“A Note From My Mother and a Hairdresser’s License”

Reprinted from Traditions, Winter 2020-21
March 24, 2021

Michael Cole ’71 did not enjoy his high school years.

He describes his childhood as “profoundly impoverished.” His family lived in housing projects, barely scraping by throughout his elementary years. He tested far below grade level in reading and math, and believes he was only accepted to Cretin because he was one of two public school students to apply.

“My parents had their high school GEDs,” he said. “My father frequently said, ‘don't be like us.’ I was the oldest of seven and It was very important to him that I went to Cretin. He had aspirations that I would graduate with honors, then I would go to St. Thomas, then I would be an electrical engineer, and I would be rich and happy, and he would be proud.”

Cole felt like a lone wolf at Cretin. He spent most of his free time working to cover tuition and kept his head down socially. He continued to struggle academically — he was dyslexic, although he wouldn’t know it until his late fifties.

When graduation came around, he didn’t have the grades to attend a traditional college. Cole’s father — a strong believer that hard work can push through any challenge — was tired of the floundering and pushed him to enroll in school, any school.

“I went somewhere to get my hair cut,” Cole remembered. “The barber looked really cool. So I visited a barber school. I found out you get your diploma in nine months. My only question was, is there any math, reading, or homework required? No math, very little reading, and no homework. Where do I sign?”

That was the moment when things turned around for Cole.

He had a talent for styling hair and attended beauty school as well. He met his wife, Mary, at barber school and married her when they were 20. His wife introduced him to her boss, Joe Francis, Founder and CEO of The Barbers Hairstyling for Men and Women Inc. and Cost Cutters.

“Joe was the first of my many entrepreneurial mentors,” Cole said. “He taught me the business side of the art, about leadership, entrepreneurship, and wealth-building. He profoundly altered the course of my life.”

Cole built a career helping salon owners grow their businesses and started his own consulting business, Salon Development Corporation, in 1985 then joined L’Oreal Professional Products as a global salon business educator ten years later.

In the early ’90s, his kids enrolled in Cretin-Derham Hall. They experienced some of the same academic challenges that Cole had as a student, but had the benefit of parents with the knowledge and experience to help. Cole went to Dick Engler, then-President of CDH, and offered to help increase services to students who were struggling. Cole remembered his own days of shutting down in the classroom when he didn’t understand the material.

“When you start ninth grade and you’re testing at a third grade level, you learn to stop caring and just be apathetic,” he said. “I’d rather be numb than dumb.” Cole volunteered at CDH for years, looking for ways to help students who were struggling, so they wouldn’t feel the way he had. Eventually, he realized that for some struggling students, high school was too late to catch up. At the same time, his granddaughter was struggling with dyslexia in kindergarten, and Cole was insistent on helping her avoid his struggles.

“Her teacher explained that from kindergarten to second grade they teach kids to read, so that in third grade they can read to learn,” Cole said.

“We had to convince all these people — executives with MBAs and impressive resumes — that this was the real deal. I walk in with just a note from my mother and a hairdresser’s license,” he said. “I showed them the pie charts, I showed them the miracle of literacy, and they got on board and unanimously voted yes.”

The resulting curriculum, Believe and Read, is now operating at 33 Catholic grade schools with a plan to reach all 73 in the Archdiocese by 2022. Literacy scores are soaring, along with increased enrollment.

Cole’s philanthropy isn’t limited to education. He supports the St. Paul Monastery and Benedictine Center along with The Retreat, a center that helps young people recover from addiction.

“I have what I call obsessive philanthropic disorder,” Cole joked. “That’s what my soul is moving me to do. I have time, I have talent, I have treasure, and if your cause touches my soul I’ll give you all three.”