Wil Lou Gray Opportunity School
In 1921, Wil Lou Gray (1883-1984), State Supervisor of Adult Education, founded the first “Opportunity School” in Tamassee, S.C., after launching a series of night schools to eliminate adult illiteracy. An experimental residential program, the Opportunity School was an important early 20th century effort to teach literacy, health, and basic life skills to undereducated audlts, mainly from rural communities.
Opportunity School sessions were later held seasonally at several different S.C. colleges. In 1947, the S.C. Department of Education opened the first permanent, year-round Opportunity School at this site, then part of the deactivated Columbia Army Air Base. Wil Lou Gray led efforts to acquire the base’s former hospital plant, which was repurposed for dormitories, classrooms, recreational facilities, and other uses.
Where it stands. NE corner of W. Campus Rd. and Boston Ave., West Columbia, West Columbia