Dr. Victor Rios

Dr. Victor Rios grew up in Oakland, California in a single parent household, in poverty and on welfare. Not having any visible positive role models or examples, he turned to the streets and decided early on that school was not for him. He joined a gang at the age of thirteen and by age sixteen he had dropped out of school and had been incarcerated several times. He learned the simple mentality of "surviving another day" instead of planning for the future. Having witnessed the tragic murder of his best friend by gang rivals, Victor hit a critical juncture in life at which point he made the decision to transform. With the support of educators and mentors, Victor redirected his attitude towards life, returned to school to eventually acquire a Ph.D from the University of California at Berkeley.

Dr. Rios covers topics such as:

GANG PREVENTION - STUDENT MOTIVATION - VIOLENCE PREVENTION - CONFLICT RESOLUTION

Dr. Rios discusses how “illusions” impact both students and educational institutions often leading into school failure and high-risk behaviors such as gangs and violence. Dr. Rios introduces his own story of struggle with poverty, gangs and delinquency. He speaks about his own personal transformation with the support of a teacher who saved his life.

He also speaks to parent groups on the importance of home to school communication and parental involvement. Dr. Rios can present staff development on: supporting youth through challenging stages in life; counseling, mentoring, and teaching "at-risk" youth; implementing support networks for "at-risk" youths; working with deviant and convicted youth; culture, class, race and racism; and developing curriculum, pedagogy, and programs that embrace all students in the classroom. Dr. Rios is bilingual and bicultural in Spanish.