One couple's $600,000 gift to UF's College of Education aims to reform Alachua County middle schools, carrying on the legacy of middle school innovation pioneered by UF in the 1960s.
UF announced the Shewey Excellence in Middle School Education Fund, given by Fred Shewey, 91, and his late wife, Christine, on Tuesday.
The donation could reach $1 million after UF receives state-matching funds, according to a news release.
UF researchers were among the first to suggest that children be given special, separate schools during middle-school years. The money will allow Alachua schools to improve training for teachers so they can better understand students' needs.
The Sheweys' gift was in honor of their daughter-in-law, Kathy Shewey, a middle school teacher and supervisor of staff development for Alachua County public schools.
Kathy Shewey, who received the Distinguished Educator Award from the National Middle School Association in November, said nothing is wrong with current middle school teaching, but it could be better with more resources.
Fred Shewey who was an 18-year member of the school board in Mingo County, W.Va., before retiring in Gainesville.
He and his wife began planning the gift with UF in spring 2007. Christine died in October at age 88. Shewey said he hopes the gift, established in both of their names, will improve teaching.
"I could see it was a need," he said. "I saw it in West Virginia, and I saw it here."
Nancy Dana, director of the college's Center for School Improvement and chairwoman of the committee that oversees the Shewey fund, said important teaching structures have disappeared in today's era of high-stakes testing and accountability.
"I think the gift is going to help us develop a laser-like focus on middle school education," Dana said.
