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EDNA & MERLE STEWART FUND TO
ASSIST EDUCATION IN THE 549C DISTRICT
Edna Stewart taught high school in the Medford School District from 1946 to 1988 and was very devoted to her students and to the foreign language program. So when Edna’s family wanted to do something to honor her, they contacted the Medford School District and the Medford Schools Foundation. Their generous donation of $100,000 in honor of Edna and Merle Stewart represents the largest single gift, to date, in the history of the Medford Schools Foundation.
The Medford Schools Foundation has established the “Edna and Merle Stewart Fund to Assist Education in the 549c District” to honor her contribution and devotion to the education of young people.
Edna Stewart was born in Wisconsin, grew up in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and graduated from Coe College in 1932. She married Merle and moved to Medford for a teaching position in 1946. She taught English, Latin and Russian at Medford Senior High School for more than thirty years until her retirement at age 65. She continued to work with the school teaching part-time for twelve more years, “retiring” for the second time in 1988 at age 77.
Mrs. Stewart loved teaching and guiding young lives with a love of knowledge. She especially appreciated poetry and would be pleased to know that she is continuing to have a positive influence on education in the school system she loved.
Retired teacher, Linda Evans, worked with Mrs. Stewart and described her as “an excellent teacher who would go the extra mile to help her students.”
Since the establishment of the Edna & Merle Stewart Fund in 2007, Foundation Trustees have made the following awards:
- $50,000 to fund teacher-inspired projects in the Medford School District
- $4,000 for Mini-Grants at the district's high schools to help students who are in need of financial assistance to participate in extra-curricular activities and programs that enhance their high school education
- $2,100 to keep four elementary libraries open during the summer
- $550 to provide transportation for the Buddy program at North Medford High School and Jackson Elementary at the West Side School
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