Council of the Great City Schools Names High School Graduate Londyn Edwards as Inaugural Recipient of $10,000 Dr. Michael Casserly Legacy Award for Educational Courage and Justice Scholarship

NORTH BILLERICA, Mass., Oct. 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Council of the Great City Schools (CGCS) recently announced the inaugural recipient of its Dr. Michael Casserly Legacy Award for Educational Courage and Justice Scholarship sponsored by Curriculum Associates. The $10,000 college scholarship was awarded to recent high school graduate Londyn Edwards of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, who is using the scholarship to attend Drexel University as she looks to ultimately pursue a career in urban education.

The scholarship is part of the Dr. Michael Casserly Legacy Award for Educational Courage and Justice, named after the Council's former executive director. The annual award is presented to a person who has made outstanding contributions in the field of Grades K–12 urban education by taking a courageous and passionate stance on the issue of educational justice and equity. This awardee will then select the $10,000 college scholarship recipient, who this year was chosen by Casserly himself.

According to the CGCS, Casserly selected Edwards for actively serving the Philadelphia community. She is a 2021 graduate of Science Leadership High School in Philadelphia and a leader of UrbEd Inc., a nonprofit organization created and run by Philadelphia students who advocate for fully funded, safe, and healthy public schools. After college graduation, Edwards plans to work in urban education and advocate for more inclusion of the arts in classrooms.

"It is my profound pleasure to give Londyn Edwards, who is the first in her family to attend college, a scholarship named in my honor," said Casserly. "This scholarship will help Edwards advance her education and follow her dreams to work with the next generation of urban school children. I am honored I can help such a deserving person in this worthwhile pursuit, and I thank Curriculum Associates for their generosity and support."

The CGCS is the only national organization exclusively representing the needs of urban public schools. Composed of 75 large-city school districts, its mission is to promote the cause of urban schools and to advocate on behalf of inner-city students through legislation, research, and media relations. The organization also provides a network for school districts sharing common problems to exchange information and collectively address new challenges as they emerge in order to deliver the best possible education for urban youth.

"We are proud to sponsor the Dr. Michael Casserly Legacy Award for Educational Courage and Justice Scholarship and, alongside the Council, recognize a rising college student and aspiring educator who already is making positive contributions in the community," said Woody Paik, executive vice president of Curriculum Associates. "Dr. Casserly has set a shining example throughout his decades-long career of the impact one can have in shaping education and advocating for educational justice and equity."

To learn more about the CGCS, visit CGCS.org. To learn more about Curriculum Associates, visit CurriculumAssociates.com.

About the Council of the Great City Schools
It is the special mission of America's urban public schools to educate the nation's most diverse student body to the highest academic standards and prepare them to contribute to our democracy and global community. The Council brings together 75 of the nation's largest urban public school systems in a coalition dedicated to the improvement of public education for our nation's urban public school children. See CGCS.org. 

About Curriculum Associates
Founded in 1969, Curriculum Associates, LLC designs research-based print and online instructional materials, screens and assessments, and data management tools. The company's products and outstanding customer service provide teachers and administrators with the resources necessary for teaching diverse student populations and fostering learning for all students.

SOURCE Curriculum Associates, LLC