The 18th Virgin Islands Board of Education (VIBE) commemorates the birthdate of one of the icons of Virgin Islands education, Pearl B. Larsen. It is important to recognize and commemorate those who have shaped the educational process in the territory. Often, generations of V.I. children pass through the public schools and have no idea who the buildings were named after or why.
VIBE is attempting to provide a sense of history and inform children that affording them a quality education was a conscious decision that was made many years before they were born.
Pearl B. Larsen was born in Montgomery, Alabama, on Sept. 27, 1894. She came to the Virgin Islands on a special teaching assignment in 1932. Larsen was very involved with her community and at one time was the superintendent of schools for the St. Croix District. She was also instrumental in bringing the Scholastic Aptitude Tests to the territory, where she was chief administrator and liaison to Princeton University.
Prior to the advent of the College of the Virgin Islands, Larsen was influential in helping local teachers complete their education by arranging for Hampton Institute instructors to visit the Virgin Islands and conduct workshops. Being a graduate of Hampton University, she worked with the institution to provide college level courses in the islands.
The former educator was also a renowned hostess in her later years, as well as the owner of a gift shop which she operated from the first story of her home. She was active in the local Red Cross, Girl Scouts, the St. John’s Anglican Church choir and was one of the founders of the Christiansted Business and Professional Women’s Club.
The members of the 18th Virgin Islands Board of Education, stand on the shoulders of this icon of education and feel that she is due recognition and to be commemorated in the month of her birth. VIBE asks that the public join it in remembering her contributions and honoring her memory.
