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STOP FOR EDUCATION

Road Show

Sailing to the Future…

The First STOP on the Yass Prize Road Show

  • February 2, 2023

The purpose of the Yass Prize for Sustainable, Transformational, Outstanding and Permissionless education is to identify and celebrate education providers who make all four of those principles – ‘STOP’ for short – work to help students succeed in their education and in life.

Building student success for the future is front and center on deck at SailFuture, the first STOP on the Yass Prize Finalist Road Show, which happened February 2, 2023 in St. Petersburg, Florida. There, our Founder Janine Yass and members of the team saw first hand how project-based learning focussed on careers like the maritime business and construction trades also results in exemplary education.

Just for context, SailFuture serves students in foster care, in trouble and at-risk youth, and many have an immediate family member that has been or is currently incarcerated.  And yet they learn, despite a fraction of what the state spends on comparable kids. It’s not fair, we aim to help fix it, but meanwhile, take a look at this incredible tuition-free private school in action.

SailFuture, a 2022 Yass Prize finalist, offers a full time immersive lab experience 2 times per week in real world construction, maritime and culinary projects. 

Students work with industry professionals and paid apprenticeships in 11th and 12th grade and graduate with industry certifications and an accredited high school diploma. Along with rigorous academics, this year round private high school is designed to teach problem solving in a dynamic hands-on learning environment. As we visited, we also learned about buoyancy, density and how what they do in rebuilding boats actually causes them to sail!

“This is the first school I’ve ever not dreaded going to,” said the smiling student above. Imagine if all students could feel the same way!

As Captain Tony explained: “The whole boat top to bottom is being redone and everyone on the team has their own duty and their own responsibilities. They’re learning how to do fiberglass filling and putty. They’re going to build a center console to be put back in there so that it’s ready to use for sailing class next time.”

SailFuture founder and CEO Mike Long summed up the school’s core strategy saying, “We want them to be ready with what the real world is going to hit them with every day.  We want them to fail everyday, forward, to be the best professional they can be.”

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The Yass Foundation advances the four core STOP principles: Sustainable, Transformational, Outstanding, and Permissionless education. Each year, the Foundation will reward dozens of organizations, building a growing network of innovative providers that
demonstrate these qualities in their commitment to new ideas, technologies, and approaches to learning that bring education into
the 21st century. The Foundation is powered by the Center for Education Reform (CER) in partnership with Forbes.

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

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

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

We often jump to the what, without thinking with the community about the why.

Michael B. Horn
Author,
From Reopen to Reinvent

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

The pandemic didn’t stop our families, scholars and educators from learning, growing and thriving.

Patricia Brantley
CEO,
Friendship Public Charter School

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

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

Success happens after many pivots and changes.

Michael Moe
Founder and CEO,
Global Silicon Valley

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

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

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,

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

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

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,

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

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

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

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

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