Bio | airick journey crabill

airick journey “aj” crabill currently serves as senior coach at Effective School Boards and national director of governance at the Council of the Great City Schools in Washington, DC. Previously, he served as Conservator at DeSoto ISD, deputy commissioner at the Texas Education Agency, and board chair of Kansas City Public Schools, where reforms doubled student literacy and numeracy rates.

Improving student outcomes is airick journey “aj” crabill’s relentless focus. He currently serves as senior coach at Effective School Boards and national director of governance at the Council of the Great City Schools in Washington, DC, where he leads school board supports for the nation’s largest urban school systems. Previously, he served as the Conservator at DeSoto (TX) Independent School District — where the district improved from F ratings in academics, finance, and governance to B ratings — deputy commissioner at the Texas Education Agency, and board chair of Kansas City Public Schools, where reforms doubled the percentage of students who are literate and numerate.

Improving student outcomes is airick journey crabill’s relentless focus. Crabill currently serves as senior coach at Effective School Boards and national director of governance at the Council of the Great City Schools in Washington, DC, where he leads school board supports for the nation’s largest urban school systems.

Previously, he served as the Conservator at DeSoto (Texas) Independent School District. During his guidance, DeSoto made double-digit literacy gains and improved from having F ratings in areas of academics, finance, and governance to earning B ratings. He served as deputy commissioner at the Texas Education Agency, and spearheaded reforms as board chair of Kansas City (Missouri) Public Schools that doubled the percentage of students who are literate and numerate and eventually led KCPS to full accreditation for the first time in decades. Crabill received the Education Commission of the States’ James Bryant Conant Award, which recognizes extraordinary individual contributions to education.

Improving student outcomes is airick journey crabill’s relentless focus. Crabill currently serves as senior coach at Effective School Boards and national director of governance at the Council of the Great City Schools in Washington, DC, where he leads school board supports for the nation’s largest urban school systems.

Previously, he served as the Conservator at DeSoto (Texas) Independent School District. During his guidance, DeSoto made double-digit literacy gains and improved from having F ratings in areas of academics, finance, and governance to earning B ratings. He served as deputy commissioner at the Texas Education Agency. And he spearheaded reforms as board chair of Kansas City (Missouri) Public Schools (KCPS) that doubled the percentage of students who are literate and numerate and, eventually, led KCPS to full accreditation for the first time in decades. Crabill received the Education Commission of the States’ James Bryant Conant Award, which recognizes extraordinary individual contributions to education. He was a finalist for CGCS’s Green-Garner Award, recipient of the KC NAACP’s Lucile Bluford Special Achievement Award, and recipient of KCPS Education Foundation’s Loyalty to Scholars Award. Crabill is also the author of “Our Tools They Deserve: Why Adults Choose Retribution, How Students Can Practice Restoration” and his planned 2026 release, “The 50% Journey: Why The Future Doesn’t Change, How You Can Rewrite The Future.” He has also authored several implementation-focused workbooks aligned with Great On Their Behalf.

Improving student outcomes is airick journey crabill’s relentless focus. Crabill currently serves as senior coach at Effective School Boards and national director of governance at the Council of the Great City Schools in Washington, DC, where he leads school board supports for the nation’s largest urban school systems.

Previously, he served as the Conservator at DeSoto (Texas) Independent School District. During his guidance, DeSoto made double-digit literacy gains and improved from having F ratings in areas of academics, finance, and governance to earning B ratings. He served as deputy commissioner at the Texas Education Agency. And he spearheaded reforms as board chair of Kansas City (Missouri) Public Schools (KCPS) that doubled the percentage of students who are literate and numerate and, eventually, led KCPS to full accreditation for the first time in decades. Crabill received the Education Commission of the States’ James Bryant Conant Award, which recognizes extraordinary individual contributions to education. He was a finalist for CGCS’s Green-Garner Award, recipient of the KC NAACP’s Lucile Bluford Special Achievement Award, and recipient of KCPS Education Foundation’s Loyalty to Scholars Award. Crabill is also the author of “Our Tools They Deserve: Why Adults Choose Retribution, How Students Can Practice Restoration” and his planned 2026 release, “The 50% Journey: Why The Future Doesn’t Change, How You Can Rewrite The Future.” He has also authored several implementation-focused workbooks aligned with Great On Their Behalf.

His passion to improve student outcomes is rooted in his past: raised in and out of foster care, he bounced around enough to have attended eleven schools as a child. He attended urban, suburban, and rural schools; private, public, and parochial schools; lived with white families and families of color; lived in racist communities and inclusive communities; experienced loving homes and homelessness. Guided by the idea that student outcomes don’t change until adult behaviors change, and drawing on his intimate familiarity with the triumphs and terrors of America’s safety nets for children, he has devoted much of his adult life to advocating for the well-being of the United States’ most vulnerable youth.

Improving student outcomes is airick journey crabill’s relentless focus. Crabill currently serves as senior coach at Effective School Boards and national director of governance at the Council of the Great City Schools in Washington, DC, where he leads school board supports for the nation’s largest urban school systems.

Previously, he served as the Conservator at DeSoto (Texas) Independent School District. During his guidance, DeSoto made double-digit literacy gains and improved from having F ratings in areas of academics, finance, and governance to earning B ratings. He served as deputy commissioner at the Texas Education Agency. And he spearheaded reforms as board chair of Kansas City (Missouri) Public Schools (KCPS) that doubled the percentage of students who are literate and numerate and, eventually, led KCPS to full accreditation for the first time in decades. Crabill received the Education Commission of the States’ James Bryant Conant Award, which recognizes extraordinary individual contributions to education. He was a finalist for CGCS’s Green-Garner Award, recipient of the KC NAACP’s Lucile Bluford Special Achievement Award, and recipient of KCPS Education Foundation’s Loyalty to Scholars Award. Crabill is also the author of “Our Tools They Deserve: Why Adults Choose Retribution, How Students Can Practice Restoration” which explores the tools students need to be successful in school and beyond, and his planned 2026 release, “The 50% Journey: Why The Future Doesn’t Change, How You Can Rewrite The Future” which explores the tools leaders need to reclaim their agency. He has also authored several implementation-focused workbooks aligned with Great On Their Behalf.

His passion to improve student outcomes is rooted in his past: raised in and out of foster care, he bounced around enough to have attended eleven schools as a child. He attended urban, suburban, and rural schools; private, public, and parochial schools; lived with white families and families of color; lived in racist communities and inclusive communities; experienced loving homes and homelessness. Guided by the idea that student outcomes don’t change until adult behaviors change, and drawing on his intimate familiarity with the triumphs and terrors of America’s safety nets for children, he has devoted much of his adult life to advocating for the well-being of the United States’ most vulnerable youth.

A former tech startup entrepreneur and avid volunteer, when Crabill is not providing education leadership and coaching across the nation, he still enjoys coding, training high schoolers in student-led restorative practices, experimenting with flavorful/spicy recipes in his kitchen, serving as a CASA volunteer, and zooming around on his electric unicycle. Inspired by his parents, who fostered more than 80 children, Crabill has mentored dozens of young people, has helped raise seven young people, and will not be surprised when God sends another young person to his open door.

Improving student outcomes is airick journey “aj” crabill’s relentless focus. Crabill currently serves as senior coach at Effective School Boards and national director of governance at the Council of the Great City Schools in Washington, DC, where he leads school board supports for the nation’s largest urban school systems.

Previously, he served as the Conservator at DeSoto (Texas) Independent School District. During his guidance, DeSoto made double-digit literacy gains and improved from having F ratings in areas of academics, finance, and governance to earning B ratings. He served as deputy commissioner at the Texas Education Agency. And he spearheaded reforms as board chair of Kansas City (Missouri) Public Schools (KCPS) that doubled the percentage of students who are literate and numerate and, eventually, led KCPS to full accreditation for the first time in decades. Crabill received the Education Commission of the States’ James Bryant Conant Award, which recognizes extraordinary individual contributions to education. He was a finalist for CGCS’s Green-Garner Award, recipient of the KC NAACP’s Lucile Bluford Special Achievement Award, and recipient of KCPS Education Foundation’s Loyalty to Scholars Award. Crabill is also the author of “Our Tools They Deserve: Why Adults Choose Retribution, How Students Can Practice Restoration” which explores the tools students need to be successful in school and beyond, and his planned 2026 release, “The 50% Journey: Why The Future Doesn’t Change, How You Can Rewrite The Future” which explores the tools leaders need to reclaim their agency. He has also authored several implementation-focused workbooks aligned with Great On Their Behalf.

His passion to improve student outcomes is rooted in his past: raised in and out of foster care, he bounced around enough to have attended eleven schools as a child. He attended urban, suburban, and rural schools; private, public, and parochial schools; lived with white families and families of color; lived in racist communities and inclusive communities; experienced loving homes and homelessness. Guided by the idea that student outcomes don’t change until adult behaviors change, and drawing on his intimate familiarity with the triumphs and terrors of America’s safety nets for children, he has devoted much of his adult life to advocating for the well-being of the United States’ most vulnerable youth.

A former tech startup entrepreneur and avid volunteer, when Crabill is not providing education leadership and coaching across the nation, he still enjoys coding, training high schoolers in student-led restorative practices, experimenting with flavorful/spicy recipes in his kitchen, serving as a CASA volunteer, and zooming around on his electric unicycle. Inspired by his parents, who fostered more than 80 children, Crabill has mentored dozens of young people, has helped raise seven young people, and will not be surprised when God sends another young person to his open door.

To learn more or to be notified when he posts, visit www.ajcrabill.com.

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