League of Women Voters Honors Portsmouth Teacher, NEA President

The League of Women Voters of South Kingstown/Narragansett (LWVRI) will honor a teacher at the State House next week. 

, a teacher at Portsmouth High School and president of the Portsmouth National Education Association (NEA) teachers' union, is one of this year's recipients of the 5^thAnnual Susan B. Wilson Civic Education Merit Awards. 

Other award recipients include Edward Kostka, a teacher at Shea High School, Pawtucket; and Glen Simmons, teacher at Hampden Meadows Elementary School, Barrington. 

The League inaugurated this annual award to honor teachers who have enriched their students' understanding of civic rights and responsibilities; have encouraged their students' civic participation; and have brought context and relevance to crucial events affecting governments within the United States. 

For the past 10 years, Cassady has taken his students to Washington, DC, with . He has met with students regularly after school to explore area such as the voting records of their representatives in Congress.  

"From an ideological side, I am paying forward the countless hours of work that were invested in me by my parents and teachers over the years. I was given the ability to see the important place in society that the citizen holds...I celebrate it," Cassady says. "I have spent nights pouring over the words of our Founding Fathers and looking for intent behind the literal accounts."

Cassady, along with other award winners, will be honored at a ceremony on Wednesday, June 6, at 4:30 p.m. at the State House. The guest speaker will be Chief Justice Paul Suttell. 

At the ceremony, Cassady will receive a $200 honorable mention award.