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Awardees

Awardees

Meet the 2026 Yass Prize Contenders!

Live from Forbes on Fifth in New York City, the Yass Prize contenders were revealed in a special livestream event. These contenders will now have the opportunity to pitch at the Yass Prize Miami Accelerator, making the case for why they should receive the $1 million Yass Prize.

What unites this cohort is a shared conviction that school needs to look different. Many are parent-driven – education entrepreneurs whose own children’s unique needs pushed them to build models that wouldn’t otherwise exist, opening new learning opportunities for their kids and countless others. Together, they are the “best of”: the single greatest example of the diversity of excellence and transformational innovation our country has to offer. Congratulations!

AMIkids Maritime Academy

AMIkids Maritime Academy

Panama City, FL

Cooking4Autism

Cooking4Autism

Pennsylvania & New Jersey

Cornerstone Christian Academy

Cornerstone Christian Academy

Statesville, NC

Creative Minds Microschool

Creative Minds Microschool

Wendell, NC

DePaul School of Northeast Florida

DePaul School of Northeast Florida

Jacksonville, FL

Flourish Education

Flourish Education

Tennessee

Girard College

Girard College

Philadelphia, PA

Habitat for Aviation

Habitat for Aviation

Swanton, VT

Happy Hands Education Center

Happy Hands Education Center

Broken Arrow, OK

Indiana Microschool Collaborative

Indiana Microschool Collaborative

Indiana

Jalen Rose Leadership Academy

Jalen Rose Leadership Academy

Detroit, MI

Kidvation Global

Kidvation Global

National

Learning Lounge

Learning Lounge

Pine Bluff, AR

Man Up Teacher Fellowship

Man Up Teacher Fellowship

Mempis, TN

Miracle Academy Private Christian School

Miracle Academy Private Christian School

Birmingham, AL

Moreana Boys Academy

Moreana Boys Academy

Gilbert, AZ

Orangeburg High School for Health Professions

Orangeburg High School for Health Professions

Orangeburg, SC

Pine Ridge Girls School

Pine Ridge Girls School

Porcupine, SD

Regina Caeli Academy

Regina Caeli Academy

National

Salt & Light Academy for Boys

Salt & Light Academy for Boys

Philadelphia, PA

St. Anthony Catholic School

St. Anthony Catholic School

Des Moines, IA

Star Lab

Star Lab

Sarasota, FL

TriPoint Schools

TriPoint Schools

San Antonio, TX

University Preparatory Charter School for Young Men (UPREP)

University Preparatory Charter School for Young Men (UPREP)

Rochester, NY

Valor Education

Valor Education

Texas

Wakanyeja Ki Tokeyahci Wounspe Oti (Children First Learning Center)

Wakanyeja Ki Tokeyahci Wounspe Oti (Children First Learning Center)

Mission, SD

Believe in your mission… Ground yourself… Never give up…

Sal Khan
Founder,
Khan Academy

I'm a Yass Prize finalist from last year.

And through that, we were able to open up our second campus in the city of Wichita.

Wade Moore
Founder & Dean,
Urban Preparatory Academy

Being a part of the [Yass] family confirmed that what I'm doing is right,

going against the common core and focusing on what we know is important for kids really works, and having a network of people now that also agree was super huge.

Kenisha Skaggs
Founder,
SOAR Academy

The Yass Prize process has created an awareness of the education freedom movement within churches and communities.

It's given us an opportunity to start critical discussions with our congregations, parents, community leaders and members, about the laws that govern education in Pennsylvania.

Pastor Joshua Robertson
Founder & Executive Director,
Black Pastors United for Education

It might be the first time you’re speaking where everyone is actually listening and cares about what you’re doing.

I don’t think I’ve been in a room as supportive as the Yass Prize Semifinalist room in Miami.

Brian Curcio
Founder and CEO,
Rapunzl, 2022 Yass Prize Finalist

I’m dreaming bigger, bolder, and more bodacious [because of the Yass Prize].

It has helped me raise the ceiling on what’s possible.

Keith Brooks
Founder/CEO,
National Fellowship for Black and Latino Male Educators (NFBLME)

Having the status of Yass Prize Semifinalist has opened doors that we’ve been knocking on for years,

including public recognition from our Governor and partnership conversations with other education innovators from around the country.

Matthew Chaussee
Founder & CEO,
CareerViewXR & BeMoreColorful

In a state where alternative education is often overlooked, the Yass community helps us shine.

The Yass Prize has empowered our youth, families and community by bringing great visibility to our efforts.

Dr. LeDonna Griffin
Founder & Executive Director,
Leaders to Legends

One of the missions of the Yass Prize and the Yass Prize movement is really surfacing best practices in innovation—

in innovators who are doing this type of transformational work, so that others can learn from it and replicate it, so that you can actually grow yourselves.

Jeff Imrich
Co-Founder,
Rock by Rock

The Yass Prize is centered around ensuring that this [program] provides you a stepping stone...

We don’t want you to rinse, wash, repeat. We want you to build and sustain.

Jeanne Allen
Founder & CEO, Center for Education Reform ,
Director, Yass Foundation for Education

If you're committed to wanting to be one of the change makers of the future in education, I believe that this is a place for you.

Not only because of the capital, but because of the knowledge that comes by communing with the diverse group of people as opposed to everybody that thinks the exact same way that you might think.

Taylor Shead
Founder and CEO,
STEMuli Studios

Yass brought us together, creating opportunities to create an educational universe within which we can look at education differently…

we have to find academic experiences that represent neuro-divergent learners, kids who want to learn about gaming, who want to do stuff online, who dropped out of school.

Dr. Steve Perry
Head of Schools,
Capital Preparatory Schools

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    • Texas Award for Education Freedom
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