Chicago Rescue Grant FAQs

When the Chicago Teachers Union decided to walk out on kids, we decided to act. 

Chicago spends $27,000 per child with fewer than 25% proficiency rate and received $1.8 billion dollars in federal funding to “pay for Covid safety measures, keep teaching positions, and empower a slew of academic and mental health interventions.” Despite this federal funding, Chicago Public Schools remain closed. 

That’s why we’ve launched the STOP Award $5 million RESCUE GRANT initiative– to put control in the hands of education providers who are willing to educate kids when the system will not. 

The STOP Award was originally created to honor and advance the work of education providers that continued to perform for underserved children during Covid. In December 2021, $3.5 million in grants was awarded to help education organizations that took decisive action and transformed their existing programs to expand to more students. 

 

Now, the STOP Award Rescue Fund will support the great educators and organizations who are ready to step in where the traditional Chicago Public Schools have failed. 

 

 

The goal is to ensure that there are outstanding opportunities for in-person and blended learning for students who have continued to be failed by the Chicago Public Schools system.

Exemplary applications will come from:

  • Learning pods that work with proven national or local providers,
  • Catholic and community private schools educating low-income families able to expand their enrollment,
  • Charter schools willing to partner with local after-school programs to provide full-time education to students normally served only a few hours a week,
  • Parent organizations able to set up learning centers,
  • Other Innovators.

The $5 million Rescue Fund has been created by STOP Award founder Janine Yass in partnership with the Center for Education Reform (CER).

General Questions

The STOP award will be granted to ONE education provider, exceptional group of people, or organization who has demonstrated accomplishment in providing a Sustainable, Transformational, Outstanding, and Permissionless education to students during the COVID pandemic.

  • Sustainable – a program that is able to live without continual philanthropy by utilizing state education funds allocated for students that will enable students to have the learning environment that best meets their needs.
  • Transformational – improves outcomes for students by introducing new approaches, technologies and ways of learning that brings education into the 21st century, for all students.
  • Outstanding – demonstrably successful by every measure that matters.
  • Permissionless – worked to create educational programs during Covid without asking for permission from any regulatory body, with families’ needs at the forefront.

An eligible applicant needed to meet the following criteria to be considered for the STOP Award:

  • Leveraged a novel learning approach that is sustainable, transformational, outstanding, and permissionless
  • The novel learning approach was actualized, initiated, and carried out between the months of March 2020 and present day. It is acceptable if the work is either ongoing or has already been completed.
  • Serves students anywhere from K through 12 in the United States
  • Was focused on serving students in underserved communities
  • Can demonstrate clear outcomes and transformational impact as measured by data
  • Has a plan for how the $1 million award will expand on their accomplishment to support more students and become sustainable, particularly for those who have not had the benefit of solid education during and before the COVID pandemic.
A “novel learning approach” would generally be considered an initiative, program, or decision that was innovative, unique, or relatively new to students in the particular learning community (i.e. something that has typically not been done or something that required you to take different and maybe even extraordinary steps to implement). We’re open to how you would define innovative or unique.

Please do not reach out to our team members personally for additional information. Any questions must be directed to info@STOPAward.com or you can reach us by phone at 202-750-0016.

The Round 1 application opened on September 8, 2021 and closed on October 31, 2021 at 11:59PM EST.

The STOP award will be granted to ONE education provider, exceptional group of people, or organization who has demonstrated accomplishment in providing a Sustainable, Transformational, Outstanding, and Permissionless education to students during the COVID pandemic.

  • Sustainable – a program that is able to live without continual philanthropy by utilizing state education funds allocated for students that will enable students to have the learning environment that best meets their needs.
  • Transformational – improves outcomes for students by introducing new approaches, technologies and ways of learning that brings education into the 21st century, for all students.
  • Outstanding – demonstrably successful by every measure that matters.
  • Permissionless – worked to create educational programs during Covid without asking for permission from any regulatory body, with families’ needs at the forefront.

An eligible applicant needed to meet the following criteria to be considered for the STOP Award:

  • Leveraged a novel learning approach that is sustainable, transformational, outstanding, and permissionless
  • The novel learning approach was actualized, initiated, and carried out between the months of March 2020 and present day. It is acceptable if the work is either ongoing or has already been completed.
  • Serves students anywhere from K through 12 in the United States
  • Was focused on serving students in underserved communities
  • Can demonstrate clear outcomes and transformational impact as measured by data
  • Has a plan for how the $1 million award will expand on their accomplishment to support more students and become sustainable, particularly for those who have not had the benefit of solid education during and before the COVID pandemic.
ROUND / TASK DEADLINE DATE
Online application available on STOPAward.com September 8th, 2021
Round One – Applications for the STOP Award are DUE Applications are due by October 31, 2021 by 11:59PM EST.
All applicants will be notified as to whether they are moving on to Round Two. By November 5th, 2021
Round Two – Finalist cohort selected.** Cohort mentorship will begin the week of November 8th, 2021
The STOP Award winner will be selected and announced. January 2022
**** Finalists will have the opportunity to become part of a special cohort that provides exposure to one another, to education innovators, practitioners, and investors, prior to finalists being chosen and ultimately, a victor.
The STOP Award was set up to honor accomplishment in delivering Sustainable, Transformational, Outstanding and Permissionless education in the United States. Applicants that have completed work only internationally will not qualify.
This award was created to honor education providers that continued to perform for underserved children during the COVID pandemic. We would like to support and endorse their work in the future to provide Sustainable, Transformational and Outstanding education for students – in Permissionless settings. The prize is a cash prize, to be used in a way that best exemplifies their accomplishment and commitment to future endeavors. The award will be allocated in three installments.
A “novel learning approach” would generally be considered an initiative, program, or decision that was innovative, unique, or relatively new to students in the particular learning community (i.e. something that has typically not been done or something that required you to take different and maybe even extraordinary steps to implement). We’re open to how you would define innovative or unique.
Please do not reach out to our team members personally for additional information. Any questions must be directed to info@STOPAward.com or you can reach us by phone at 202-750-0016.
© The STOP Award, 2021. All rights reserved.