Apply
Apply
— 2022 Yass Prize & STOP Awards —
Key Dates & Happenings
The STOP Awards include
the prestigious $1 million
Yass Prize, the Pulitzer prize
for education, named for
founders Janine & Jeff Yass.
The STOP Awards include
the prestigious $1 million
Yass Prize, the Pulitzer prize
for education, named for
founders Janine & Jeff Yass.
The mission of the Yass Prize and STOP Awards Initiative is to identify and support more best in class education providers who can tackle the big education challenges of the day and deliver an education for students that is Sustainable, Transformational, Outstanding and Permissionless. It’s more than an awards program or a philanthropic endeavor. It’s a movement intended to transform education for everyone.
In 2022, the Yass Foundation for Education awarded more than $20 million in grants to new and alumni organizations, including the prestigious $1 million Yass Prize to transform education, given to the group that most exemplifies the STOP principles.
The Judging Process
All applications undergo a thorough and comprehensive review process that begins with a peer review process. For the applications that move on, they will be reviewed by a panel of judges comprised of highly regarded peer-reviewers, esteemed and accomplished contributors to the education and entrepreneurial communities, and leaders in the Yass Prize alumni cohort. The review process concludes with a Blue Ribbon Panel. Meet some of last year’s judges!
The Yass Prize Accelerator Bootcamp
Each cohort of Yass Prize semifinalists participate in a 4-week business accelerator where they have access to the best of the best. With intimate access to one another, to innovators and entrepreneurs in the field, they strengthened their knowledge and their pitch, from idea generation to implementation. Their “teachers” have included such notables as GSV Founder Michael Moe and his team, LEAP Innovations founder Phyllis Lockett, Author Michael Horn, Forbes Editor Randall Lane and American journalist Moira Forbes, All Raise CEO Mandela Schumacher-Hodge Dixon, Hoque Global CEO Mike Hoque and Paul Quinn College President Michael Sorrell.
At the celebratory final event, the vibrancy and the excitement behind the culmination of the 4 month process for the cohort was palpable. The work and experiences demonstrated during the accelerator were so inspiring that STOP Award Founder Janine Yass was moved to reward all of them. In the end, $3.5 million was distributed to 20 outstanding organizations representing diverse kinds of education – public, private, charter, microschools, edtech and community groups. The energy, and the excellence had a captivating impact on all involved. The 2021 Cohort’s invaluable bond continues in development of several new partnerships which are creating expanded and more innovative opportunities for students across their borders.
The cohort has the opportunity to collaborate and impact the development of STOP-enabled efforts long after the initial program is over with national exposure and access to the media, representing the Yass Prize and STOP Awards at global events, becoming contributors on Forbes.com and informing policy makers on how best to replicate their work.
If you make it, here’s what you can expect – Pedal to the Metal in Miami
The Experience
Rock by Rock x Multiple Awardees
Rock by Rock, a 2021 Yass Prize Finalist is partnering with several other Yass awardees to help further their mission of ensuring all students have access to the deeper learning experiences necessary to thrive in our 21st Century economy. Arizona Autism Charter Schools is using Rock by Rock projects to support and expand their project-based learning for their elementary students, with Zeta Charter Schools, Northern Cass Public Schools, and Kind microschools to support STEM and project-based learning in their contexts.
STEMuli x HSRA
Teaching the history of hip hop in the STEMuli Metaverse provides the opportunity to both engage and assess students’ understanding of this pivotal chapter in history. STEMuli, a 2021 Yass Prize awarded EdTech company, in partnership with High School for the Recording Arts, has been able to put itself in a position to take advantage of the $1B California just approved to invest in arts curriculum within the state. Together, STEMuli and HSRA will pilot, iterate, and scale this revolutionary learning experience to other Yass Prize recipients with the goal to eventually scale to the rest of the nation.
Rapunzl X STEMuli X Young Women’s Prep
Working together to create an immersive financial literacy program that engages students through their smartphones, in virtual reality, and ties it together in the classroom these groups are ensuring that all students be able to use Rapunzl’s app to simulate stock and crypto portfolios like a real investor; and learn-by-doing as they complete tasks such as opening a bank account, cashing a check, and calculating a mortgage—all in a STEMuli-supported virtual world. Young Women’s Prep will pilot this work at 2 campuses to start giving students a financial lens to view the world and can develop skills around investing and money management.
Alumni Grants
This year.
$5MM
in Alumni Grants are available
Alumni Grants will
multiply in proportion
to the winning prizes in the years to come
2021 alumni are joining forces
and collaborating to further transform the field of education
Rescue Grants
In January 2022, the Chicago RESCUE grants were launched within days of the Chicago schools crisis to quickly grant funds to schools and educators ready and able to take in students ill-served by the Chicago Public Schools. You can read more about the Chicago Rescue grant recipients here.
Applications were accepted and reviewed on a rolling basis through January 14th, and award announcements were made daily to public and private education institutions who had capacity and interest in expanding quickly to meet the needs of new students not well-served by the Chicago Public School system. In less than a month, $5 million was awarded to 28 organizations – private, Catholic, charter and community groups – who had agreed to serve more than 1200 students. A worthwhile endeavor, the Yass Foundation for Education nevertheless believes that no child should have to be rescued. All students deserve access to a STOP education, throughout the whole of their school years.
In less than a month,
$5MM
was awarded to 28 organizations
These organizations represented.
diverse education experiences
– Private, Catholic, and charter schools
Together, the 28 organizations, took in
1,200 students
The 2022 Yass Prize Roadshow
We’re taking the team on the road to visit our winners to see first hand how their work is transforming student lives. From SailFuture where we started to Discovery and Oakmont in the midwest, then south and eventually west, we are promoting, celebrating and expanding the Yass Prize universe.
The Impact
The diverse tapestry of Yass Prize awardees represent dozens of approaches, interests, and student needs. Their impact is being noticed in national forums, by the media, in Congress and State Capitols – and it’s just beginning.
Are you involved with an innovative education provider delivering unique value
and impact to learners? Submit your application now for the 2022 STOP Awards!
Connect with us
2022 STOP Awards Key Dates & Happenings