Craig Williams Elementary School
6144 Clark Ave.
Lakewood, CA 90712
562-804-6540

Keisha Sawyer, Principal

Craig Williams Elementary School in Lakewood is a California Distinguished School and a Title I Academic Achievement Award Winner School. The mission of the school is to nurture the intellectual, physical, and emotional capacities of each student.  Using state standards as a goal, we empower students to meet their full potential and inspire them to pursue higher education.  We foster positive character traits and encourage them to be productive citizens, lifelong learners and to contribute positively to the community and global society.

"A long time ago, in a faraway land, a brave soldier gave his life, for us he did sacrifice…" begins the school song for Craig Williams School, which reopened in 1987, with a new name and identity.  The BUSD Board of Education selected Craig, a local boy who gave his life in the Vietnam conflict in 1969, to be the school's namesake.  The school was opened with appropriate military fanfare, with Craig's proud family attending, as the first school in America to be named after a Vietnam veteran. The heroic act of attempting to save a wounded comrade has lived on in the hearts and minds of each student who attends our school.

Craig Williams School is situated with one foot in Lakewood, and one foot in Bellflower.  Our families reside in small single family bungalows and multiple family dwellings.  Our 780 Kindergarten through sixth grade students represent a variety of ethnicities.   Our highly qualified staff has opened their arms and hearts to our district's mission, "We Build Futures One Child at a Time," and have built a culture of caring, inclusiveness, and high standards enabling our API to grow from 555 to 782 in five years with a Similar Schools Ranking of 10 out of 10.  We have recently been recognized as a California Distinguished School and a Title I Academic Achievement Award School.

We offer a standards based education to all students and make every effort to push all our students to their highest potential.  We offer GATE/High Potential students classes such as Algebra Club and Debate. For intervention, we have a Resource Teacher, Speech teacher, Title I teacher, and numerous instructional aides to serve the children. We provide small group instruction as well as computer based tutoring during the school day.  After school, students have many choices including Project Apple, a free after school program offering homework help, recreation, and enrichment such as Music (Guitar, keyboard, and percussion), Drama, and Science.  We also offer Homework Club, math and reading tutoring, and programs to support students who are learning English.

Parents are involved in many ways.  They serve in leadership roles, volunteer in the classroom and office, and plan programs to support the children.  Friday Folders, ongoing conferences, Planners, and newsletters help us keep in touch.

Although we work hard, we also celebrate and have fun together.  Our Peace Building students run hard in the Turkey Trot, dress up for our Father/Daughter Dance, and wave their flags proudly at our Veteran's Day Program, as community veterans are recognized. We help each other too, whether it be adopting a family for the holidays or tutoring students in the primary grades.  When students were asked, “What makes Craig Williams great?" a student responded, " in our school we learn and have fun doing it."