OCF Blog

For today’s youth, raised on fast, scrollable content, long talks in circles or slow activities can feel like watching a movie on 1% battery. Research shows the average attention span has dropped to just 47 seconds today. Circles don’t offer the quick bursts of entertainment youth get from TikTok and other social media, so keeping them engaged takes extra skill. In our Advanced Facilitator Skills Training, you’ll learn how to turn that challenge into an opportunity, creating dynamic, interactive experiences that spark participation, build connection, and hold attention, even with today’s shrinking attention spans. 

One Circle Foundation is bringing the Girls Circle Facilitator Training to the SF Bay Area on September 11-12, 2025 at Uptown Station Oakland. Join us for a training in California to elevate your Circle facilitation skills and connect with others who strive to make a positive impact in the lives of youth and teens. Read more

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.

This journey I speak of has been decades in the making, with so many twists and turns. It’s funny because before my father passed, he would say: Tysha is going to be my personal psychologist. She’s going to fix me.

Adolescence is one of the most formative stages of life. It’s a time when identity, independence, and self-worth begin to take shape. During the early stages of adolescence (11-12), youth enter a stage of relational impasse or “crisis of connection” where they have to decide whether to be their authentic selves or forgo who they are in order to “fit in.” Amid the emotional highs and lows of this time, one factor stands out as a protective shield against many of life’s challenges: self-esteem.

As the Executive Director of One Circle Foundation and a former teen participant in Girls Circle, watching the FX docuseries Social Studies by Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Lauren Greenfield felt like a powerful confirmation that teens still need safe, meaningful spaces to express themselves, and they’re not finding them in their digital worlds.

This April, during National Sexual Assault Awareness Month, we invite you to read a powerful personal story from Shayla Benson, One Circle Foundation’s Director of Curricula. As a survivor and sexuality educator, Shayla shares what she witnessed in school hallways, how consent culture is often missing in youth spaces, and what led her to create Voice & Choice: Embracing Boundaries and Consent.

Celebrating Impact. Honoring Strengths. Inspiring Action.  We are thrilled to share One Circle Foundation’s 2024 Annual Report: Honoring Strengths—a powerful reflection of the impact we’ve made together. 

Are you passionate about youth development and transforming communities? Do you want to use your leadership skills to make a lasting impact? Now is your chance to get involved at the highest level by joining One Circle Foundation's (OCF) Board of Directors. 

"Let Freedom Ring" was Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s powerful call for change—a rallying cry that resonated throughout the Civil Rights Movement and became a defining principle of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which outlawed discrimination and ensured equal access for all. Say it with me...