Wil Lou Gray was an influential educator for both children and adults, with her primary focus being on adult literacy.
Early life and education
Wil Lou Gray was born on August 29, 1883 in Laurens, South Carolina. She was the middle child and only daughter of William Lafayette Gray and Sarah Louise Dial. Her father, William Lafayette Gray, was a lawyer, merchant-farmer, and state representative from Laurens County. Her mother, Sarah Louise Dial, was the sister of U.S. Senator Nathaniel B. Dial, The Grays were part of South Carolina's affluent class, devoted Methodists, conservative Democrats, and contributors to the industrial development of their town. At age nine, Gray lost her mother to tuberculosis. She graduated from Laurens High School in 1899. Will Lou Gray continued her education at Columbia College, graduating in 1903. She accepted a teaching position in a one-room, rural schoolhouse in Greenwood County. Teaching opened her eyes to poverty and inspired her to pursue graduate work at Vanderbilt University in 1905 and also Columbia University in 1910. While at Columbia University, Gray developed a progressive educational philosophy while studying under William Archibald Dunning and James Harvey Robinson. In 1911, she received her master's degree in political science.
Career
Gray's career began in 1903 in Greenwood, South Carolina where she taught at the Jones School. The Greenwood community did not see education as a priority, so Gray transferred to a teaching position in English at the Martha Washington College in 1907 and 1908. She then returned to her hometown where she became the principal of the Youngs School. It was here where she observed the issue of adult illiteracy and developed her passion for increasing education among adults. She was elected the supervisor of rural schools in Laurens County and in 1914, opened the first night school for adult education. Gray, who loved to travel, was once inspired during a trip to Switzerland in 1913. It was there where she saw a teacher on an education field trip with more than 100 boys. This influenced her belief in the importance of field trips for both students and teachers. She would later travel with her students and colleagues to different cities in South Carolina, such as Columbia and Charleston, and even to places like New York and Washington, D.C. In 1921, Gray founded the Wil Lou Gray Opportunity School, which is still the state of South Carolina's leader in providing alternative education. This organization's mission statement certifies that, "As an agency of state government, the school provides a wealth of academic and life skills training by SC state-certified teachers in modern classroom settings."
