NPR visits Urban Preparatory Academy to Witness Innovative Education in KS
By Carla Eckels |
Small private school in Wichita gets big boost in helping serve its students
Wade Moore, Dean of Urban Preparatory Academy.
Wichita’s Urban Preparatory Academy was awarded a $500,000 prize.
A small private school in Kansas got a huge surprise last month. Wichita’s Urban Preparatory Academy won a half-a-million-dollar prize. The funds from the Yass foundation will be used for upgrades at the K-8 school, founded in 2014. For this edition of In The Mix, Carla Eckels starts her day at Urban Prep…
Interview Highlights:
Dean Wade Moore [Right] with Yass Prize Grant Manager Jeanne Allen [Left]CARLA ECKELS: Was this the first time the students heard about the award?WADE MOORE: Yes. We received the award [on] December 15, and I was in New York and that was the last day of school and so I did not have the opportunity to share it with them … today was the first day that they heard about it. Our school was recognized as a Yass finalist. The Yass Prize depends on four principles; it’s called STOP: sustainability, transformation, outstanding and permissionless. With the Yass Award, it shows that we are one of the top innovative schools in the nation. Ninety-nine percent of our children are on scholarships, and we work real hard to raise money so that our children have this opportunity. This little, small school in Northeast Wichita, hidden among houses. We are a very up-and-coming school.What do you plan to do with the funds?
We want to upgrade our technology. We’re still using the same technology that we used when we started the school… We want to upgrade our infrastructure to handle that online presence.
Primer Microschools is named 2024 Yass Prize Winner
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 foundation of any society is a good education.
Jeff Yass
Founder,
The Yass Prize
The Yass Prize has significantly impacted the trajectory of our organization.
When we originally applied, we simply provided supplemental support services to homeschooling families. Now, we are growing into an education network that provides community, coaching, and curriculum nationwide.
Brenaea Fairchild
Executive Director,
Melanin Village
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
Everyone knows that without great education, our nation suffers.
Great education is a vital link for students to become successful citizens.
Janine Yass
Founder,
The Yass Prize
The Yass Award is about celebrating and rewarding those who make students the priority.”
Kevin Stitt
Governor,
Oklahoma
The Yass Prize is truly changing the landscape of education options across the nation,
and I couldn't be more grateful for what it's done for us, and helping us serve more students and families.
Diana Diaz-Harrison
Founder,
Arizona Autism Charter Schools
There is absolutely zero downside to being a part of this network by submitting your application and what you will encounter is unlike any other grant.
It's actually mind blowing. I really see myself as an education entrepreneur, but this expanded me.
Diana Diaz-Harrison
Founder,
Arizona Autism Charter Schools
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)
We used the Yass Prize to launch a program called Skypod catalyst, which is essentially an accelerator to help other people start microschools.
We believe very much that microschools should be bottoms up, they come from the community. They're founded by educators who know their community really well. And they want to design a learning environment for the kids in that community.
Amar Kumar
Founder and CEO,
KaiPod Learning, 2022 Yass Prize Seminfinalist
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
We have a tremendously transformative model that could stand for a little disruption.
The Yass experience has given us “permission” to do exactly that.
Kelby Woodard
President & CEO,
Cristo Rey Network
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
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
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 this experience has amplified the access we can give to our students in a way that nothing has, and the access is just critical.
The Yass Prize is almost like Burning Man for education reform.
Cris Gulacy-Worrel
Vice President,
Oakmont Education, 2022 Yass Prize Finalist
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
Being a part of the [Yass] family confirmed that what I'm doing is right,
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 Scaggs
Founder,
SOAR Academy
Our newest endeavor – that was part of our Yass Prize initiative – we're bringing career and technical education into the school
I'm in the process of going through the construction of a 20,000 square foot $11.5 million dollar building dedicated to career and technical education for the students in the Philadelphia region.
Brian Patrick King
President,
Father Judge High School, 2022 Yass Prize Semifinalist
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
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
Believe in your mission… Ground yourself… Never give up…
Sal Khan
Founder,
Khan Academy
Because of the Yass Prize, we were able to add an additional pre-K classroom.
Portia Green
Principal,
Prichard Prep, 2022 Yass Prize Semifinalist
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
The Yass Prize has brought together such diverse leaders
from all different demographics, all different states, all different service provider types that you can learn from.
Taylor Shead
Founder and CEO,
STEMuli Studios
Education is one of the most fundamental pillars for democratizing opportunities for success that we have in our society.
It’s thanks to organizations like the Yass Prize that our children are going to have a better tomorrow.
Francis X. Suarez
Mayor,
City of Miami
When we follow the money, it’s ludicrous how this country is getting away with funding education.
The funding is not following children. We're trying to make better options for kids, for poor kids, middle class kids. Wealthy people have this choice, they opt out of their systems easily, why shouldn't all children have that choice?
Janine Yass
Founder,
The Yass Prize
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