Steve grew up in poverty in a housing project in a single parent family. His third grade report card read, “Parent notified boy is retarded.” In the ninth grade, after being involved in a fight, he had two hip operations and was told that he may never walk again. The doctor told him he better start to listen to his teachers. And, as he tells students today, the more he listened, the smarter the teachers became.

Education was the only way out of the ghetto for Steve. When he graduated from high school, he worked full-time to get his family off welfare before entering college. His childhood offered unique challenges that helped him become a better educator.

Today, Dr. Stephen Sroka is an internationally recognized speaker, trainer, author, teacher and educational consultant on prevention education, at-risk youth, school safety, brain-based learning, alternative education, parenting and dropout prevention.

He has keynoted many of the national school safety conferences including NASRO, DARE, SSAC, YCWA, NSSSC and the DEA. He was invited to the President’s White House Conference on School Safety.

He is an adjunct Assistant Professor, School of Medicine, Division of Adolescent Health, Case Western Reserve University, a former Adjunct Associate Professor of Health Education at Cleveland State University and President of his company, Health Education Consultants. He has worked in schools (K-12) worldwide for over 30 years, including six schools with high profile shootings. He has served as a consultant to the Centers for Disease Control.

He was selected the Disney Outstanding Health Teacher of the Year and was inducted into the National Teachers Hall of Fame. He has been featured on many TV programs including the Oprah Winfrey Show and covered in many newspapers including USA Today. He has been an expert guest on school violence on many television and cable stations including CNN’s TalkBack Live.

But his most meaningful “award” was his six year-old-daughter telling him that he was smarter than the cartoon character, Inspector Gadget. Obviously, his wife does not agree.