Announcing the 2025 $1 Million Yass Prize Winner - Chesterton School Network

With more than 70 locations nationwide and growing rapidly, the Chesterton School Network fosters a love for learning through a rich, classical education.
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Congratulations to the 2025 Yass Prize Finalists and Semifinalists

Live in Washington, DC, four finalists and 18 semifinalists were announced, recognizing their outstanding achievements.
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Congratulations to the Texas Education Freedom Award Winners

Yass Prize alumni were awarded funding to position them to launch or expand innovative school models in 2026—meeting the needs of even more Texas students.

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Follow the Impact

From a bold idea to a nationwide movement, the Yass Prize is empowering hundreds and investing millions to reimagine education from the ground up.
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Janine and Jeff Yass Share Their Why

Message to awardees: “You are the change-makers.”
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Learn about the Impact of the Yass Prize

Discover the story of the Yass Prize, an initiative dedicated to celebrating, rewarding, and expanding innovative education providers. Explore our history and the last impact of these groundbreaking efforts. 

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Highlights from the Power of Innovation Summit & Yass Prize Awards

Nearly 250 bold thinkers and doers—policy experts, nonprofit leaders, elected officials, and education entrepreneurs—came together with a shared mission: to reimagine what’s possible for every learner in America.
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Bi-weekly news brief about our Nation’s Best Education Leaders

Subscribe to “Innovation in Action”, featuring Yass Prize awardees who are making a difference
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Yass Prize Alumni Featured on Forbes.com

Timely, thought-provoking, relevant content from Yass Prize alumni contributors on Forbes.com: Explore how innovation, opportunity, and freedom are reshaping education. Learn more about the real-world impact of the STOP principles in action.

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Latest News

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The Yass Foundation for Education advances the four core STOP principles: Sustainable, Transformational, Outstanding, and Permissionless education. Each year, the Foundation will reward dozens of organizations, building a growing network of innovative providers that
demonstrate these qualities in their commitment to new ideas, technologies, and approaches to learning that bring education into
the 21st century. The Foundation is powered by the Center for Education Reform (CER) in partnership with Forbes.

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We have a tremendously transformative model that could stand for a little disruption.

The Yass experience has given us “permission” to do exactly that.

Kelby Woodard
President & CEO,
Cristo Rey Network

In a state where alternative education is often overlooked, the Yass community helps us shine.

The Yass Prize has empowered our youth, families and community by bringing great visibility to our efforts.

Dr. LeDonna Griffin
Founder & Executive Director,
Leaders to Legends

The Yass Award is about celebrating and rewarding those who make students the priority.”

Kevin Stitt
Governor,
Oklahoma

Being a part of this experience has amplified the access we can give to our students in a way that nothing has, and the access is just critical.

The Yass Prize is almost like Burning Man for education reform.

Cris Gulacy-Worrel
Vice President,
Oakmont Education, 2022 Yass Prize Finalist

There is absolutely zero downside to being a part of this network by submitting your application and what you will encounter is unlike any other grant.

It's actually mind blowing. I really see myself as an education entrepreneur, but this expanded me.

Diana Diaz-Harrison
Founder,
Arizona Autism Charter Schools

Being a part of the [Yass] family confirmed that what I'm doing is right,

going against the common core and focusing on what we know is important for kids really works, and having a network of people now that also agree was super huge.

Kenisha Skaggs
Founder,
SOAR Academy

The Yass Prize is centered around ensuring that this [program] provides you a stepping stone...

We don’t want you to rinse, wash, repeat. We want you to build and sustain.

Jeanne Allen
Founder & CEO, Center for Education Reform ,
Director, Yass Foundation for Education

The Yass Prize has brought together such diverse leaders

from all different demographics, all different states, all different service provider types that you can learn from.

Taylor Shead
Founder and CEO,
STEMuli Studios

It might be the first time you’re speaking where everyone is actually listening and cares about what you’re doing.

I don’t think I’ve been in a room as supportive as the Yass Prize Semifinalist room in Miami.

Brian Curcio
Founder and CEO,
Rapunzl, 2022 Yass Prize Finalist

The Yass Prize has significantly impacted the trajectory of our organization.

When we originally applied, we simply provided supplemental support services to homeschooling families. Now, we are growing into an education network that provides community, coaching, and curriculum nationwide.

Brenaea Fairchild
Executive Director,
Melanin Village

One of the missions of the Yass Prize and the Yass Prize movement is really surfacing best practices in innovation—

in innovators who are doing this type of transformational work, so that others can learn from it and replicate it, so that you can actually grow yourselves.

Jeff Imrich
Co-Founder,
Rock by Rock

Because of the Yass Prize, we were able to add an additional pre-K classroom.

Portia Green
Principal,
Prichard Prep, 2022 Yass Prize Semifinalist

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