Audacious Winner Aylon Samouha on Redesigning Public Schools

What began as an education system built for a different century is being reimagined for today’s world — just ask entrepreneur Aylon Samouha.

The public education system was designed for a different world — one built over 100 years ago, relying on a “one-size-fits-all” approach to teaching and learning. As a result, learners are left disengaged, unmotivated, and without the skills needed to thrive in today’s world.

Transcend exists to change this reality, partnering with communities to transform the fundamental design of their schools. They provide the tools to shift schools from outdated systems to learning environments that are responsive to individual needs, community aspirations, and the demands of the 21st century.

“From Brooklyn to D.C. to North Dakota — in 500 schools across the country — we’ve seen what happens when communities design learning around how young people actually learn and live. When you put student experience, engagement, and motivation at the center, everything changes,” says Aylon Samouha, co-founder and CEO of Transcend. “But the magic isn’t in the numbers. It’s in the spark you see when a student realizes: ‘I belong here,’ ‘I can do this,’ ‘I’m learning with purpose.’ School cannot be something we redesign once in a century. We need community-based design as a muscle, not a program or an initiative — a continual way of evolving how we do school together.”