Parents Challenge Celebrates 25 Years of Empowering Parental Choice in Education with $1.7 Million in Awards

Celebrating their 25th anniversary and recent awards, Parents Challenge looks to expand across southern Colorado and provide support for hundreds more families.

COLORADO SPRINGS, CO, UNITED STATES, March 26, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- In addition to celebrating a quarter-century of serving Colorado Springs families, Parents Challenge announces being named a semifinalist for the prestigious Yass Prize, and receiving grants from the John E. And Margaret L. Lane Foundation and an anonymous donor totaling $1.7 million. The organization will use the funding to help expand educational-choice services, modeled after Parents Challenge, in Pueblo, Teller County and Eastern El Paso County.

"Our mission is to provide true choice to parents in their children’s education," said Deborah Hendrix, the executive director of Parents Challenge. "This recognition and support will enhance our capacity to serve more families, empowering them with access to quality resources and education tailored to their unique needs and preferences."

Like Parents Challenge, the Lane Foundation is based in Colorado Springs and shares a history of investing in the southern Colorado community. The foundation awarded Parents Challenge a $1-million grant to support the expansion of parental choice services and resources to Teller County and Eastern El Paso County. An anonymous donor matched the Lane Foundation with $500,000 to support the expansion initiative.

"We are proud to invest in an organization that places parents at the forefront of educational choice,” Phil Lane, the board chairman and secretary of the Lane Foundation, said, “Their commitment to empowering families aligns with our foundation's mission to foster sustainable and transformative initiatives in our community."

Recognizing Parents Challenge as innovators in educational choice, STOP for Education selected the organization as one of 25 semifinalists from across the country to receive a $200,000 STOP Award for Sustainable, Transformational, Outstanding and Permissionless education. Referred to by their media partner Forbes as the "Pulitzer of Education Innovation," the Yass Prize supports organizations that provide innovative opportunities in education, who together represent a microcosm of the country’s most exceptional and entrepreneurial education providers.

"As one of the longest standing parent-focused organizations in the nation, we are thrilled to celebrate and recognize Parents Challenge as a 2024 semifinalist for the Yass Prize, for their commitment to empowering parents to support and guide their children towards successful education outcomes no matter what kind of school they attend,” said Caroline Allen, Chief Program Officer at the Center for Education Reform and former Vice President of the Yass Prize. “This is more important now than ever before.”

Established in 2000, Parents Challenge has been a beacon for low-income families seeking the best educational opportunities for their children. In contrast with nearly all other parental choice organizations, Parents Challenge believes and operates with children’s education truly being the parents’ choice, not limiting parents to what the organization or anyone else may deem best.

If a parent wants their child to go to their neighborhood public school and receive outside tutoring, Parents Challenge can help. If a parent wants to homeschool their child and needs additional support and resources to do so, Parents Challenge can help. And, if a parent would like to send their child to a private school, Parents Challenge can help them as well.

In putting the parent’s voice first, Parents Challenge also provides a wholistic Parent Empowerment Program. The program hosts a series of parent sessions throughout the year covering topics that participating parents tell the organization they would like to cover. These sessions are open to the public and cover a wide array of subjects including educational topics, health and wellness, career preparation and money management. For more information about upcoming sessions, visit the Parents Challenge Facebook page here.

About Parents Challenge
Parents Challenge is a Colorado Springs-based nonprofit dedicated to empowering parents to choose the best educational opportunities for their children. Through comprehensive support, including information, training, mentoring, tools, and financial resources, Parents Challenge equips families to make informed educational decisions. Find out more at https://parentschallenge.org/.

About The Lane Foundation
The John E. And Margaret L. Lane Foundation is committed to transforming strong ideas into actionable projects, fostering an ecosystem of sustainable nonprofits, and igniting a spirit of philanthropy throughout Southern Colorado. The foundation focuses on initiatives that advance education, health and wellness, arts and culture, and community development in the region. Learn more at https://lanefoundation.org/.

About The Yass Prize
In 2021 the Yass Prize for Sustainable, Transformational, Outstanding and Permissionless Education (STOP) was launched to find, reward and celebrate our nation’s top education innovators who overperformed for underserved students. Over the next four years, more than $50 million was awarded to 174 education providers representing 15 million students across every sector in education and every grade level from Pre-K to 12th. The four cohorts of the Yass Prize represent all 50 states of the US, whether this be through a digital or in person presence. These awardees represent a microcosm of the country’s most exceptional and entrepreneurial education providers. Learn more about the Yass Prize at stopforeducation.org.

Mackenzie Spillane
Fascinate Communications
mackenzie@fascinatepr.com
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