Metro Nashville Public School's academic magnet program is very successful.  I believe we should expand it to include academic magnets in every quadrant of the county. Parents should not have to worry about whether or not their children will win an academic lottery.

    If Metro Nashville Public Schools report a 13.5 to 1 student/teacher ratio - why do most teachers and parents have 25 or more students in their classes?  We must put more of our resources back in the classrooms if we want to see student improvement.  Teachers and parents are tired of buying supplies that should be provided.

    Daily, 2 - 3 hours of rigorous, small-group tutoring is the only way to make a dramatic impact in improving failing students' academic abilities.

    For the past 19 years Eric Crafton has been active in our Nashville community. You may already know him from his public service as a Metro Council member, Bellevue YMCA Board member, or Bellevue Exchange Club member. He has also served as a Deacon at Charlotte Road Baptist Church since 2003. You may not know that Eric Crafton attended Gower Elementary, Bellevue Middle, and Hillwood High School. Upon graduation from Hillwood, he received a Naval R.O.T.C scholarship to Vanderbilt University, where he graduated Magna Cum Laude with degrees in both Mathematics and Economics.

    Eric served as a naval officer aboard the CG-53 USS Mobile Bay, which was stationed in Yokosuka, Japan. He is a combat veteran of the Persian Gulf War and received the Navy Achievement Medal for saving his ship from hitting a mine. After his naval service, he attended Keio University in Japan for two semesters. Eric studied in a Japanese language immersion political economy program, where he became fluent in Japanese.  Shortly thereafter, Eric returned to his hometown where he immediately got involved in shaping the community and future of Nashville.

Why has Eric Crafton remained so active in our community for so long?

Because he cares.

    Eric Crafton has continuously demonstrated his commitment to Nashville's children throughout his public service on the Metro Council. In 2003, Eric founded Save Our Students (SOS), an organization that has evaluated Nashville’s Public School performance for seven consecutive years. In his initial report, he showed his concern for our children's education by forcing the Metro Nashville Public School system to acknowledge its students' poor graduation rates and create solutions that have led to significant improvements. Eric continues to publish a Save Our Students progress report each year. In 2005, Eric warned of the takeover of our schools by the State of Tennessee if more action was not taken. Unfortunately for our public school children, Eric was right.

Why did Eric Crafton stand up and deliver such an unpopular message?

Because Eric cares about the issues facing this great community of ours.

    Metro Nashville Public School's academic magnet program is very successful.  I believe we should expand it to include academic magnets in every quadrant of the county. Parents should not have to worry about whether or not their children will win an academic lottery.

    If Metro Nashville Public Schools report a 13.5 to 1 student/teacher ratio - why do most teachers and parents have 25 or more students in their classes?  We must put more of our resources back in the classrooms if we want to see student improvement.  Teachers and parents are tired of buying supplies that should be provided.

    Daily, 2 - 3 hours of rigorous, small-group tutoring is the only way to make a dramatic impact in improving failing students' academic abilities.

    For the past 19 years Eric Crafton has been active in our Nashville community. You may already know him from his public service as a Metro Council member, Bellevue YMCA Board member, or Bellevue Exchange Club member. He has also served as a Deacon at Charlotte Road Baptist Church since 2003. You may not know that Eric Crafton attended Gower Elementary, Bellevue Middle, and Hillwood High School. Upon graduation from Hillwood, he received a Naval R.O.T.C scholarship to Vanderbilt University, where he graduated Magna Cum Laude with degrees in both Mathematics and Economics.

    Eric served as a naval officer aboard the CG-53 USS Mobile Bay, which was stationed in Yokosuka, Japan. He is a combat veteran of the Persian Gulf War and received the Navy Achievement Medal for saving his ship from hitting a mine. After his naval service, he attended Keio University in Japan for two semesters. Eric studied in a Japanese language immersion political economy program, where he became fluent in Japanese.  Shortly thereafter, Eric returned to his hometown where he immediately got involved in shaping the community and future of Nashville.

Why has Eric Crafton remained so active in our community for so long?

Because he cares.

    Eric Crafton has continuously demonstrated his commitment to Nashville's children throughout his public service on the Metro Council. In 2003, Eric founded Save Our Students (SOS), an organization that has evaluated Nashville’s Public School performance for seven consecutive years. In his initial report, he showed his concern for our children's education by forcing the Metro Nashville Public School system to acknowledge its students' poor graduation rates and create solutions that have led to significant improvements. Eric continues to publish a Save Our Students progress report each year. In 2005, Eric warned of the takeover of our schools by the State of Tennessee if more action was not taken. Unfortunately for our public school children, Eric was right.

Why did Eric Crafton stand up and deliver such an unpopular message?

Because Eric cares about the issues facing this great community of ours.