“At a moment when the nation is preparing to mark 250 years of self-government, it is essential that the President — and leaders at every level — champion policies that expand educational opportunity and strengthen civic understanding,” said CER Founder and CEO Jeanne Allen.

“Education freedom, flexibility, and civic responsibility go hand in hand. Transforming American education means ensuring students have access to learning environments that meet their individual needs while preparing them to understand our founding principles, exercise their rights wisely, and sustain the institutions of a free society. This is not about preserving a system — it is about advancing transformational education delivered in the many ways families and communities choose to educate their children.”

To that end, CER urges the following:

FREEDOM & NATIONAL SECURITY

President Trump should reaffirm his commitment to education policies that prioritize families and students over risk-averse bureaucracies and a complacent status quo that has failed too many communities — a failure made plain year after year by the Nation’s Report Card.

He should continue to advance education opportunity: making multiple innovative school options available for students, including models such as the one represented in the First Lady’s box tonight – Alpha School, one of an emerging group of high-quality 21st-century learning opportunities, but only available to all students in states that allow funds to follow families. The President should use the bully pulpit to motivate States that do not yet offer these opportunities to create them — and states that do to expand them.

The President should also affirm support for military families by enabling them to take their education dollars with them from state to state and to any school, ensuring stability and continuity in their children’s education. Their sacrifices are integral to our nation’s security, and their children’s educational needs must be effectively met wherever they are stationed.

FLEXIBILITY

For decades, states and districts have raised concerns about onerous federal reporting and oversight requirements that stifle innovation and slow progress. Restoring greater authority to state and local leaders ensures that those closest to students are best positioned to meet their needs.

The President should rightly boast about his education agenda and his leadership’s continued support for state authority and flexibility, while ensuring that top-down regulations inhibiting state-level innovation are moved aside. That includes providing clearer guidance for using federal dollars with greater flexibility — from teacher programs to assessments, charter schools, and the delivery of equitable services for students with special needs.

CIVIC RESPONSIBILITY

As the nation approaches the celebration of America’s 250th anniversary, civic understanding must once again become central to education. Civics education should serve as a core component of a comprehensive American education — equipping students with the knowledge, judgment, and habits necessary for informed engagement and active participation in our democracy.

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The CER leadership team is available to offer insight, analysis, and commentary on a number of topics expected to be discussed in President Trump’s State of the Union Address. Please contact Jonathan Oglesby at [email protected].

The statute allowed only two jurisdictions to authorize charter schools and, critically, never provided meaningful funding. It was a law in name only — a framework designed to appear reform-minded without actually empowering families or enabling schools to open and thrive.

For years, we have said as much. On CER’s Parent Power! Index, Kentucky earns an F because its law fails to create real opportunity for families. A charter law that produces zero — or at most one — viable school is not a charter law. It is symbolic compliance.

Importantly, this ruling does not end the constitutional debate. In 2017, former U.S. Solicitor General and constitutional expert Paul Clement authored a legal brief outlining how a fully funded, properly structured charter school proposal would comply with the Kentucky Constitution.

You can learn more about that analysis here:

Setting up microschools in states like Arizona and Florida that provide a sustainable and reliable stream of funding for student choices, Primer removes financial barriers for families and widens access to exceptional schooling. Big things are about to happen for them in Texas as well. Stay tuned!

To enjoy more photos from this visit, please see the entire gallery here.

Educating students since 1999, Pepin has always been committed to the powerful vision: “Where belonging leads to learning.”

“If we believe that disability affects learning, we have to meet it head on,” shared Executive Director Jeff Skowronek. Their transformational approach makes Therapy not a pull-out service but a fully integrated part of daily instruction.

Accommodations are embedded into everything they do – from seven classroom seating options to softened lighting and white noise systems – all designed to promote independence for learners. 

“What I love about Pepin is we have the flexibility to do what is needed for the child and meet them where they are,” shared one of the occupational therapists. “It was hard to reach kids in the way I wanted to at my former school because I only saw them for 20 minutes. Here at Pepin, I understand the demands of classroom learning and can address them directly in real time.”

At Pepin ESE (Exceptional Student Education) specialists walk alongside parents and students to navigate and truly understand the IEP (Individualized Education Program) process. But Pepin is not defined solely by its therapeutic supports – it is defined by the student experience.

“Arts are an absolute,” Jeff emphasized, which stems from his personal love for the arts. From performances of The Wizard of Oz to monologues from Shakespeare, theater is embedded into their academics and culture.

Career and Technical Education is equally central. Pepin’s transition program has grown from 24 to 80 students in just two years, serving young adults ages 18 to 22 who work real jobs for real pay with job coach support four times per week. With 14 job-site partners, from AdventHealth to the Florida Aquarium, 60% of seniors participate in the program, building independence and confidence at the same time.

In the small engine repair class, students bring motors, boats, and equipment back to life — learning not only mechanics, but also important skills such as invoicing, supplier relations, and entrepreneurship. A 2020 graduate who now owns his own mobile marine mechanic business returns weekly to mentor students and provide real customer projects for students to work on.

At Pepin’s culinary program, students operate “The Falcons Nest”, a student-run soup and sandwich business serving the school and community. Through hands-on learning, students master customer service, budgeting, timing, and teamwork. “Our responsibility is to find everyone’s potential,” Jeff said. 

To enjoy more photos from this visit, please see the entire gallery here.

Visiting an Old Friend

Our trip through Florida also provided an opportunity to catch-up with a couple of amazing Yass Prize alumni – SailFuture and Primer.

SailFuture’s (2022 Yass Prize Finalist) designed a learning environment where students within foster care, in trouble or at risk can gain education and access to employment through paid apprenticeships.

This is not just a school. It’s a learning ecosystem that literally takes high school age students around the world to refocus and repair what education should be for students who have revolted against their education.

“We’ve been doing school differently for ten years,” shared Tiffany Thenor, CEO and co-founder. That experimental spirit is at the heart of WonderHere’s model, and it took shape when she and fellow co-founder Jessica Zivkovich made the decision to step away from their roles as public school teachers. Leaving the system allowed them the freedom to reimagine education from the ground up and create an approach they believed was truly best for children.

They were motivated by a desire to build a different kind of learning environment – one rooted in project-based and play-based learning, infused with Montessori principles, and inspired by Finnish-style assessments. 

The campus is alive with farm chores that start the day, gardens, composting systems, a fully working farm of chickens, alpacas, rabbits, and goats, and open spaces that invite exploration. Students, not adults, lead visitors around the property – opening animal enclosures, explaining systems, and modeling leadership in real time. 

Parent Brian Bertges shared his joy with the group. “What I see through my own son is that he loves coding and animation, and the school allows him to pursue that passion. Now he teaches other kids how to code and animate.”

“We borrow the best of research-based learning,” says Tiffany,  designed intentionally around wonder. Rather than traditional grade levels, students move through developmental stages known as minis, primary, bridge, and post-primary, allowing them to grow at their own pace and in their own way.

 “We’re small and flexible on purpose,” Tiffany explains. “That’s how we stay quick and nimble.” In contrast to other schools that might emphasize compliance, WonderHere is intentionally building student leaders who think critically, pursue passions, and take ownership of their learning.

After nearly ten years of steady growth, WonderHere is now poised for a major expansion, accelerated by its recognition through a $250,000 Yass Finalist Award. In the coming year, the school will open a 9,000-square-foot campus in another town, pilot two microschool classrooms inside a low-performing public school, and construct new classroom cottages on its existing property.

“We are literally doubling next year thanks to the Yass Prize.  We will give the gift of a wonder-filled education to all children.”

As the Yass Prize Roadshow continues to make its way across the state of Florida, WonderHere stands as a compelling example of what is possible when education is built around the whole child and grounded in community.

Next up: Pepin Academies in Tampa – another 2025 Yass Prize Finalist, where we will see how their innovative model is transforming learning for students with disabilities. 

If you missed our first roadshow stop, learn how the Chesterton School Network STOPs for education.

To enjoy more photos from this visit, please see the entire gallery here.

WINTER PARK, FL — On Monday, February 9, 2026, in the heart of the country’s school choice epicenter, the Yass Prize announced its 2026 competition at the site of 2025 Yass Prize winner – Chesterton School Network’s Winter Park location.

The $1 million Yass Prize for Sustainable, Transformational, Outstanding and Permissionless Education is considered the Pulitzer of education innovation and was established to find, reward, celebrate, and expand best-in-class education organizations for every sector. Since 2021, the Yass Prize and STOP Awards Initiative has awarded over $60 million to more than 225 education organizations from every sector and educational approach in 45 states.

“The Yass Prize is both a substantial recognition of leadership and an invitation to join a vibrant community of innovators and entrepreneurs building a brand new education ecosystem,” said Janine Yass. “Over the past six years, it has been a great honor to reward so many education pioneers with the shared goal of radically transforming not only the academic and life outcomes of their students, but the school experience for their families.”

When the Yass Prize application window closes in late spring, those who have submitted complete applications will undergo a thorough, three-tier judging process. In early fall, a select group of contenders from the application pool will be chosen to vie for the $1 million Yass Prize when they pitch at the Yass Prize Miami Accelerator. Subsequently, the $1 million Yass Prize winner will be revealed in late 2026 at the annual Power of Innovation Summit.

“There is tremendous momentum across the nation to provide families looking for the right school fit with a variety of learning models that recognize each student as a unique learner,” said Jeanne Allen, Founder and CEO of the Center for Education Reform. “One size certainly does not fit all and the Yass Prize identifies passionate education leaders who have created effective and meaningful learning experiences for students throughout the country.”

The Yass Prize is sector agnostic. There is no preference for any type of education other than it be Sustainable, Transformational, Outstanding and Permissionless. Chosen from among thousands of applications, this past year’s Yass Prize Finalists represent a diverse array of educational initiatives, including:

• Chesterton Schools Network, empowering parents to create joyful, high-quality schools where students are known, challenged, and transformed;
• Path of Life Learning, giving highly mobile and military-connected children the stability, belonging, and personalized support they need to finally thrive;
• Pepin Academies, transforming the lives of students with learning disabilities by providing a therapeutic, inclusive school environment where academics and essential therapies happen together in real time;
• School House, a multi-methodology private school that unifies five evidence-based approaches into a single, vertically aligned curriculum; and
• WonderHere, a network of child-centered microschools that combines project-based, play-driven, and personalized learning. 

Search for Yass Prize winners by type, year, state and more at yassprize.org/awards.

The 2026 Yass Prize application can be now accessed at yassprize.org. Media interested in connecting with school/program leaders, past awardees, or partners of the Yass Prize should contact Jonathan Oglesby at [email protected].

Known as the “Pulitzer of Education Innovation,” the Yass Prize rewards and celebrates schools and organizations delivering a Sustainable, Transformational, Outstanding, and Permissionless – or STOP – education. This announcement launches a national call for new applicants to vie for the 2026 $1 million Yass Prize.

The announcement occurred during the kick-off of the annual Yass Prize Roadshow for Opportunity, where team members and alumni gather to visit the most recent awardees of the Prize and STOP Awards Initiative in action.

Among those who traveled to the Sunshine state from across the country to see firsthand their peers’ schools in action were 2025 Yass Prize Finalists:

Jeff Skowronek of Pepin Academies, Mimosa Jones Tunney of School House, Tiffany Thenor of WonderHere, and Mercedes Grant of Path of Life Learning , who all shared powerful updates and reflections on their work and the collaboration happening amidst the Yass Prize cohorts.

But the heart of the visit was celebrating and recognizing Chesterton Schools Network for its commitment to the STOP principles. Chesterton is a rapidly growing national network of classically Catholic high schools rooted in the belief that education should form the whole person – morally, spiritually, socially, and academically. Built on the wisdom of G.K. Chesterton and the tradition of a content-rich liberal arts education, Chesterton Academies are committed to “getting back to the soul of education,” as President Dale Ahlquist describes it – passing down truth and tradition from one generation to the next and fostering intellectual curiosity grounded in timeless principles.

“Students read the Iliad “because all of life is a battle” the Odyssey “because all of life is a journey”, and Dickens “because all of life is a great expectation.” 

At the heart of Chesterton’s model is an integrated curriculum that connects literature, philosophy, history, science, theology, and the arts into one seamless tapestry. Students learn not as passive recipients but as active thinkers engaging with fundamental questions of life. As Executive Director Emily de Rotstein shared, “Students are essentially getting a four-year liberal arts college education in high school.”

We witnessed high school scholars debating A Man for All Seasons, explaining their science project on whether plants can grow on the moon, and ending the day singing Salve Regina confidently with the school choir – a glimpse into the holistic experience that defines Chesterton’s approach. “Teenagers love asking why,” Principal Jim Hickel shared. “We give them the why here.”

Founded in 2008 in the Twin Cities, Chesterton’s growth is powered by a parent-led grassroots movement. “You can never underestimate the power of parents,” shared de Rotstein. 

Chesterton parents today remain deeply involved – from launching academies in their communities to sustaining them with unwavering commitment. 

Brandon Vogt – Founder, Board Chair, bestselling author, and parent – emphasized, “The Network not only helps people open schools, but open them with a high level of expertise, and that’s why it’s been so successful.” The alignment of network guidance, parental leadership, and Florida’s robust school choice policies has allowed Chesterton Academy of Orlando to thrive. “School choice enabled us to come and to succeed,” Vogt noted, as evidenced by the 4 Chesterton locations in Florida, with 4 more opening soon.

The Chesterton Schools Network has ambitious plans for the future, in part thanks to the recognition of winning the $1 million Yass Prize this past December. They have seventy schools nationwide, 18 new schools slated to open in 2027, and an additional 30 schools that are in development, with a bold vision to grow from 100 to 1,000 schools worldwide by 2040. “We are grateful, energized, ready,” de Rotstein shared. “The Yass Prize is not only the recognition – it is the fuel.” 

To learn more about the Yass Prize and apply, visit YassPrize.org. And be sure to follow along for our next Roadshow stop – our 2025 Yass Prize Finalist – WonderHere in Lakeland, Florida!

To enjoy more photos from this visit, please see the entire gallery here.

Here In Washington

• On Tuesday, January 27, a panel of experts will participate in a Hill luncheon briefing with State and Federal policy updates and insights, sponsored by the Defense of Freedom Institute. CER’s Jeanne Allen will be sharing her thoughts on recent developments. Join us.

• That evening,  there will be a NSCW celebratory reception featuring Senator Tim Scott (R-SC), Senator Ashley Moody (R-FL), and Senator Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA) highlighting the historic expansion of education freedom. If you’re in town, please register to participate.

• On Wednesday, January 28, the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions (HELP) will hold a hearing titled Empowering Families Through Educational Choice in America. Among those testifying is 2022 Yass Prize Finalist Cris Gulacy-Worrel of Oakmont Education, representing the plethora of education options that exist across the Yass Prize and other entrepreneurial networks across the country. Tune In.

Meet The Education Entrepreneurs Who Make School Work Better for Kids

No matter where you are, the brightest innovators and thought leaders working through the continuum of education today are just a click away! Listen and watch these provocative conversations, stories, and innovations accelerating excellence in education across the country. 

Visit the over 200 Yass Prize Awardees at yassprize.org, where you can search all efforts to advance Sustainable, Transformational, Outstanding, and Permissionless education. 

Speaking of which, the 2026 Yass Prize Application will open soon. Keep your eyes on the Prize!

Parent Power Momentum

Not only are states like Texas and Florida making real live updates and improvements to their programs, but sixteen governors around the country have opted in to participate with the Education Choice for Children Act (ECCA), the federal tax credit scholarship program. 

Track how your state stands on the Parent Power! Index. 

Follow CER on X and LinkedIn to keep up with the latest news during National School Choice Week (and beyond). See you next week?

Program Dates

Spring Term: January–April (Application Deadline: Jan 20)
Summer Term: May–August (Application Deadline: March 15)
Fall Term: September–December (Application Deadline: July 15)

Internship Positions

• Research & Policy Intern
• Communications & Media Intern
• Events & Operations Intern

Expectations

Interns work 20–30 hours per week during school semesters; 35–40 hours per week in summer according to a hybrid work model with at least one in-office day per week at the CER office in Washington, DC.  Interns are eligible for a daily stipend or academic credit.

To Apply:

Email your resume,a short writing sample and a statement of interest (max 500 words) with subject line: “Internship” to [email protected] by the deadline for the term of interest.

Thank you. I’m honored to be here. And I’d like to thank Janine and Jeff Yass for their extraordinary leadership of this organization. 

My primary duty as Treasury Secretary is to promote economic growth and opportunity. And tonight, I will discuss the critical role education reform plays in that effort.  

Education is economic infrastructure—which is why Treasury is deeply invested in questions of education policy. The performance of our K-12 students is a leading indicator for the future performance of our economy. And while America’s schools perform well globally, several warning lights are flashing red: