'The gold standard of education innovation in America': Valiant Cross wins $1M Yass Prize

Montgomery's Christian, all-boys school Valiant Cross Academy won a massive award in education on Wednesday evening: The 2023 Yass Prize. The prestigious honor has been called "the Pulitzer of Education Innovation," and in addition to the title, Valiant Cross will also receive $1 million.

"This is so amazing, I’m so excited," executive director Anthony Brock said in his acceptance speech. "I want to give this opportunity to every boy of color in America. I’m going to go back and work even harder. Thank you Janine and Jeff Yass, Jeanne Allen and the Yass Prize team!"

The Yasses are a billionaire couple who live in Pennsylvania, and for the last two decades, they have spent a considerable amount of time and effort advocating for improvements in the American education system. They started The Yass Prize in 2021 as a means to support the best organizations in the country, those that are working "to break the cycle of ineffective education failing students across the country."

Hundreds of organizations vie for first place each year, and winners are selected based on how closely they meet four of the Yass's core standard of "sustainable, transformational, outstanding and permissionless education."

Previous winners were Arizona Autism Charter Schools and Discovery Center Springfield, both of which filled gaps in local education offerings. Valiant Cross fits in well with this group as it provides a faith-based, disciplined environment for young men in Montgomery to learn and grow.

"Valiant Cross Academy represents the gold standard of education innovation in America," Janine Yass said.  "Our goal is to accelerate all our prize winners’ efforts to scale up and drive impact in the lives of the students they serve. America’s children desperately need innovative solutions to overcome the learning loss and falling test scores observed over the past several years."

When brothers Anthony and Fred Brock started the school back in 2015, they had 30 willing students and a dream for what their organization could grow into.

Now, they have over 200 students and a national prize of $1 million.

In addition to the top award that Valiant Cross accepted, nine other organizations across the country received $500,000 each as finalists. Those groups were Black Pastors United for Education, Cristo Rey Network, Detroit Achievement Academy, National Fellowship for Black and Latino Male Educators, Odyssey, Odyssey Charter School, St. George Municipal School Unit, The Melanin Village and West Virginia Academy.

"Tonight’s awardees exemplify the best of American endeavors in education," Yass Prize initiative director Jeanne Allen said. "People and organizations that defy traditional roadblocks and stop at nothing to deliver highly personalized, pathbreaking education for kids."

Hadley Hitson covers children's health, education and welfare for the Montgomery Advertiser. She can be reached at hhitson@gannett.com. To support her work, subscribe to the Advertiser.

This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Valiant Cross Academy wins prestigious Yass Prize, $1M award