Wilson Elementary School
| Wilson Elementary School | |
| |
| Active | 1928–2010 |
|---|---|
| School type | Public |
| District | Birmingham City Schools |
| Grades | K-6 |
| Colors | |
| Mascot | |
| Location | 1030 4th Terrace West, (map) Birmingham |
Woodrow Wilson Elementary School is an elementary school in the Birmingham City Schools system located at 1030 4th Terrace West near Birmingham-Southern College in the Bush Hills neighborhood of Ensley. Donnetta Brown was principal until her death in May 2010, and was succeeded by former administrator Linda Parson.
The red brick school was constructed in 1928 and was named for former U.S. President Woodrow Wilson. Although the school was designed for a maximum of 250 students, it was housing as many as 375 within two years of opening. Under principal R. H. Price the school experimented with the "Dalton System" to accommodate an individualized pace of instruction.
In the early 1950s, the school's Parent-Teacher Association helped organize an extensive system of "pre-schools" with lectures and presentations for parents whose children would soon be attending Wilson School. In February 1957 a group of parents petitioned Superintendent L. Frazier Banks and the Birmingham Board of Education to remove principal M. P. Gray, complaining of excessive corporal punishment. The PTA backed Gray, and he was not disciplined. That October a 6-room addition and a new gymnasium and cafeteria were completed with funds from the 1956 Birmingham bond issue.
Under the school consolidation plan proposed by acting superintendent Barbara Allen and approved by the Board of Education, Woodrow Wilson Elementary closed in the summer of 2010, with students transferring into Glenn Middle School.
The school property has been leased from Birmingham City Schools by Bush Hills Connections, a non-profit connected to the Bush Hills Neighborhood Association. In 2018 they redeveloped the 4-acre campus as the Bush Hills Community Garden and Urban Farm. In 2022 the group began working on plans to redevelop the school building itself for community programs and potentially for affordable housing.
Principals
- R. H. Price, 1928-1930
- L. Virgil Wilder, 1930-
- M. P. Gray, 1957
- Donnetta Brown, -May 2010
- Linda Parson, 2010-
References
- Murdoch, Mrs W. L. (March 10, 1929) "Enrollment at Woodrow Wilson School Has Almost Doubled Capacity" Birmingham Age-Herald - via Birmingham Public Library Digital Collections
- Mobbs, Larry (February 26, 1957) "Protests Leveled At Wilson School" Birmingham Post-Herald - via Birmingham Public Library Digital Collections
- Samuel, Sally (February 28, 1957) "Wilson PTA backs Gray, discipline, high standards". The Birmingham News - via Birmingham Public Library Digital Collections
- "The List" (February 26, 2008) The Birmingham News
- Banks, Richard (January 7, 2023) "An old school in Birmingham’s Bush Hills is now an urban farm. Residents are thinking bigger" WBHM.org / BirminghamWatch