Dr. Yolanda Stewart

  • Dr. StewartDr. Stewart is an Equity Strategist for Columbus City Schools. She supports the district's mission to create and ensure equitable outcomes for students and staff by reducing and eliminating the systemic barriers limiting success related to our policies, processes, and practices. 

    During her 20 years in education, Stewart has served in various formal and informal leadership positions within Columbus City Schools: Middle School Teacher, Middle School Reading Coordinator, Literacy Coach, Graduation Coach, Community Linkage Coordinator, and most recently, High School Assistant Principal. Throughout her work she has been able to utilize an equity framework to increase access and opportunities for various stakeholders through offering professional learning opportunities, providing instructional coaching, and creating family/community engagement initiatives.  

    Trust, credibility, and respect are all foundational elements in the work she accomplishes with her colleagues, students, and families. She was selected as a Columbus City School’s Educator of the Year for her work at Columbus City Preparatory for Boys in 2006. In 2011, she was nominated for the Queen Smith Award for Commitment to Urban Education, and in 2012 she received the Ohio School Board Association’s Teacher of the Year Award. Most recently in 2016 she received Columbus Education Association’s prestigious Helen Jenkins Davis Award for her commitment to social justice.  

    Dr. Stewart holds a Bachelor of Science in Medical Technology from Howard University. She earned her Ph.D. from The Ohio State University in Educational Policy and Leadership in 2015. Her research focuses on the factors that influence success for African American Males in urban settings. She is actively involved in several community organizations focused on improving outcomes for STEM, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), girls/women, and other traditionally marginalized populations. 

    Dr. Stewart believes she has been able to make the largest difference influencing collaborations and achieving desired outcomes by leveraging relationships, listening, and maintaining a growth mindset.  Her mission is to build systems of capacity and equity for all staff, students, and families so they’re empowered to achieve their goals. 

    Dr. Stewart has been with Columbus City Schools since 2001.