Mr. Seryak retired from public school teaching in 2006 after 35 years as a classroom teacher. He became interested in child abuse and neglect issues from the classroom teacher's perspective. Building on his academic background, he developed the Dear Teacher Project, whose mission statement embraced the need to educate classroom teachers as to the extent, degree and effects of child abuse and neglect on students in the classroom. This work culminated in the publication of Dear Teacher If You Only Knew!: Adults Recovering from Child Sexual Abuse Speak to Educators .