Yass Prize finalist receives prestigious national award for outstanding educational innovation.
Dec. 14, 2023 (NEW YORK, NY) – Yesterday, The Melanin Village of Princeton, NJ, was named a finalist for the coveted Yass Prize and won a $500,000 STOP Award for Sustainable, Transformational, Outstanding and Permissionless education at the third annual Yass Prize Celebration and Gala in Midtown Manhattan.
The Yass Prize, known as the Pulitzer of Education Innovation, seeks, rewards and celebrates innovative organizations trying to break the cycle of ineffective education that is failing students across the country. As one of nine finalists selected from a pool of 33 semifinalists, The Melanin Village received its award to launch homeschooling Villages across the U.S., especially in states like Arizona and North Carolina that provide education choice to parents, and to create a certification program to train parents to be both effective educators and education freedom advocates.
“We know giving education innovators the opportunity to work outside the system that is suffocating so many of them is the most effective way to transform the lives of America’s students,” said Janine Yass, who co-founded the Yass Prize with her husband Jeff in 2021.
When the Covid crisis revealed and magnified the vast inequities that surround a majority of our students, they pivoted in their education investments to speed up the pace of improving student lives.
“The kind of disruption that the awardees are causing in American education is remarkable,” said Jeanne Allen of the Center for Education Reform whose organization manages the Yass Prize effort. “The Melanin Village is among the very best of American endeavors in education.”
This year’s grand prize winner with the $1 million Yass Prize was Valiant Cross Academy from Montgomery, Alabama. Valiant Cross, The Melanin Village, and the rest of the finalists were selected for most exemplifying each of the Yass Prize’s four core STOP principles: Sustainable, Transformational, Outstanding, and Permissionless education.
“We are thrilled to be named a Yass Prize finalist, which will accelerate our push to open homeschooling Villages across the U.S. and to create a certification program to train parents to be both effective educators and education freedom advocates,” said Brenaea Fairchild, Founder & Executive Director, The Melanin Village. “Thank you to Janine and Jeff Yass for selecting us as a finalist. We cannot wait to put this funding into action.”
The remaining 23 Yass Prize semifinalists each received a $200,000 STOP Award. Additionally, Florida-based Indi-Ed won the $100,000 Parents Choice Award, a new initiative determined through the 65,000 votes cast from parents and others closest to the students of each semifinalist.
“This year’s awardees exemplify the best of American endeavors in education,” said Jeanne Allen, who heads up the Yass Prize and related initiatives. “We are proud to welcome The Melanin Village into the Yass Prize network, which provides growth, coaching, mentorship, and training opportunities to support our members’ continued growth.”
For more information on The Melanin Village and the other Yass Prize awardees, visit: YassPrize.org/Awardees
Media Contact:
CATHLEEN HEALY
202-365-4636
media@dev-stop-for-education.pantheonsite.io
