The Yass Prize recognizes innovators who challenge assumptions about where, how and by whom education can be delivered.
PHILADELPHIA, Oct. 6 – The Yass Prize, widely regarded as the “Pulitzer of Education Innovation,” today awarded more than $6 million to some of the nation’s most transformational education leaders.
The 2026 $1 million Yass Prize was presented to The Learning Lounge in Pine Bluff, Ark., a learning model that unites education freedom, rural opportunity and community renewal to help rebuild the economic and civic life of communities that have lost schools and educational options.
“We are so honored to be able to do this work, and to find and support heroes who never stop advancing great education for kids. Across every sector, region and type of community, the members of the Yass Prize community go above and beyond to do right by kids,” said Yass Prize creator Janine Yass.
In a surprise announcement beyond the $1 million prize, Janine and Jeff Yass awarded eight Yass Prize finalists $500,000 each, recognizing their exemplary commitment to one of the four STOP principles: Sustainable, Transformational, Outstanding and Permissionless education.
Seventeen semifinalists received awards ranging from $50,000 to $150,000, recognizing the extraordinary promise of the 2026 cohort and providing capital to accelerate their work.
The expansive initiative finds, rewards, celebrates and promotes education innovators who embody Sustainable, Transformational, Outstanding and Permissionless education — STOP. Their work demonstrates what becomes possible when educators and entrepreneurs have the freedom to rethink where, how and by whom education is delivered, along with the capital, connections and support needed to expand their impact.
To date, The Yass Prize has awarded more than $84 million to more than 285 organizations serving more than 14 million students and families across the U.S.
The 2026 winners join a growing network of education innovators dedicated to collaboration, mentorship and the expansion of new education models. Through year-round connections to policymakers, advocates, investors, business leaders and fellow education entrepreneurs, current and past winners gain new opportunities to build upon and expand the work that earned them recognition.
Also announced was more than $17 million in new funding for Yass Prize alumni that have become proven leaders, forged innovative partnerships with other Yass Prize organizations and expanded their offerings far beyond their original communities.
“In the past five years, we have found hundreds of incredible entrepreneurs across the country. And year after year, that community has continued to grow — across states, across sectors and across every imaginable model of education,” said Yass.
Before competing for the $1 million prize, the 2026 contenders participated in the Yass Prize’s flagship business accelerator, where they worked with leading figures in business, education innovation, policy and philanthropy while building lasting relationships with one another across sectors and regions.
“Today, the Yass Prize isn’t simply about recognizing great organizations. It’s about finding the people who are building a new education ecosystem, and then giving them the funding, connections, knowledge and freedom they need to go further and faster,” said Mrs. Yass.
THE $1 MILLION WINNER
The Learning Lounge — Pine Bluff, Arkansas
The $1 million Yass Prize is overjoyed to recognize a model that brings together education freedom, rural opportunity and community renewal — showing how the right school can do more than change a child’s trajectory; it can strengthen families, restore possibility and help breathe new life into an entire community.
The Learning Lounge is a transformational private school built around the belief that children are “Larger Than Labels,” combining academics with community-centered education, entrepreneurship, arts, outdoor learning and, where needed, therapeutic supports. Founded after Kanesha Adams struggled to find the right educational environment for the niece she adopted, the school has grown from one family’s need into a sought-after rural model, now serving 73 students with more than 90 on its waiting list and preparing to expand to communities across Arkansas.
THE FINALISTS
Sustainable
TriPoint Schools — San Antonio, Texas
TriPoint Schools, in San Antonio, Texas, brings public and private education structures together to create tuition-free public microschools — a scalable “third way” for families who want something smaller, more personal and more responsive than a traditional school. Its model offers both choice and charter schools pathways to create more variety for families without building an entirely new system from scratch.
Indiana Microschool Collaborative — Indiana
A publicly driven model of pluralistic education at its best, Indiana Microschool Collaborative gives educators, schools, districts and communities the infrastructure to design and launch small, responsive schools built around the students and families they serve.
Transformational
Man Up Teacher Fellowship — Memphis, Tennessee
Man Up Teacher Fellowship is building an educator pipeline that recruits, prepares and retains high-quality men of color through debt-free, earn-while-you-learn pathways, combining paid certification support, coaching, mentorship, Reach University degree opportunities and a CTE pathway that introduces high-school students to teaching through paid internships.
Salt & Light Academy for Boys — Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Salt & Light Academy for Boys is an all-boys hybrid microschool designed for young men who need far more than a conventional academic program, surrounding them with personalized academics, restorative practices, leadership development, close coaching and family partnership. Rather than wait for a traditional district pathway, the founders partnered with a cyber charter school that provides the academic program while Salt & Light focuses on the relationships and support boys need to thrive.
Outstanding
Valor Education — Texas
Valor stands out for the depth of the educational experience and the extraordinary scale of family demand for it. This is not classical education reserved for an elite few, but a tuition-free public-school network with rigorous teacher formation and the ability to create hundreds of new seats while preserving a culture centered on wonder, humility, friendship and human dignity.
Creative Minds Microschool — Wendell, North Carolina
Creative Minds seeks to reignite learning in children for whom the fire has begun to fade — and keep that spark alive for those who still have it. Its personalized, creative model is paired with a state-recognized “build your own” teacher apprenticeship that prepares the educators needed to carry the model forward.
Permissionless
STAR Lab — Sarasota, Florida
STAR Lab brings small, tuition-free microschools directly into public-housing communities and Boys & Girls Club facilities, pairing individualized learning with Montessori-inspired and mastery-based instruction. Its innovation is not only what happens inside the school, but where the school goes: directly to families.
Habitat for Aviation — Swanton, Vermont
Habitat for Aviation is a women-led apprenticeship program based at the Franklin County State Airport, where young people prepare for careers as aircraft mechanics, pilots and avionics specialists by building, repairing and ultimately flying real aircraft while earning academic credit through Vermont’s Flexible Pathways framework.
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ABOUT THE YASS PRIZE
The Yass Prize is viewed as the “Pulitzer for Education Innovation” and is devoted to identifying and elevating the next generation of education changemakers. Powered by the Center for Education Reform since 2021, the Yass Prize celebrates and rewards education innovators dedicated to the STOP principles — Sustainable, Transformational, Outstanding and Permissionless education — as well as outstanding alumni expanding their transformational impact to more students and communities.
With the support of CER and its more than three decades of experience advancing education innovation, freedom and opportunity, the Yass Prize has grown into a dynamic national network of education entrepreneurs working across every type of school and learning environment.
