The School House and Founder & President Mimosa Jones Tunney Receive $250,000 Transformational Education Award at the 2025 Yass Prize Ceremony

National STOP Award recognizes The School House for redefining early learning through research, kindness, and developmental science.

WASHINGTON, Dec. 5, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The School House, based in East Northport, New York, and its Founder & President Mimosa Jones Tunney, were honored last night at the Yass Prize Gala in Washington, D.C., receiving the 2025 STOP Award for Transformational Education and a $250,000 prize recognizing their groundbreaking approach to early childhood and elementary learning.

The Transformational Award is one of four national STOP Awards, each representing one of the core principles of the Yass Prize: Sustainable, Transformational, Outstanding, and Permissionless education.

A First for New York State
The School House is the only school in New York State ever to be nominated for — and ever to win — a Yass Prize award. In a year of unprecedented attention on the future of American education, the recognition positions Long Island as a national leader in child-first, research-driven learning models.

National Recognition for The American Emergent Curriculum
The Yass Foundation selected The School House as the Transformational Award recipient for its creation of the American Emergent Curriculum (AEC), which the Yass Foundation described as "a model that blends developmental science, movement, hands-on learning, and deep kindness to give every young child the strong foundation they deserve."

"This moment belongs to every Educator, every Learner, and every family who believed school could be something better," said Mimosa Jones Tunney, Founder & President of The School House and the AEC. "The Yass community affirmed what we see every day — that children thrive when learning honors their natural development. We are humbled and grateful for the opportunity to expand this work."

This award follows months of growing national attention for The School House, including visits from U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon, Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, and Fox News' Brian Kilmeade, each observing the AEC in action.

Why This Matters: A Model That Could Influence American Education
At a moment when schools across the country are struggling with declining literacy, rising behavioral needs, and educator burnout, The School House offers a tested, scalable model built on both science and humanity.

The AEC is not simply a curriculum — it is a replicable blueprint for how learning can work when children's developmental needs, curiosity, movement, and kindness are centered. This STOP Award underscores growing national interest in approaches that challenge outdated systems and align schooling with what research shows children actually need.

How The School House Will Use the $250,000 Award
The STOP Award funding will help advance several key initiatives already underway at The School House, supporting early steps in expanding AEC Educator training, developing the AEC AI Teacher Companion, and laying groundwork for a flagship School House campus in Palm Beach. These funds will allow Tunney and her team to continue building the infrastructure, research, and pilot programs needed to bring the American Emergent Curriculum to more Educators, more families, and more communities across the country.

About The School House
Founded in East Northport, Long Island, The School House is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit serving Learners from toddler through eighth grade. It is the only school in New York State recognized in the 2025 Yass Prize cohort.

The School House is the national demonstration site for the American Emergent Curriculum (AEC) — a scientifically grounded framework that blends a structured foundation with hands-on learning, project-based work, and real-world skill development. The AEC challenges outdated educational systems by integrating movement, curiosity, kindness, and purpose into every moment of the school day.

About the Yass Prize
The Yass Prize is a national award presented annually by the Center for Education Reform, in partnership with Forbes, to celebrate and invest in education innovators who are transforming the learning landscape in America. The STOP Awards honor organizations exemplifying the core principles of Sustainable, Transformational, Outstanding, and Permissionless education.

Media Contact:
Charles Albanese
Director of Communications
The School House
[email protected] | (516) 998-6193, (631) 261-9000
www.theschoolhouse.org/press-kit
Instagram: @theschoolhouse_aec

SOURCE The School House