
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 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

Too often, we look for success by analyzing an education system, rather than analyzing the success of the actual learners within the system.
That’s why we need more project-based and problem-based learning models.
It's not the university someone graduated from or the degree they hold.
Do they have the resilience and perseverance? Do they have grit? It's the most important skill.
Success happens after many pivots and changes.
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.
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.
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.
What is good for families is good for the school because families want great schools.
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.
We really need to work on the why. Not just with our teams, but with all those we work with and around.
Especially the families in the communities we serve.
We may not agree on much of anything, but one thing that is a uniting force that we all agree on is that education opens doors, it’s the great equalizer.
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.
If the entrepreneur's mindset embraces failure as learning and development, then we must hold our ideas "loosely", because there is a good chance we are wrong.