Sustainable, Transformational, Outstanding, and Permissionless. These are the core principles underlying a new initiative—the STOP Award—created to honor the work of educators in the wake of COVID-19 and expand access to exciting educational opportunities.

Last August, education advocate and philanthropist Janine Yass announced the creation of the STOP Award, featuring the $1 million Yass Prize. Describing her inspiration, Janine says, “When we started this award, as we watched the tragic impact of Covid on education across this country, our gloom turned to joy as we saw how many organizations were doing such amazing and spirited work that exemplified the STOP principles, qualities for education that have the power to drive educational change for every child.”

By December, more than 1,000 inspiring education providers had applied for the award. Twenty were selected as semi-finalists, which meant they got to participate in a four-week business accelerator. This key component of the STOP Award gave them a chance to connect with and learn from business leaders and education entrepreneurs.

The 2021 Yass Prize was awarded to Discovery School, a new school that was launched in the Discovery Center science museum in Springfield, Missouri. The Center launched the school in fall 2020 to provide in-person education for local children.

Originally, the $1 million Yass Prize was to be given to one winner who best exemplified the STOP principles. However, Janine and her husband Jeff were so inspired by the top twenty contenders that they expanded the prizes. Four finalists—Louisiana Key Academy, Dallas Education Foundation, CARE Elementary School, and Rock by Rock—each received $250,000. The remaining 15 semi-finalists received $100,000 each.

After the rousing success of the first group of STOP Awards, the Yasses launched the STOP Foundation 4 Education. Applications are currently being accepted, but the July 15th deadline is rapidly approaching. According to Caroline Allen, Director of the STOP Award, “We are excited that we are able to triple our impact this year. Last year we recognized twenty inspiring education providers, and this year, we are awarding 64 schools and organizations with over $10 million.” The minimum prize will be $100,000.

The foundation summarizes the STOP principles so potential applicants better understand how they’ll be evaluated:

  1. The work must be Sustainable over time, meaning it can be funded independently without continual philanthropy by utilizing public programs that fund the entity where students are learning, regardless of sector.
  2. The effort must be Transformational with innovative new approaches that employ 21st century knowledge and technologies, changing the way students are educated and rich in content that is relevant and impactful across all communities.
  3. Programs must be Outstanding, or demonstrably successful by every measure that matters. We know what success looks like from the demand of parents for better options for their children.
  4. The work requires no permission — Permissionless — and is free to exist and thrive without dependence on regulatory bodies whose rules are often at odds with parent demands and student needs.

Jeanne Allen, founder and CEO of the Center for Education Reform, helped launch the STOP Awards. She encourages potential applicants, saying, “We are identifying, rewarding and celebrating education that not only serves underserved students but is happening with excellence and innovation.”

It’s an exciting time for parents, children, teachers, and education entrepreneurs—there have probably never been more opportunities to create and expand new and innovative educational options. It won’t happen overnight, but it took decades for the current system to become so entrenched. Initiatives like the Yass Prize and STOP Awards will incubate new options so they can then flourish and multiply.