The Edgar and Eleanor Shannon Foundation for Excellence in Public Education: Charlottesville/Albemarle, a non-profit 501(C)3 organization in Central Virginia, was formed in 1990 to raise and distribute money to public school teachers in the City of Charlottesville and County of Albemarle for their use in implementing innovative classroom teaching ideas. It is one of over two hundred like-minded foundations nationwide whose goal is to supplement — but in no way replace — public funding for local school systems.

Eleanor B. Shannon and her husband University of Virginia President Emeritus Edgar F. Shannon, Jr. (pictured here) were instrumental in setting up the Foundation, encouraging its mission, and helping it achieve its goals. Until Edgar Shannon's death in 1997 and Eleanor Shannon's death early in 2000, they both played active leadership roles on the Foundation Board. To pay tribute to their many contributions to public education, the Foundation was renamed in the Shannons' honor in the summer of 1997 just prior to Edgar Shannon's death.

Since its inception, the Shannon Foundation has enjoyed the support of a broad-based coalition of local citizens including representatives from the City and County school systems, the business and professional sectors, and the University of Virginia. Supporters share a belief in the importance of dedicated and creative teachers and a commitment to providing those teachers with the funds they so often lack to turn their innovative ideas into instruction.

Since 1990, the Shannon Foundation has awarded approximately $139,000 through 194 different grants to teachers at all grade levels in areas from music to math. These modest but highly successful grants have ranged from less than $100 to over $5,000, and they cover the purchase of materials, equipment, and various educational media. The results of these projects have been gratifying for all involved, but especially for the thousands of students who have directly benefited from them. Some award-winning teachers have documented a rise in test scores, and others report the desire of students to learn more. Most significantly, students have taken to heart the dedication and creativity of their teachers and have responded with a renewed zeal for learning.