Awardees
The Most STOP-Enabled Innovators of 2021
Proving that learning happens when transformational practices are in place for students, each of our winners this year is delivering outstanding results for students overlooked and underrepresented on the honor rolls of traditional US education. Started and led by education entrepreneurs, many of whom started out as the students they serve, they are breathing new life into communities who have been failed by the traditional system. Get to know them – they represent the future of education for all of us!
2021 YASS PRIZE WINNER
Discovery Center of Springfield
It was a museum. And now it’s a school.
The 2021 Finalists
The 2021 Semifinalists
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.
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.
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.
Because of the Yass Prize, we were able to add an additional pre-K classroom.
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.
The Yass Award is about celebrating and rewarding those who make students the priority.”
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.
Believe in your mission… Ground yourself… Never give up…
I'm a Yass Prize finalist from last year.
And through that, we were able to open up our second campus in the city of Wichita.
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.
We have a tremendously transformative model that could stand for a little disruption.
The Yass experience has given us “permission” to do exactly that.
The Yass Prize is truly changing the landscape of education options across the nation,
and I couldn't be more grateful for what it's done for us, and helping us serve more students and families.