West Virginia Academy joined a prestigious group of educational innovators by becoming a Yass Prize Quarterfinalist last Thursday, September 14th. “This is a great honor,” said Heidi Treu, Executive Director of WVA, “there were over 2,000 applicants and to be recognized in the top 64 nationwide is really incredible.” WVA is already guaranteed substantial funding to support its unique educational mission and joins an elite group of educational programs that seek to transform education. This selection also means the academy remains in the running to be selected as a semi-finalist and the Yass Prize later on this fall.
What is the Yass Prize
The $1 Million Yass Prize celebrates the country’s education provider which best demonstrates the STOP principles. The Yass Foundation for Education 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.
West Virginia Academy was one of two institutions from the Mountaineer State selected as a quarterfinalist, with the other being the City on a Hill Christian Academy, a micro school in Fairmont.
The 32 semi-finalists will be announced in Cleveland on October 12th.. If West Virginia Academy is selected, its director will be invited to an Accelerator event to network with experts in the field of journalism, finance, politics, and more. “This would be an amazing experience for West Virginia Academy to learn from the best in the nation,” said Treu. “Also, it puts West Virginia as a state in the national spotlight by promoting the latest advances in public education that our state legislature has worked so hard to accomplish.”
Find out more about the Yass Prize by clicking the button below.