EUTAWVILLE, S.C. – One eastern Orangeburg County elementary school is bursting at the seams thanks to school choice and other factors.

“We’re completely out of room right now,” says Michelle A. Wilson, principal of St. James-Gaillard Elementary School .

This year, 106 additional students enrolled in the Orangeburg Consolidated District 3 school.

Wilson, 48, attributes the increased enrollment to several reasons: newcomers to the area, the economy (parents choosing public education over private academies) and St. James-Gaillard’s status as a “site school,” which means parents had the option to transfer their children from the district’s two underachieving elementary schools as a result of the federal law allowing school choice.

Forty-two of the new students transferred to St. James-Gaillard as a result of school choice, Wilson said.

With such the resulting full house and the opportunities and challenges for the new year, Wilson decided teachers and staff would benefit from a special workshop that was held recently. She brought in motivational speaker and author Derius Swinton of Richmond, Va., a native of South Carolina, for the workshop. Swinton used key points from his book, “Soar Beyond Your Limitations: When Giving Up Is Not an Option.” He challenged school personnel to make each school year better than the previous one. Swinton said there are four ideals to “maximize” to bring about success: “time, space, opportunities and resources.”

In addition, he said there are four objectives for school environments: “safety, health, positive and supportive relationships and success.”

In his book, Swinton devotes a chapter to Wilson’s own personal experiences. The St. James-Gaillard principal’s first-hand knowledge of coping with the grief of losing her parents, her husband and a son – all within a span of just five years – not only found a place in Swinton’s book, but inspired Wilson to write a book of her own titled, “Anything Can Happen.” She anticipates the book will be released early next year.

First, Wilson coped with the deaths of her parents, Harry and Louise Aiken, who died within months of each other.

Then in 2004, her husband of 21 years, Horace Wilson, died as a result of a car accident within close proximity of their home in Cross.

While adjusting to life as a young widow and continuing her duties as a principal, Wilson lost her son, Isaac A. Wilson III, a graduate of Holly Hill-Roberts High School. Isaac, who was murdered, was 21 and her oldest child.

Wilson’s said her grief plunged her into a depression and at times she felt as though the sorrow was more than she could bear.

“Through the process of it all, I learned to trust; I learned to trust in God,” Wilson said. “The support I get from this school ... that’s one of the bases for my survival.”

Wilson remains optimistic about her personal journey in life and the future of students at St. James-Gaillard.

“Never give up on your children; never give up on your life – because where there’s life, there’s hope,” she says.

In her 12th year as principal of St. James-Gaillard, Wilson is an active member of Jehovah AME Church in Cross. She also dedicates her time to the Parents of Murdered Children organization.

Following her son’s death, Wilson established the Isaac A. Wilson III Memorial Foundation, which annually awards a $2,000 college scholarship to an eligible Lake Marion High School senior. To date the foundation has awarded two scholarships.

Wilson has three surviving children, ages 22, 15 and 13.

T&D Correspondent Martha Rose Brown can be reached by e-mail at marfawose@aol.com.

You must be logged in to comment.