• Sept. 21, 2018

    High school teacher named Outstanding Educator

    Mr. Ben Edwards Upper St. Clair High School teacher Ben Edwards has been selected for the Outstanding Educator Award from the University of Chicago. The Office of College Admissions grants the Outstanding Educator Award to teachers who have demonstrated exceptional dedication to the education and personal development of their students.

    “Each year, we invite entering first-year students to nominate an educator who has influenced them, challenged them, or helped them along the path toward intellectual growth,” James G. Nondorf, dean of admissions and financial aid at the University of Chicago, said. “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.”

    Mr. Edwards has been a member of the Upper St. Clair High School social studies faculty since 2011 and has coached the school’s forensics team since 2001. He teaches International Baccalaureate History of the Americas and Advanced Placement/IB Economics. He was nominated for the Outstanding Educator Award by Spencer Miller, a 2018 Upper St. Clair graduate. This marks the second time that Mr. Edwards has received this honor.

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

    A graduate of the University of Pittsburgh, Mr. 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, Sarah, and their daughter, Lily.