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The $1 Million Yass Prize celebrates the country’s education provider which best demonstrates the STOP principles. In conjunction with The Yass Prize, the STOP Awards initiative provides over $10 million in support annually to honor educators who achieve excellence.

Why “STOP” for Education?

The STOP Award was created to find and advance the work of education providers that continued to serve children despite the challenges brought on by the pandemic. Following the success of the inaugural STOP Awards, the Yass Foundation for Education has been created to not only reward innovators in the education space but to amplify their work through numerous experiences and an extensive mentorship network. Learn more in our 2022 launch party video.

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Meet the 2021
Yass Prize Winner

When families and students needed support, and the Discovery Center of Springfield rose to the challenge. As schools and childcare centers closed, this science museum became a hub for under-resourced communities in rural Missouri, creating free pods for hybrid learning and launching the STEM-based Discovery School.

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— 2022 Yass Prize & STOP Awards —

Key Dates & Happenings

1
April 20, 2022
2022 Competition Window Opens
2
July 25, 2022
2022 Award Applications Due
3
October
Quarterfinalists Announced
4
December
STOP Award Finalist Celebration & Yass Prize Winner Announced
Apply Now

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.

Learn More

The STOP Award shines an important light on the heroes of education who fought valiantly to serve students and were often overlooked or dismissed.

It’s our commitment that their example is seen, learned about and replicated all over the nation.

—Jeanne Allen,
Founder and CEO,
Center for Education Reform

Our STOP Award partnership with Forbes and CER has been one of the best things we’ve done in education over the past 25 years.

—Janine Yass,
Chair,
STOP Foundation 4 Education

The relationships kids develop at the Boys & Girls Clubs with their peers and the staff have a positive impact on their lives.

Kids develop a sense of belonging, usefulness and competence. They get to find their strengths and their passions. Every child should have that opportunity.

—Michelle Malin,
Vice-President, Development,
Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater San Diego

If you get to the accelerator after the application process, go in knowing you already won.

The fact that you are now with a group of your peers you really get to see how world class the education profession is.

—Christopher Simmonds,
Principal,
CARE Elementary School

There are so many heroes who responded to the Covid crisis in the education sector.

You were focused on kids and families. You did what you had to do and we are so grateful for that. We created this award to honor your work and we knew if we built it you would come.

—Janine Yass,
Chair,
STOP Foundation 4 Education

Entrepreneurs are the engine of the innovation economy.

The work this remarkable group has accomplished is not only inspirational but can be transformative for millions more students.

—Michael Moe,
Founder and CEO,
Global Silicon Valley

I am still processing the magnitude of this experience and so grateful for meeting each and everyone of you.

I look forward to continuing our transformative work in our communities and together.

—Taylor Shead,
Board Member,
Dallas Education Foundation

I'm deeply humbled and grateful to be part of this group.

The last month has been a tremendous experience and I'm so inspired and motivated by the amazing work this group is doing. Collectively, we’re working towards a real-world goal and it’s leaving me empowered and motivated to apply what we learn.

—Jeffrey Imrich,
Co-Founder,
Rock by Rock

What has been created here at the accelerator is truly incredible.

We may never know how pivotal this really is for education in America right here, right now. This group of people will work together to force real change permissionlessly.

—Rob Blevins,
Executive Director,
Discovery Center of Springfield

This group of innovators has the opportunity to show the world what is possible for kids, what doesn't yet exist for so many children who deserve the opportunity to be entrepreneurs and to shine as out of the box thinkers.

—Heather Bougeois,
Principal,
Louisiana Key Academy

We see the Pulitzer prizes, we see the MacArthur Genius Grants, we see the Pritzker prize for architecture.

But for the one field that drives everything, education, there is no definitive prize. The Yass Prize has filled that vacuum -- it's more than just the money. It's about spurring ideas, it's about spurring innovation. We are very very proud to be a part of it.

—Randall Lane,
Editor,
Forbes

The challenge in education is the stakes are so high.

It's one thing to have a product fail but failure to educate children has enormous consequences. One way to address this challenge is to think about innovation in a "fail fast" model where you learn very quickly what's working and what's not so you can iterate and improve quickly.

—Brian Smith,
Founder and CEO,
Catalyst Academy Charter School

The special sauce of our schools is tutoring.

We support our students and their ability to reach their full human potential through the use of tutoring.

—Michael Duffy,
President,
Great Oaks Foundation

The pandemic didn’t stop our families, scholars and educators from learning, growing and thriving.

—Patricia Brantley,
CEO,
Friendship Public Charter School

The chance to be part of this group is a big gust of wind in the sails of New Way Global.

Being in this group has filled me with renewed hope and determination to push forward on big dreams for great education for the least served in our community and beyond.

—Allan Sherer,
Director,
New Way Global

We are so inspired by the STOP Award participants, semi-finalists, and the courage, innovation and leadership of educators from across the country who have amplified the application of their brilliance to make the lives of their students better as they faced the daunting challenges of the pandemic.

—Mike Hoque,
CEO,
Hoque Global

It's about engaging families.

It's helping families step into their power — making sure that the voices of families are really front and center in guiding solutions.

—Lakisha Young,
Co-Founder and CEO,
The Oakland REACH

Humbled to be considered in such great company.

We hope to create a shift in the education scene that really focuses on how to orient schools to the lived outcomes of our kids in the communities that they live in. Here's to abundance & great things for all of our kids.

—Stefin Pasternak,
Co-Founder,
Living School

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Celebrating Sustainable, Transformational,
Outstanding & Permissionless Education

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