TUTWILER — The Tutwiler Community Education Center here has been selected as one of 33 semifinalists for the prestigious 2023 Yass Prize.
The announcement was made Oct. 13, when the Tutwiler center advanced from a group of 64 quarterfinalists for the award that had been revealed Sept. 14.
The center was the only quarterfinalist chosen from Mississippi.
As a quarterfinalist, the center was guaranteed to receive at least $100,000 through the Yass Foundation for Education’s STOP Award Initiative.
Now, as a named semifinalist for the Yass Prize, TCEC is ensured a monetary gift of no less than $200,000 and remains in the running for one of eight finalist spots.
Seven of the eight finalists will receive $500,000 each, while the other, designated the Yass Prize winner, will get a cool $1 million.
The million-dollar Yass Prize winner and finalists will be announced at a Dec. 13 ceremony in New York City.
“Being named a semifinalist for the Yass Prize is a transformative milestone for the Tutwiler Community Education Center and, by extension, for the resilient communities of the Mississippi Delta,” TCEC Executive Director Hans Hageman noted in a statement last week.
Tutwiler Community Education Center Executive Director Hans Hageman
“This recognition amplifies not just our voice but the voices of all those in the Delta who have been marginalized, underestimated and overlooked. It’s a testament to what is possible when innovation in education is championed at a grassroots level,” Hageman continued.
The Yass Prize is the elite honor presented annually as part of the Forbes and Yass Foundation for Education’s STOP Awards initiative.
According to Forbes Chief Content Editor Randall Lane, the Yass Prize is considered the “Pulitzer of education innovation.”
STOP is an acronym for four principles of education espoused and honored by the Yass organization: sustainable, transformational, outstanding and permissionless.
Hageman said the Tutwiler center stands “as a beacon, proving that impactful solutions can and do come from the places some least expect — but, perhaps, should expect the most. We’re not just competing for an award; we’re advocating for a future where every child in the Delta has access to the education they deserve. It’s not just a win for us; it’s a win for every untapped potential and every dream yet to be realized here in our community.”
Each Yass Prize hopeful is lauded on the organization’s website, yassprize.org.
Of the Tutwiler center, the Yass Prize website notes, “Through its micro-school network, the Tutwiler Community Education Center, located in the Mississippi Delta, is reimagining education to best meet students’ evolving needs and to improve society at large. Operating in a region with a poverty rate triple the national average, Tutwiler strives to bridge the gap between learning and real-life. Its pedagogy is rooted in experiential learning that integrates such diverse subjects as robotics, historic preservation, and health nutrition, such as incorporating school gardening into its curriculum. Project-based learning and critical thinking skills are key to its approach. This also includes measures to enable online and blended learning, ensuring accessibility for all students. The school fosters students’ resilience, independence, and purpose, equipping them for a future where they can thrive and succeed. If Tutwiler receives the $1 million Yass Prize, it will expand its micro-school network, as well as create a business incubation system to create opportunities for young people to stay in or return to the area.”
