Londyn Edwards, a 2021 graduate of Science Leadership High School in Philadelphia, is the first recipient of a college scholarship named after Michael Casserly, the former executive director of the Council of the Great City Schools. And Edwards has used that scholarship to become the first in her family to go to college, attending Drexel University in Pennsylvania.

At the Council’s Legislative/Policy Conference in March, former U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan presented the Dr. Michael Casserly Legacy Award for Educational Courage and Justice to Casserly during a virtual ceremony honoring his achievements in urban education.  

Sponsored by Curriculum Associates, the award comes with a $10,000 scholarship for a graduate of the Council’s 75-member school districts who has exhibited leadership, courage, and advocacy during their high school years.   

Casserly selected Edwards, who has been very active in serving her community, to receive the scholarship.  Edwards is a leader in UrbEd Inc, a non-profit organization created and run by Philadelphia students who advocate for fully-funded, safe and healthy public schools. After she graduates, 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 schoolchildren. 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 Dr. Michael Casserly Legacy Award for Educational Courage and Justice will be presented annually to a person who has made outstanding contributions in the field of K-12 urban education. Recipients will be chosen for personifying what Casserly has based his career on: taking a courageous and passionate stance on the issue of educational justice and equity. 

Casserly, who took the reins of the Council in January 1992, was hired by Connie Clayton, who at the time was the superintendent of Philadelphia schools and the chair of the Council’s Board of Directors. Clayton was the first female and first African-American to serve as Philadelphia’s superintendent.

“I chose a student from the Philadelphia schools because I owe so much to the city and its former superintendent and Council chair, Constance Clayton,” said Casserly