USC High School Teacher Wins Outstanding Educator Award

UPPER ST. CLAIR, PA - Upper St. Clair social studies teacher Ben Edwards has won the University of Chicago’s Outstanding Educator Award for the second time. The University’s college admissions office gives the honor to teachers demonstrating exceptional dedication to their students’ education and personal development.

Edwards has been a member the high school’s social studies faculty since 2011 and has coached the school’s forensics team since 2001. He teaches international baccalaureate history of the Americas and AP/IP economics. He was nominated for the award by Spencer Miller, who graduated from USC in June.

"The reality of teaching is that we do the best we can and then let life take over,” Mr. Edwards said in a district release. “For someone to remember us after that transition is truly humbling.”

James G. Nondorf, the University of Chicago’s dean of admissions and financial aid, said the university annually invites entering first-year students to nominate an educator who has influenced them, challenged them, or helped them along the path toward intellectual growth.

“We receive letters back from hundreds of students, inspired by teachers who have changed the course of their lives, who taught them to re-imagine texts, to delve deeper into problem-solving, and to think beyond the borders of the classroom in the pursuit of their own education,” he said.

A graduate of the University of Pittsburgh, Edwards holds a bachelor’s degree in history and a master’s degree in social studies education. He resides in Bethel Park with his wife and daughter.

Photo: Upper St. Clair School District.

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