MeetBarbara

Dr. Barbara J. Conwell Crawford is a retired educator and pastor proud to call Goodlettsville home. With 37 years of dedicated service to the Metropolitan Nashville Public School System — as a teacher, reading specialist, and principal — she brings deep, firsthand experience in education to her campaign for Sumner County School Board District 5.

As principal of Wharton Middle School, Dr. Crawford spearheaded the creation of Nashville's first and only middle school arts magnet program, now known as Creswell Arts Magnet. She began her teaching career as one of the first African-American teachers assigned to a previously all-White school, and has spent her life opening doors for students who need it most.

A lifelong learner, Dr. Crawford holds a B.S. in Elementary Education from Tennessee State University, an M.S. in Reading from Middle Tennessee State University, a Doctor of Education from Peabody College of Vanderbilt University, and a Master of Divinity from Vanderbilt University. Her honors include the National Council of Christians and Jews Brotherhood-Sisterhood Educator of the Year Award and the Frist Principal Award, among others.

Dr. Crawford is also an ordained Elder in the African Methodist Episcopal Church, an author, and an entrepreneur. She and her husband James are the proud parents of two sons and three grandchildren.