Pedro Olvera, PsyD

Azusa Pacific University (APU)
Pediatric Neurodevelopmental Institute (PNI)
Neuropsychological Assessment (Supervisor; 2007-2008)

University of California at Irvine (UCI)
Graduate School of Education (2013-2015)
Preliminary Administrative Credential

University of California at San Diego (UCSD)
Graduate School of Education (2015-2016)
Reading Instruction Certificate

George Washington University, Washington, D.C.
School of Media and Public Affairs
Public Policy Institute (July, 2016, 2017)

University of California at Santa Barbara (UCSB)
School of Education (2019)
Applied Behavior Analysis (Certificate)

PPS 503 Counseling Theory
PPS 513 Advanced Psychopathology
PPS 521 Developing Culturally Competent Practice
PPS 536 Practicum
PPS 551 Seminar Adv. Assessment
PPS 567 Legal and Ethical Practice
PPS 568 Seminar Advanced Assessment 2*
PPS 569 Lab: Advanced Assessment 2 *
PPS 579 Internship
PPS 577 Fieldwork/Internship School Psychology

My academic areas include assessing Dual Language Learners (DLL) who are suspected of having learning disabilities. Understanding the nature of typical second language acquisition and the impact of learning in that language has been an area of utmost importance in my practice. Second language acquisition is often confused with learning disabilities, and consequently, DLL children are misidentified as having learning disabilities. However, understanding the dynamics of the bilingual mind in the early stages of second language acquisition can help connect the student with appropriate academic support. Another interest is creating safe and supportive systems for Latino parents to engage and collaborate with educators. It is crucial that Latino parents feel welcomed, validated, and embraced as equal members at their child's school site. I provide in-services and consultation to school districts to support this process.

Azusa Pacific University
Brandman University
Chapman University

Selected Presentations:

Olvera, P. & Crosby-Cooper, T. (2010). Strengths-based assessments for school psychologists. CASP Today, 60(1), 6; 1.

Olvera, P. & Olvera, V.I. (2010). Supporting the cognitive, academic, and social-emotional needs of children with diabetes: The school psychologist’s role. CASP Today, 60(3), 3.

Olvera, P. & Cerrillo-Gomez, L. (2011). A bilingual approach (English & Spanish psychoeducational assessment MODEL grounded in Cattell-Horn Carroll (CHC) Theory: A cross battery approach. Contemporary School Psychology, 15, 113-123. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ934711.pdf

Martin, R.H., Block, M. & Olvera, P. (2012). School neuropsychology for counselors. International Journal of Humanities and Social Science, 2, 45-47. http://www.ijhssnet.com/journals/Vol_2_No_2_Special_Issue_January_2012/6.pdf

Sikkenga, A.V., Lundeen, R.J., & Olvera, P. (2012). A look at the RTI Social Behavioral-Model in urban schools. CASP Today, 62 (2), 10; 12.

Olvera, P. & Olvera, V.I. (2012). Optimizing home-school collaboration: Strategies for school psychologists and Latino parent involvement for positive mental health outcomes. Contemporary School Psychology, 16, 77-87. https://www.casponline.org/pdfs/pdfs/optimizing_home-school.pdf

Olvera, P., & Gomez-Cerrillo, L. (2013). Integrated intellectual assessment of the bilingual student. In A. B. Clinton (Ed.), Integrated Assessment of the Bilingual Child. Washington, DC: APA. https://psycnet.apa.org/doiLanding?doi=10.1037%2F14320-006

Clinton, A. B. & Olvera, P. (2014). Norm-referenced assessment and bilingual populations. In S.G. Little & A. Akin Little (Ed.), Academic Assessment and Intervention (pp. 102-114). New York, NY: Taylor & Francis/Routledge. https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/mono/10.4324/9780203108451/academic-assessment-intervention-steven-little-angeleque-akin-little

Ihori, D. & Olvera, P (2014). Discrepancies, responses, and patterns: The strengths and weaknesses of specific learning disability identification model. Contemporary School Psychology, 15, 1-11.
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40688-014-0042-6

Olvera, P. & Olvera, V. (2014). Bilingual school psychologists: Opportunities and challenges. Contemporary School Psychology, DOI: 10.1007/s40688-014-0034-6.

Olvera, P. (2014). Contemporary School Psychology (CSP) is committed to improving the practice of school psychologists working with bilingual and bicultural youth. Contemporary School Psychology, 18, 157-158. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40688-014-0028-4

Olvera, P., Balmano, A., Vukovich, D. & LeGarreta, R. (2017). A wall and a travel ban: Supporting California’s immigrant children. Sacramento, CA: California Association of School Psychologists. Retrieve http://casponline.org/pdfs/publications/A%20Wall%20and%20a%20Travel%20Ban.pdf

Olvera, P. (2017). Educational Equity: We are only scratching the surface. CASP Today 67 (3), 8.

Olvera, P. (2018). Parent-child border separations: Supports to invoke humanitarianism.
Association of California School Administrators. Retrieved (1/14/2019):
https://content.acsa.org/educational-equity/parent-child-border-separations?fbclid=IwAR3
WUksGXA1hSTRtRItLXaonz2zVFb996lBU4jxXCpZfYIZFnuAM-anCELw.

Robinson-Zañartu, C., Draper Rodríguez, C. & Olvera, P. Contemporary School Psychology (2019). School psychologists and the opportunities and challenges of serving dual language and English learners: An introduction to the special issue. Retrieved (1/14/2019): https://doi.org/10.1007/s40688-018-00222-z.

Robinson-Zañartu, C., Rodríguez, C.D. & Olvera, P. White Paper: the Provision of School
Psychological Services to Dual Language Learners. Contemporary School Psychology, 23, 3–9
(2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40688-019-00228-1

Olvera, P. (2019). I am Pedro: Embracing my Mexican culture and my United States identity. In N.
J. Thorsos, J. Martinez, and M.L. Gabriel (Ed.), In Losing the Mother Tongue in the USA:
Implications for Adult Latinxs in the 21st Century (Chapter 6). Hauppauge, NY: Nova Science
Publishers. https://novapublishers.com/shop/losing-the-mother-tongue-in-the-usa-implications-for-adult-latinxs-in-the-21st-century/

Olvera, P. (2021, October 13). 6 Ways that we can help reverse learning COVID learning loss
English learners. Education Post. https://educationpost.org/6-ways-we-can-help-reverse-covid-learning-loss-for-english-learners/

Stephens, T.L., Olvera, P., & Schultz, E.K. (2022). Conducting a targeted, SLD assessment using the Core-Selective Evaluation Process (C-SEP): Implications for Assessing English learners. Contemporary School Psychology. Retrieved 12/19/2022: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40688-022-00443-3.

Selected Presentations:

Over 75 presentations at national, state, and local organizations on bilingual assessment and mental health issues. Available upon request. The following are national and international conferences:

Olvera, P. (2015, Spring). Facilitar y sostenimiento de la colaboración entre hogar y escuela con las
familias Latinas (Facilitating and sustaining home-school collaborative partnerships with Latino families). Spanish presentation for the annual meeting of the Council of Exceptional Children (CEC), San Diego, CA.

Olvera, P. (2015, Spring). Voces de familias Latinas: Las barreras culturales y lingüísticas, los desafíos y éxitos en asegurar una educación pública, gratuita y apropiada para sus niños. (Barriers that Latino Families Face in Ensuring FAPE for Children with Disabilities). Spanish presentation for the annual meeting of the Council of Exceptional Children (CEC), San Diego, CA.

Cheung, S., Olvera, P., Juang, L. (2105, Summer). Intergenerational conflict,-Latino and Asian American perspectives. Symposium for the annual meeting of the American Psychological Association (APA), Toronto, Canada.

Olvera, P. (September 2021). School as Mental Health Communities: Strategies for Bridging Generational Gaps with Latino Families. Symposium for the annual meeting International Congress of Psychologists (ICP), Prague, Czech Republic.

Olvera, P. (November 2021). The Woodcock-Muñoz Language Survey, 3rd Edition (WMLS-III): Overview and Clinical Practice Applications. Changing Lens of School Psychology. New York Association of School Psychologists Annual Conference.

Olvera, P. (March, 2022). Conducting A Bilingual Assessment Using the Woodcock-Johnson IV Oral Language (WJ IV OL) and the Batería IV Woodcock-Muñoz (Cognitive and Academic). California Association of School Psychologists Spring Institute.

Olvera, P. (July, 2022). Woodcock Munuz pruebas de aprovechamiento. Umbrales, Mexico City. 8-hour workshop delivered in Spanish.

Olvera, P., Jimenez, T., Steele, K. and White, M. (November, 2022). REACH: An Interprofessional
Model for Telepractice Assessments. American Speech and Language (ASHA), Annual
Convention: New Orleans, Louisiana.

Selected Blogs:

Olvera, P. (2021). 5 Tips for parents home-schooling and working full time. Vocovision. https://www.vocovision.com/resources/parents/homeschooling-and-working-full-time/

Olvera, P. (2021). Compensatory services and COVID-19: How Vocovision can help meet IEP goals. Vocovision. https://www.vocovision.com/resources/schools/compensatory-services/

Olvera, P. (2021, March 10). Supporting English language learners (ELLs): opportunities in unprecedented times. Riverside Insights. https://blog.riversideinsights.com/supporting-ell-opportunities-in-unprecedented-times

Olvera, P. (2021, March, 25). Trauma-informed care for culturally and linguistically diverse students. Bilingual Therapies. https://www.bilingualtherapies.com/resource/trauma-informed-care-for-culturally-and-linguistically-diverse-students/

Olvera, P. (2021, July 13). Preparation for post-pandemic school re-integration. Bilingual Therapies. https://www.bilingualtherapies.com/blog/preparation-for-post-pandemic-school-re-integratin/

Olvera, P. (2021, August, 9). 7 Steps to help English learners make up for COVID learning loss. Riverside Insights. https://blog.riversideinsights.com/7-steps-el-covid-learning-loss

Olvera, P. (2021, September, 30). The future of school psychology: Post pandemic teletherapy in schools. Vocovision. https://www.vocovision.com/blog/the-future-of-school-psychology/

Olvera, P. (2021, September 23). Skip, repeat, or intervene: Exploring models to address learning for ELs. Riverside Insights. https://blog.riversideinsights.com/models-addressing-els-learning-gap

Olvera, P. (2022, June 15). How parents and teachers can respond to tragic events. Vocovision: https://www.vocovision.com/blog/how-parents-and-teachers-can-respond-to-tragic-events/?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=socialmedia&utm_campaign=blogpost&utm_term=candidate&utm_content=blog

Olvera, P. (2022, July 15). The standard score is just the tip of the iceberg: Validating your data in the assessment of English Learners. Riverside Insights. https://blog.riversideinsights.com/english-language-learners-data-validation
fbclid=IwAR19LqjhcsBhLG1cP75pAI6t03Gm3POb4bcTvF_YgK_BpUrXs5U50HeIPt4

Olvera, P. (2022, October 10). Five ways we can support student mental health in the classroom. Vocovision: https://www.vocovision.com/blog/five-ways-we-can-support-student-mental-health-in-the-classroom/#more-5703

Olvera, P. (2022, December 02). Special education rights in schools. Vocovision: https://www.vocovision.com/blog/special-education-rights-in-schools/

Olvera, P.( 2023, December 30). New Year's tips for setting and accomplishing goals. https://www.vocovision.com/blog/new-year-tips-for-setting-and-accomplishing-goals/?utm_source=socialmedia&utm_medium=facebook&utm_campaign=blogpost&utm_term=candidate&utm_content=blog&fbclid=IwAR3wsieapAMAPV3gpowLbiRKs3u7SmoY5uUI6lI2nmsvBHE5FHW1xDl4F14

Selected Webinars:

Olvera, P. (2017). Speaking with Dr. Pedro Olvera about mental health. Solutions and Strategies: Living the Challenge w/Dr. Sean Surfas. https://www.voiceamerica.com/episode/103952/speaking-with-dr-pedro-olvera-about-mental-health-issues

Olvera, P. (2019). Introduction to the new Bateria IV: Composition and overview [Video]. Riverside Insights. https://vimeo.com/337856405.

Olvera. P. (2020, April, 22). Determine language proficiency using the WMLS III, Woodcock-Johnson IV, and Bateria IV [Video]. Riverside Insights. https://info.riversideinsights.com/wmlsiii-bateriaiv-webinar-two.

Olvera, P. (2020 September 20). Understanding the loss of language proficiency during COVID-19 [Video]. Riverside Insights. https://vimeo.com/460675617.

Olvera, P. (2020). I’ve established language dominance and proficiency, now what [Video]. Riverside Insights. https://vimeo.com/434452188

Olvera, P. (2020). Using the WMLS III and the Bateria III to evaluate English and Spanish speakers [Video]. Riverside Insights. https://vimeo.com/524308356

Olvera, P. (2021, September 23). Skip, repeat, or intervene: Exploring models to address learning for ELs. Riverside Insights. https://blog.riversideinsights.com/models-addressing-els-learning-gap

Olvera, P. (2022, January 11). Mental health in K-12 schools in the pandemic era [Webinar]. Soliant Health. https://mobile.twitter.com/soliant/status/1474048681611563013

Olvera, P. (2022, April 27). The standard score is just the tip of the iceberg: Validating your data in the assessment of English language learners [Webinar]. Riverside Insights. https://info.riversideinsights.com/standard-score-el-webinar?_ga=2.45385700.1966333859.1651453931-281350024.1628623311

Olvera, P. (2022, April 27). Self-care in the pandemic era: Going from surviving to a thriving [Webinar]. Soliant Health. https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_zgRe-NuqTmW0c1vRlybniQ?fbclid=IwAR1j8EVdpu-xe5PGTvwl8otkJjrdAWr0cmj2Dw-C3e-Eaf6xJd9nifIQ9T0

Olvera, P. (2022, April 27). Choose your own adventure: An EL case study on data validation and interpretation [Webinar]. Riverside Insights. https://info.riversideinsights.com/el-data-validation-interpretation-webinar?_ga=2.46146535.1966333859.1651453931-281350024.1628623311

Olvera, P. (2022, July 9). Implementing IDEA regulations in eligibility reports for English Learners (EL) [Webinar]. Bilingual Therapies Symposium (2022). https://bilingualtherapies-prd-staging.azurewebsites.net/bilingual-therapies-symposium/agenda/

Olvera, P. (2022, August 11). Fair and equitable assessment: Strategies for working with English Learners [Webinar]. Riverside Insights. https://info.riversideinsights.com/evalu8-day-four?hsLang=en&_ga=2.186764459.282596321.1660230919-566066584.1659125545

Olvera, P. (2022, April 27). After Tragedy Strikes: How School Staff Can Support Children in Their Care. [Webinar]. Soliant Health. https://www.soliant.com/webinars/when-tragedy-strikes-how-school-staff-can-support-children-in-their-care/

Olvera, P. (2022, September 28).When Tragedy Strikes: How School Staff Can Their Care [Webinar]. Soliant. https://www.soliant.com/webinars/when-tragedy-strikes-how-school-staff-can-support-children-in-their-care/

Olvera, P. (2022, October 19). After A Tragedy Strikes: How School Staff Can Care for Themselves and Their Colleagues [Webinar]. Soliant. https://www.soliant.com/webinars/school-tragedy-webinar-part-2/

St. John of the Cross Catholic Church

Associate Editor for Contemporary School Psychology (Peer-Reviewed Journal)
Associate Editor for School Psychology International (Peer Reviewed Journal)
National Association of School Psychologists (Program Reviewer)
California Teacher Commission (Program Reviewer)

I enjoy traveling and spending time with my family.

Psalm 46:10
He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”

Cesar Chavez
“Real education should consist of drawing the goodness and the best out of our own students. What better books can there be than the book of humanity?”