
Awardees
The Most STOP-Enabled Innovators of 2022
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!
2022 YASS PRIZE WINNER
Arizona Autism Charter Schools
Phoenix, Arizona
The first autism-focused charter school in the western United States is on a mission to change the narrative about students with autism.

The 2022 Finalists
The 2022 Semifinalists
This year’s 32 semifinalists come from 23 different states and really prove that innovation is alive and well in education. Micro schools, pods and hybrid learning environments almost unheard of two years ago are now being utilized by parents and educators across the nation.
The 2022 Quarterfinalists
Our exceptional awardees hail from 33 states and the District of Columbia as well as groups serving the entire nation. They include schools with one location and some with multiple, and represent 8 different kinds of education providers.
STOP for Arizona Education Awards
Congratulations to these outstanding education providers, winners of the STOP for Arizona Education Awards who have made an incredible commitment to expanding their work to more families to be able to use the state’s pioneering Empowerment Scholarship Accounts for their students.

2021 Award Recipients
Meet the 2021 Yass Prize and STOP Awards Recipients.
Discovery Center Springfield
Springfield, Missouri

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.
A takeaway about The Yass Prize - what other accelerator actually helps prepare participants for the pitch?
This is awesome and the skills are so transferable to the fundraising grind.
Remember, you are doing the work of civilization.
You are planting the seeds of a better world, despite any bad news, you’re doing great things.
It's important to give yourself space from the work to allow room for deep reflection for continuous improvement.
When you are so deeply in the work, you can get into a routine/habit, [and] not create the space [to] allow creativity to flow.
We realized long ago that there’s a lot of money in the system, and it’s just not directed to the children.
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.
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.
What is good for families is good for the school because families want great schools.
These sessions have become an oasis of calm and zen in my day, where I can turn off Slack and my emails...and just focus on learning from experts and basking in the energy of this community.
The concept of being innovative with a touch of entrepreneurial thinking seems to be a recipe for the next level work for me as a leader and for our district's continued growth and viability.
You are in a moment in history that we have never seen before.
Any of us with a disruptive idea have a shot at trying to prove something.
I hope you all think about the fact that the impact you are having, you will never even know how widespread it is.
That’s the beauty of education, you impact lives in such a deep way.