Encouraging in some ways and difficult in others.
We realized long ago that there’s a lot of money in the system, and it’s just not directed to the children.
Janine Yass
Founder,
The Yass Prize
Awardees
Awardees
The 2021 Yass Prize and STOP Awards Recipients
Discovery Center Springfield
In the inaugural year of the STOP Awards, we honored exceptional providers in 12 states and the District of Columbia across all education sectors, who are now working together to deliver more and expanded, STOP-enabled education for kids. We also rewarded Chicago schools who were able to move quickly to educate students adversely affected by the Chicago Teachers Union strike.
Meet the 2021 Yass Prize Winner
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.
Dr. Troy Monroe
Executive Director,
Jumoke Academy
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.
Jack Preus
National Director,
Open Sky Education
No training and protocol can prepare you for entrepreneurship. Rather, we must experience it and do the hard work.
Jack Preus
National Director,
Open Sky Education
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 real source of wealth in society is the human mind, not material things, because with the human mind, great wealth can be created.
Steve Forbes
Editor-in-Chief,
Forbes Media
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.
Amar Kumar
Founder & CEO,
Kaipod Learning
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
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.
Alyssa Farah Griffin
Co-Host on The View and CNN Political Commentator,
Entrepreneurs are people who teach us about needs we don’t know we need.
This is the fundamental basis of what we are doing.
Carl Schramm
University Professor,
Syracuse University
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.
Brian Curcio
Co-founder,
Rapunzl
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.
JoAnn Mitchell
Founder & CEO,
Mission Achievement and Success Charter School
The concepts of taking chances and not being afraid to fail all resonated with me and goes against the grain of what I have always practiced and accepted as what education is all about from a traditional lens.
Dr. Troy Monroe
Executive Director,
Jumoke Academy
It is now our job to unlock others' potential…
so that we can continue to transform education and give the future generation the true knowledge they will need to continue the work we have all started.
Dr. Gordon Hall
Principal,
Jumoke Academy
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
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.
Alyssa Farah Griffin
Co-Host on The View and CNN Political Commentator,
What is good for families is good for the school because families want great schools.
Ceci Schickel
Senior Director of Organizing and Advocacy,
Mastery Charter 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
Founder,
The Yass Prize
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
Silicon Valley is a mindset. It is like the Education Revolution that we are seeing. The mindset of Entrepreneurship and Innovation.
Can we have an educational Silicon Valley?
Iman Alleyne
Founder,
Kind Academy
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.
Jack Preus
National Director,
Open Sky Education
Conforming is something we are trained to do pretty early on.
We grow up trying so hard to fit in. Learning to be uniquely ourselves as we innovate is a part of this process.
Iman Alleyne
Founder,
Kind Academy
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
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
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
Success happens after many pivots and changes.
Michael Moe
Founder and CEO,
Global Silicon Valley
Thinking "big" is often about identifying and solving real problems today, but striving to contribute to the growing body of knowledge, and laying the foundation for future leaders to have big breakthroughs.
Jack Preus
National Director,
Open Sky Education
Unfortunately, the bureaucracy that’s behind the school system is more interested in perpetuating jobs and keeping the system in place, rather than giving children the freedom they deserve.
Janine Yass
Founder,
The Yass Prize
Too often, we see massive amounts of funding going towards failing models or failing schools, simply because administrators are unable to recognize a sunk cost fallacy.
Brian Curcio
Co-Founder,
Rapunzl
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
The myth that parents of color do not care about the educational well-being of their children is just that, a myth.
Many of our Black parents want what's best for their children and believe they are not being heard and dismissed.
Janelle Wood
Founder & CEO,
Black Mothers Forum Inc.
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.
Brian Curcio
Co-Founder,
Rapunzl
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.
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
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
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
When you are trying to advance and think beyond the status quo, this can be a lonely place, because our systems are structured to do the same thing.
It is important to surround yourself with like-minded individuals who foster innovation.
Phyllis Lockett
CEO,
LEAP Innovations
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.
Joy Chen
Entrepreneur In Residence,
GSV Ventures
We are so inspired by the Yass Prize 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
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
The Yass Prize is more than a competition to me. Yes, we want to win. However, we are winning in so many aspects. Knowledge is power!
I am so grateful to be a part of such an extraordinary group.
Portia Green
Principal ,
Prichard Preparatory 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
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.
Steve Forbes
Editor-in-Chief,
Forbes Media
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.
Randall Lane
Chief Content Officer,
Forbes Media
The fact that education has become partisan is upsetting, and I just hope that this award will encourage more states to view this as a bipartisan issue.
Janine Yass
Founder,
The Yass Prize
We must remind our parents that they are the ones who pay for their child's education through their tax dollars and therefore have as much right to be at the table planning their child's educational roadmap as anyone else.
Janelle Wood
Founder & CEO,
Black Mothers Forum Inc.
We often jump to the what, without thinking with the community about the why.
Michael B. Horn
Author,
From Reopen to Reinvent
The pandemic didn’t stop our families, scholars and educators from learning, growing and thriving.
Patricia Brantley
CEO,
Friendship Public Charter School
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