Danny Cooper ’13
Staff Writer

Staples High School science teacher Stephen Roberts died on Sunday, Aug. 29 at the age of 43. Roberts had battled cancer since his twenties. Although Roberts was ill last year, he still looked forward to teaching this fall. He leaves behind a wife and four sons.

“He was a warm, compassionate professional,” Principal John Dodig said. “All the students say he really cared.”

Roberts taught at Staples for five years and previously worked at East Haven High School for three years.   Teachers remarked on his excellence as an instructor and the care he showed for his students.

“As a teacher he set the bar high. He got kids to think for themselves. Whenever we would debate something, he would say, ‘Do what is good for the kids,’” said physics teacher Carrie Vega, a colleague of Roberts.

Roberts was also respected by the school’s administration.

“We look for people who are like Stephen Roberts,” Dodig said, “People who are warm and love to be around kids.”

Roberts’s students remember him as a teacher who would make sure students would succeed, even if that took learning outside the classroom.

“What I remember most about Mr. Roberts was his complete willingness to help outside of class. I missed an entire unit, and he skipped his lunch so he could teach me that unit,” Susan Greenberg ’11 said.

Roberts’s colleagues describe him as the type of person who lived life to the fullest. He thoroughly enjoyed activities such as hiking, skydiving and scuba diving.

“At Physics Day he was always playing all the games and on all the rides, just having fun. He was one hell of a guy,” said physics and programming teacher David Scrofani.