The Dr. Michael Casserly 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. The awardee shall give a $10,000 scholarship funded by Curriculum Associates to a Great City School graduate who aspires to leadership in urban education. 

The 2023 winner of the award was linguist and educator Lilly Wong Fillmore. 

Fillmore received her Ph.D. in linguistics from Stanford University and was a faculty member of the University of California at Berkeley Graduate School of Education from 1974 to 2004. She focused much of her research, writings, and teachings on the education of multilingual learners. After retiring from the Berkley faculty, Fillmore worked with educators in urban school districts to improve academic language and literacy instruction for English and multilingual learners. In 2010, she partnered with the Council and worked with specific member districts to ensure English learners had access to the high-quality, rigorous instruction needed to meet college and career readiness standards.