Marie Morheuser Casey Scholarship in Education

This scholarship was inspired by the life work of Marie C. (Morheuser) Casey, who taught kindergarten, first and second grades for 19 years (1969-1988) in the City of St. Louis Public Schools, beginning when her youngest child was three years old. A native of North St. Louis, she graduated in 1939 from Blessed Sacrament Parish School, in 1943 from Incarnate Word Academy, and in 1947 from Webster College with a bachelor’s degree in sociology and a minor in physical education. In 1947 she joined the robust St. Louis City Parks recreation program and worked for more than three years on summer playgrounds and in winter community center programs, leading recreational and art programs for patrons. She volunteered to work at Mullanphy Park (10th and Cass in downtown SL Louis) when it became one of first three integrated parks in St. Louis in summer 1950.

She married Paul E. Casey in December 1950 and their seven daughters and one son were born in 1952 (Meg), 1953 (Marilyn), 1955 (Paul), 1956 (Marie), 1958 (Martha), 1959 (Mary), 1961 (Monica) and 1966 (Michelle). She instilled within her children a love of learning through daily reading aloud, summer school in the basement (with topics ranging from geography and mythology to art, music, and exercise), and every-other-week trips to the St. Louis County Library on Natural Bridge, which served their home community of Northwoods. In 1969 she enrolled in Career II, a federally-funded program implemented in St. Louis by St. Louis Public Schools Superintendent William A. Kottmeyer and Audrey E. Claus, who together co-authored the popular “Basic Goals in Spelling." Through the Career II program, Marie (Morheuser) Casey earned her certificate in teaching, practice taught at Clay Elementary in North St. Louis, and then devoted herself to mastering every available reading curriculum to ensure the reading and overall learning success of her young students at Mark Twain Elementary and Mark Twain Branch.

It is the hope of Marie A. Casey, her daughter, and her husband, Kenn Entringer, that this scholarship will contribute to the development of future teachers who are committed to the full development of children; especially those born into economic poverty. Those who carry on this commitment will share Marie (Morheuser) Casey’s wholehearted believe in the enormous potential within each child, her dedication to social justice, her inordinate sense of fairness and high ethics, and her believe that every day counts in the life of a child.

Scholarship Criteria

1. Recipients must be Missouri residents.
2. Recipients will be undergraduate students at UMSL, pursuing a degree in the College of Education.
3. Recipients will demonstrate high financial need as determined by the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).
4. Preference will be given to a non-traditional student coming back to college after raising a family to prepare for a career in the field of Education.
5. To the degree possible, scholarship awards will be made to graduate of the City of Saint Louis Public Schools.