3 minute read
WYLIE ISD
Miss Pearl Birmingham Scholarship
by Ian Halperin
For 75 years, a unique scholarship program has provided substantial financial assistance to seniors in Wylie ISD. The Miss Pearl Birmingham Scholarship Fund was established in 1947 by T. F. Birmingham to comply with a request by his sister, Pearl Birmingham, who died in 1946. In her will, Miss Pearl left 1,000 shares of common stock in the Standard Oil Company to support the scholarship fund.
“In 2023, Wylie ISD will recognize the 75th class of Birmingham Scholars, and we want to do it big,” said Dr. Stephen Davis, Wylie ISD executive director of secondary education. “Wylie ISD would like to recognize all Birmingham scholars from 1948 to 2023 to honor the historic legacy of the Miss Pearl Birmingham Scholarship.”
Miss Pearl, as her friends and students knew her, spent most of her life teaching school. She began her teaching career in Wylie where she taught first and second grades. Miss Pearl has been described as having been a "very quiet, unusually kind and pleasant person from a more than generous, happy, and religious family." In her will, she specified that the stock profits go to support an annual scholarship to be given to an outstanding Wylie High School graduate. The program was expanded to include Wylie East in 2012.
The first recipient of the Miss Pearl Birmingham Scholarship was the valedictorian of the Class of 1948, Harvey Moore. Moore, a successful architect, received $1,000 for four years of college study. While in college, he received payments of $25 per month.
While that first $1,000 scholarship was considered to be a most generous one, the amount of the award has increased during the years, as has the number of recipients. This has been made possible as a result of the Birmingham investment program. This year, both Wylie ISD high schools awarded an equal number of two-year scholarships. Currently, the program provides three $7,500 scholarships and seven $5,000 scholarships at each high school.
WEHS Assistant Principal Angela Arp was a 1996 recipient when she graduated from Wylie High.
“Being a Birmingham Scholar is a tremendous honor, for you are forever part of a family,” said Arp. “This family represents the commitment to academics and good moral character, values that are held with high regard in the Wylie community and exemplify the legacy of Miss Pearl Birmingham. Each year, I am so proud to see new scholars join the family, as this is a common thread that we will always share.”
Selection of the scholarships winners is based on the following:
A. the student's academic ranking,
B. the student's SAT, ACT, and other achievement test scores,
C. submission of an autobiography by the student, and
D. a personal interview with school superintendents (or their representatives) from Collin, Dallas, and Rockwall counties.
The Miss Pearl Birmingham Scholarship Fund and guidelines are managed by the Wylie ISD Board of Trustees. The income for the Miss Pearl Birmingham scholarships is currently provided by the interest earned from a trust fund created by the sale of the oil stock, which is in excess of $2 million. •
