Sign up for Chalkbeat Chicago’s free daily newsletter to keep up with the latest news on Chicago Public Schools.
Ray Graham Training School’s gym buzzed with excitement on Friday as students in costumes rehearsed lines for a production of “The Wiz,” a musical that takes a soulful spin on “The Wizard of Oz.”
At the center of the tumult was Sharon Toi Overton, a special education and theater teacher who works with 12th graders at the school on the city’s South Side. She has put on plays with her students for the past five years.
At Friday’s rehearsal, she directed her students, going over their lines and making sure their costumes were perfect before their debut on Dec. 19 at King College Prep High School’s auditorium.
Overton is not new to acting or music. She is a Chicagoan who grew up in a musical family; her father played saxophone and her mother was a pianist. Overton took up singing and drumming, later becoming a lead singer and drummer in an-all girl rock and roll band in the 1970s.
Before she officially started her teaching career in 2000, she was an established actor in the city and performed with the Black Ensemble Theater, a theater company on the city’s North Side that puts on plays and has educational programs for students.
Overton became a teaching artist through the theater’s program and started to work with women with disabilities at the Ada S. McKinley Community Services, a nonprofit organization based in Chicago. Over the past 25 years, Overton has combined her love for the arts with working with students with disabilities.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
How and when did you decide to become a teacher?
I returned to Chicago in 1995 from Los Angeles to support my mom after she suffered a stroke. I auditioned and became a member of the Black Ensemble Theater as an actress. The founder of the theater, Jackie Taylor, who is not only an actress but also a former Chicago Public Schools teacher, and developed various educational programs. She trained interested artists to become teaching artists and placed them in schools around the city.
During that time, I decided to further my education as a special education teacher. One of my professors at Chicago State, Vinni Hall, recommended me for the special education program at University of Illinois-Chicago where I received my master’s. One of my professors, Abisola Bakare, was teaching at Ray Graham and suggested I perform my student teaching there with her. I completely fell in love with the climate and setting created by Principal Thomas and Vice Principal Buckner. The friendly yet professional and equitable standards set were outstanding. My colleagues are exceptional. In fact, the whole staff across the board was amazing. The students are extremely talented. I knew Ray Graham was the perfect fit for me.
What’s your favorite play to put on and why?
“The Lion King” is actually my favorite show to perform with students. “The Lion King” was so impactful. It was because it had drama, comedy, and tragedy. It showed every stage of life that you could possibly go through and still come out and triumph.
Tell us about your own experience with school and how it affects your work today.
My experience in school was wonderful. I loved school, except for math. I was raised in Hyde Park and I went to Ray Elementary School and Hyde Park Academy High School. I got a lot out of school as far as integration, because Hyde Park was so integrated. We had friends of all nationalities and races. My mom gave dinner parties like the United Nations was there. So school was fun, but there was also turmoil back in that day. There were a lot of sit-ins, walkouts, and strikes. It was a tumultuous time in the ‘60s and ‘70s. The Vietnam war was going on. There was always a cause that people were fighting for.
Did you participate in singing or acting at school?
Absolutely. I come from a musically-inclined family. My mom was a consummate pianist and enjoyed playing all genres from Beethoven to Motown. Her favorite was jazz. I can remember singing jazz songs before I started kindergarten. I was in the school plays throughout my early school years.
What’s something happening in the community that affects what goes on inside your classroom?
Explaining and protecting the students from public scrutiny, restricted resources, time spent navigating politically sensitive topics, and diverting focus from instruction. The ICE situation when we go out on community-based instruction trips. We have students who did not understand what it was about. The safety while traveling on CTA when they hear the news regarding someone punching people on public transportation for no reason.
However, it’s not all negative. Ray Graham is a life skills training center that has professional and experienced educators who are involved with local businesses, college partnerships, and various programs designed to meet the students’ needs, to ensure a positive result. When businesses or local universities partner with our school, it provides real-world learning opportunities, mentorship programs, career days, and internships. This makes classroom lessons more relevant and engaging for students.
How do you approach news events in your classroom? Please provide an example.
I will share it with them and lay down the foundation of what’s going on, because they’re not just hearing it with me. If they’re at home, they’re hearing this news, and they know what’s going on. I ask them, what is the response at home? Because I don’t want to disrespect the parent’s point of view either. We have to maintain a good collaboration with the parents as well and a rapport with them. So, I tried to maintain whatever their parents are talking about, just expound on it, wherever each student is, where their understanding level would be. Then I allow them to turn and talk.
What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?
My mom always said, “You can get angry, but make sure you don’t stay angry.” That’s a choice. You don’t carry resentment and anger with you. Go and get everything out, and then let it go.
What’s one thing you’ve read that has made you a better educator?
I have a philosopher that I really like to read, Jean Piaget. One of his philosophies is about putting the lessons right above the students’ level. Set your expectations high, but don’t make it unreachable.
How do you take care of yourself when you’re not at work?
Singing, dancing, massages, traveling, but mainly getting together with my friends that I’ve had since we were 3-and 4-years-old.
Samantha Smylie is the state education reporter for Chalkbeat Chicago covering school districts across the state, legislation, special education and the state board of education. Contact Samantha at ssmylie@chalkbeat.org.
