significant post-Masters degree training in the Educational Therapist program by University of California Riverside. This certification is similar to a ‘Learning Specialist’, but with a greater focus on the holistic student, academic and executive skills, and identity. He moved to the level of Professional Educational Therapist in 2024; and is working towards becoming a Board Certified Educational Therapist, the highest rank available.
Scott additionally holds his Oregon Teaching license and has experience teaching in middle schools and high schools all over Central Oregon. Scott served as an advisor and teacher for homeschool students at Baker Charter Schools, and subsequently a college advisor and instructor in the Baker Early College program, guiding advanced high school students gain the skills to be successful in the college environment. Scott also is the main academic and college advisor at Skyline Recovery, a residential community supporting and guiding young men in addiction recovery.
He regularly counsels local families and educators, and presents professional development workshops to local teachers about executive function and best practices for supporting learning disabilities.
Home, Outdoors and Family
Scott Rowles is a lifelong Bend resident and currently resides on the outskirts of town with his wife and two daughters. He has twenty-one chickens, a tabby cat, two geese, and a standard poodle, Walter, who occasionally attends sessions. Scott is an avid cyclist, runner, mountain biker, and backcountry skier. During the summers you can find him sourcing food from his garden, pawning off eggs on his friends, unsuccessfully hunting, and hiking or camping with his family. He is an active member of his church, the cycling community and his daughters’ sports teams.
