The Y.E.S. Circle

Christiana Smith, M.Ed. has spent her life dedicated to teaching and mentoring low-income African-American youth. As a veteran urban educator in Columbus Public Schools for over fifteen years, she has worked with hundreds of young adult and teenage African-Americans – as a teacher, guide, counselor and inspirational leader.

As a single mother who worked her way from welfare to graduating from Ohio State University with a Masters in Education, she has first-hand experience in the struggle – a perspective that allows her to connect to young girls in a uniquely compassionate way.

Her experience and success in changing young lives led her to launch The Y.E.S Circle – a non-profit endeavor targeted to African-American teenage girls.

• The “Y.E.S” stands for Young Empowered Sisters – an acknowledgement that girls have the power to make choices and succeed in life.
• The “Circle” underscores the importance of a peer-to-peer model and the value of positive reinforcement amongst peers.

The Y.E.S. CIRCLE MODEL

The Y.E.S. Circle model is rooted in the core value principle of individuals connecting, working collaboratively and supporting each other’s success. Her decision to launch the non-profit was inspired by a successful pilot group she led at Africentric Middle School in Columbus, OH with ten middle school girls.

Christiana believes that all young adults are entitled to opportunities and success in life regardless of their physical situation. She is a passionate believer in surviving the struggle and has the experience herself to prove that it can be done. In counseling low-income youth, she taps into the challenges she faced as a single mother on welfare – financial, mental, emotional. She can relate very directly to the lives the kids live on a daily basis – she can say “I have been where you are” which lays the foundation for a deep connection to the young adults she has counseled.

To know that the model works, one has to look no farther than real-life – young adults whose lives have been changed (names have been changed to protect the students):

• Robert and Monica: Christiana mentored this brother and sister duo from 5^th grade through college graduation. As the youngest of six children in a single parent household, Robert and Monica struggled for attention and support. Over the course of twelve years – elementary, middle, high school and college – Christiana provided emotional and psychological guidance through difficult situations.  In addition, she provided academic support and instilled in them the belief that they could surpass their circumstances to achieve success. Monica ended up going to college on a scholarship. Both have since graduated from college and are leading productive lives.

• Phillip:  Christiana mentored Phillip in high school. He was living with his single father after his mom abandoned him. He struggled with the pain of a broken family and a strained relationship with his father. Christiana stepped in to provide support in Phillip’s high school years to ensure that he would successfully graduate from high school. He completed high school and is now gainfully employed.

• Yvette: Christiana encountered Yvette as a student in her 7^th grade English class. Yvette was a very angry child who was extremely negative and combative with other girls. Christiana decided to address the situation head-on by holding sessions with Yvette and the girls in the school to have open conversations about anger. The group expanded to include over ten girls who met weekly to work through personal challenges. By the end of the school year, Yvette’s grades improved, she re-established her friendships with classmates, and she learned healthy methods for dealing with her anger. Yvette made so much progress that the next year, she joined the school sports teams, underscoring the success and value of the core team principles of the Y.E.S. Circle. Yvette is one of the young adults who inspired Christiana to launch Y.E.S. Circle.

Christiana Smith is an impassioned teacher, counselor, inspirational speaker and champion for African-American youth.

HOW WE CAN HELP YOU

For information on the Y.E.S. Circle or to invite Christiana to speak, email info@theyescircle.org.