Tag Archives: inspirational

In a time when educators are navigating constant shifts, including diminishing attention spans, new AI technology, and shrinking budgets, One Circle Foundation returned from the United School Leadership Conference in Seattle this week with a very clear message: United in community, we are stronger together.

Greetings, fellow champions of neurodiversity! In my journey as a seasoned Board-Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA), I have had the privilege of delving into the intricacies of supporting individuals across diverse cognitive landscapes. Along this path, I have encountered both challenges and opportunities for growth. Through reflection on my experiences, I have gained valuable insights that can offer

The classroom can feel overwhelming at times. Our students’ behaviors change as the season changes. As we all come back from our Spring Breaks, we are left with two more months before summer vacation. During this time, most of our schools are busy with testing and wrapping up projects, and staff may feel tired and overwhelmed. So how do we keep ourselves and our students engaged when many are just thinking about that last day of school?  Here are some class-friendly activities, tips, and tools:

One Circle Foundation (OCF) has the honor of partnering with incredible women leaders who are ushering in lasting, positive change and making history in their communities from Des Moines, IA to Dubai, United Arab Emirates.  OCF has its own history of strong, intelligent, charismatic, and deeply caring women in leadership. These women have been developing and sharing circle programs to ensure that youth and teens get the opportunity to have healthy relationships with themselves and others in safe circle spaces with adults who are properly trained and equipped to be effective facilitators.  We celebrate these women who show up daily to walk the talk, do the work, and make history.

...I attended the Million Man March in Washington DC in 1995. I wasn’t prepared to write anything. But it was a historical event. I didn’t have lined paper nor a pen. I had a pencil and a napkin and began scribbling my verses. That ordeal resulted in the first book of poetry written about the March, titled “Messages from the Historic Million Man March”. I gravitated and graduated to more profound social and political issues as seen in the poem Años de Lágrimas (Years of Tears): I can hear my ancestors They’re being taken away… The screams piercing the air…

16 years ago I was intimidated, excited, nervous, and honored to be given the opportunity to facilitate my first Girls Circle with eight 16-17-year-old girls, all of whom were on probation. They were required to attend as a condition of their probation and we met in a classroom on their high school campus right after school each Wednesday. Going into that first session, I did all of the extra things that I could think of

At One Circle Foundation, we often talk about the dedication and commitment of our facilitators. I want to take a minute and share two examples of this dedication of two individuals who attended Girls Circle training at the end of September. Sapphire was registered to attend our Girls Circle training online. When we began the training, Sapphire let us know that she was pregnant and that she may not be able to attend on day 3 of the training as she had a scheduled doctor's appointment. We let Sapphire know that it was no problem and that OCF could reschedule her third day of training. On day 2 of training, Sapphire let us know that although she had a scheduled appointment she would be attending on day 3 and wanted to complete her training as she had developed relationships with the other facilitators and wanted to finish the training with the individuals she had formed relationships with.  On day 3 we found out Sapphire was going to deliver her daughter later in the morning but