Paul Crafton

Professor Paul Crafton was the superintendent of Washington schools from 1937-1943.  In those six years, he transformed the school system from an anachronistic relic of the past to a look toward the future that is enjoyed today.

Crafton was born in 1902 and received his Bachelor's Degree from Lincoln College in 1925 and his Master's Degree from the University of Illinois in 1935.  In 1937, he was serving as the Superintendent of Wellington High School, a small Illinois village near the Indiana border, when he applied for the newly opened Superintendent position in Washington.  There were over 100 applicants for the job.  During this time frame, the high school enrollment hovered around 150.

Crafton was hired and immediately set plans in motion to improve the Washington School District.  He introduced several new classes to the curriculum to modernize courses offered at WCHS which included Practical Mathematics, Current Social and Economic Problems, History and Appreciation of Music, World History,  and Biology.  He made home visits to bring students who were not attending back to school.

In keeping with Crafton's vision, serious talks commenced about a new high school.  Prior to 1938, there were many cries for a new high school but no real solutions were offered.  Crafton visited local social clubs lobbying for a new school and presented a realistic account of the dire conditions the students faced with increasing enrollments.  He visited Chicago architects to get a plan that would work best for the community.  By the end of 1938, a special election was called, and the matter was put to the voters. By 1942, the students were in a new school on Bondurant Street.  The high school enrollment during that 1942-43 school year approached 250 students.

Apparently seeing his work completed, he resigned at the end of his first year in the new school.  The school board reluctantly accepted his departure.

He moved on to the Bushnell School District and then to Monmouth.  At the time of his death in 1968, Crafton was head of finance at Mundelein College.

Crafton's stay in Washington was short, but his contribution to modernizing our school system and being the driving force in bringing us the high school building that is enjoyed today cannot be overstated.