Award is considered Pulitzer Prize of Education Innovation
In a major announcement at the Power of Innovation Summit tonight, the Yass Prize awarded its $1 million grand prize to the Chesterton Schools Network (CSN), recognizing its parent-powered model that enables communities nationwide to launch joyful, rigorous, and affordable classical high schools.
Selected from amidst the final 23 contenders, Chesterton was chosen for its extraordinary ability to empower families, its rapid expansion to more than 70 schools currently, and its proven model for restoring deep thinking, character formation, and joy to the high school experience.
Why Chesterton Stands Out
Chesterton Schools Network stands out as the 2025 Yass Prize winner because it embodies all four STOP principles at once. Its model is sustainable, allowing parents to open affordable, high-quality classical high schools in education-freedom states; transformational, restoring joy, deep thinking, and character formation through a content-rich, tech-free environment; outstanding, producing remarkable academic, social, and spiritual outcomes for students nationwide; and permissionless, enabling families to found accredited schools in as little as 18 months. Chesterton proves that when parents are trusted and equipped, exceptional schools can flourish anywhere. And the network is on pace to reach 150 schools by 2030 and 1,000 schools by 2040.
“Across the country, we continue to meet extraordinary educators creating opportunities that families desperately need,” said Janine Yass. “Chesterton’s work reminds us why we do this – to champion entrepreneurs who bring joy, purpose, and excellence back to education.”
Additional STOP Awards Announced
In an unexpected moment during the ceremony, the Yass Prize also awarded four additional $250,000 STOP Awards, one for each of the core principles of the Yass Prize:
- Sustainable
Pepin Academies, Tampa Bay, FL – Proves that exceptional learners can thrive when schools are built around their needs — creating one of the nation’s most sustainable, therapeutic, and fully integrated models for students too often left behind.
- Transformational
The School House, East Northport, NY – Transforms early learning by bringing research, joy, and real developmental science together into a model that gives every young child the strong foundation they deserve.
- Outstanding
WonderHere, Lakeland, FL – An exemplar of what outstanding education really looks like — child-centered, project-rich learning that sparks curiosity, confidence, and a lifelong love of discovery.
- Permissionless
Path of Life Learning, Yorktown, VA – Embodies the true meaning of permissionless innovation, giving highly mobile military families flexible microschools that ensure their children never lose momentum, no matter where duty calls.
“These four finalists demonstrate the power of the STOP principles in action,” said Mrs. Yass.
18 Additional Semifinalists Honored
The Yass Prize also awarded 18 semifinalists with $100,000 STOP Awards for their bold, student-centered innovations across microschooling, community-based programs, alternative models, and therapeutic education.
Details for all semifinalists can be found at yassprize.org.
The Power of Innovation Summit
Tonight’s announcement capped a full day of panels and discussions featuring governors, national leaders, entrepreneurs, and education innovators exploring the future of education freedom and opportunity in America.
Summit sessions covered issues from workforce development, to advancing education freedom choice, to the role of AI in education. Featured speakers included Alpha Schools co-founder Joe Liemandt, U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn (TN), Assistant Secretary Kirsten Baesler as well as Deputy Assistant Secretary Nick Moore of the U.S. Department of Education, Ian Rowe from the American Enterprise Institute, and former U.S. Solicitor General Paul Clement. The evening’ s keynote address was given by U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent who provided a look at how education fuels mobility, growth, and competitiveness.
For more information on the Yass Prize and to learn about the full 2025 Yass Prize cohort, visit yassprize.org.
