Innovation in Action: Volume 5
Expertise and Supply Meet Demand
Meet the New Deputy for Special Education
In a visit to Arizona Autism Charter School (2022 Winner), US Secretary of Education Linda McMahon named Diana Diaz-Harrison Deputy Assistant Secretary for Special Education & Rehabilitative Services, a post that will put her in charge of guiding policy for the more than 7 million students with special needs in the nation.
“This will be the first time that any Administration has placed an accomplished practitioner of education for students with special needs at the helm of this critical and government program” said CER Founder and CEO Jeanne Allen. “Having had to buck the system for years before founding AZACS for her son, Sammy and thousands like him, Diana knows first hand the challenges that parents face, the obstacles and bureaucracy that stand in their way and the most innovative and forward thinking approaches to educating exceptional children.” Read the rest of the press release here.
Three Disruptive Partnerships
⚫ Northeast Academy for Aerospace and Advanced Technologies (NEAAAT) (2024 Semifinalist) is teaming up with Liguori Academy (2024 Semifinalist) in Philly to co-develop real-world, career-aligned curriculum resources aimed at expanding course offerings for Liguori students. NEAAAT’s signature “RoadMaps” - personalized, standards-aligned supplements designed with business partners - are now being explored as a way to expand academic offerings for Liguori learners. And NEAAAT’s CEO, Andrew Harris isn’t stopping there. He participated in Big Picture Learning’s (2024 Finalist) Leadership Summit where he found his “tribe,” and will lead sessions at the Northern Cass (2022 Finalist) Personalized Learning Institute this summer. It’s no wonder this North Carolina school is ranked first among two other charter schools nationwide in the Student Empowerment category of the Building Hope IMPACT Awards.
⚫ In a groundbreaking moment for Detroit’s students, the Cristo Rey Network (2023 Finalist) and Detroit Achievement Academy (2023 Finalist) are making history by offering a high school acceptance to an entire 7th grade class - marking the beginning of a transformative new partnership. Kyle Smitley, Founder of Detroit Achievement Academy, shared that this partnership is “life changing for so many kids and families” and gives credit to the “huge overlap in values that Kelby and I identified as we worked together.” Kelby Woodard, CEO of Cristo Rey, echoed the excitement sharing that, “Detroit Achievement Academy and Detroit Prep students are used to an academically rigorous environment...we can’t wait to have them at Detroit Cristo Rey as the Class of 2030!”
⚫ 2023 Yass Prize Finalist Odyssey has developed a partnership with Amazon Business to improve access to educational resources using technology and a familiar shopping platform. Through seamless API integration, the goal is to improve access to educational resources–making it easier and faster for students, especially in underserved communities, to receive learning materials. With this level of accessibility, barriers are removed from the resource delivery process, empowering families with convenience and choice.
Expansion & Replication
Yass Prize 2021 semifinalist awardees Friendship Charter Schools, Zeta Charter Schools, and Academica were recently awarded Charter School Program (CSP) Grants! These schools will scale their innovative school models in new communities where options continue to be limited. Expanding student access is critical, and these three awardees are very much on the forefront of the solution.
Congratulations!
… to Jefferson Pestronk of Modern States (2022 Quarterfinalist), recently selected as a D2L 2025 Excellence Award Winner. Modern States was recognized for their impact on transforming the way people learn and fostering more personalized and flexible learning opportunities. D2L works with customers all over the world through their learning management system on a mission to make learning more inspiring, engaging and human. Modern States does just that–providing a “straightforward, scalable solution that lowers the college tuition burden, accelerates progress towards a degree, and helps real people succeed. More than 600,000 learners have taken Modern States courses, with 140,000 CLEP exams attempted for an estimated tuition and fee savings of $175 million.”
… and to Jennifer Hurt of the WIN Academy (2023 Semifinalist) who in partnership with WVU Medicine Thomas Hospitals has been named a regional winner of the West Virginia School-Business Partnership of the Year Awards Program. The Education Alliance has announced them as regional winners recognizing outstanding collaborations between schools and local businesses. These partnerships exemplify how cross-sector cooperation can enhance student learning, workforce readiness, and community development.
STOP for Education is an initiative focused on developing and expanding the transformational impact of Yass Prize awardees and partners who are dedicated to the four core STOP principles - Sustainable, Transformational, Outstanding, and Permissionless education. This new publication, Innovation in Action, will feature the latest from best-in-class education providers.
Follow along STOP for Education on X @edreform. Learn more about STOP for Education and CER’s initiatives here.