Education Consultant
(650) 283-3828
Email: wjoverton@sbcglobal.net
Website: (in process) wholechildeducationalservices.com
Available for staff development, workshops, mentoring & coaching teachers and administrators, parent education, working with student groups, and selective tutoring of student groups and individuals. He is also available to travel.
Approach:
Bill’s approach is similar to his teaching style. Before getting started, he likes to do a “walkabout” the school and classrooms, while talking to staff members, and gaining a sense of the culture & environment. After discussing goals for the workshop with appropriate people, he creates a personalized program that includes the dissemination of information, active games and projects, demonstration & modeling, and lots of collaborative activities for participants to engage in. Comments about his presentations and workshops have stated how engaging & participatory they are, as well as informative. They all state how there are always a lot of takeaways to try the next day at school.
Educational Philosophy:
Dr. Overton believes that every child is entitled to being respected, being treated as an individual, and that his/her teacher cares for them and sees them as capable students. He also believes that school should be fun for everyone and be a place of physical and emotional safety. From this axiom, he believes in designing a curriculum that is engaging, personalized, rigorous, and fun, all while being appropriate for each student.
Some of the areas of expertise that Dr. Overton has developed over the years include: project-based learning, larger Beyond Project-Based Learning, social-emotional learning, developing a safe classroom and school culture, integration of curriculum, classroom management and planning, multi-grade classrooms, creating dramatic & educational simulations, social justice & community service, creating curriculum relevant to student interests and needs, assisting teachers & students to be accountable & responsible, teacher-parent communication, and American History.
Presently, Dr. Overton is preparing a series of podcasts helping parents to adjust to homeschooling while working at home. He also has two books in process: “Beyond Project-Based Learning” and “Doing What’s Right: One Teacher’s Quest to Balance Student Needs & Desires in a Standards-Based World.
Experience:
- 30+ years as an elementary school teacher
- 5 years as an elementary principal
- 15+ years as a mentor teacher
- Presented at many conferences throughout the U.S.
- Mentored administrators through Santa Clara University
- Taught student teachers through University of Notre Dame de Namur
Education:
- EdD. from Fielding Graduate University in Leadership for Change
- MA in Education Administration from Santa Clara University
- BA from San Jose State University
- Approximately 15 hours of graduate-level classes related to childhood trauma
Associations
- Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development
- Progressive Education Network
- Transformative Education Network
- Fielding University Alumni
- 6 Seconds social-emotional learning organization
- EQ4Peace
- Greenpeace
- Rethinking Schools