The Rowan-Salisbury Board of Education approved Superintendent Dr. Lynn Moody’s recommendation to hire Benjamin Crawford as China Grove Middle School’s new principal.

Crawford’s start date is still negotiable, Moody said, but added that he plans to start in a few weeks after he can leave his current school in a good position. He will earn $69,400 – a figure determined by his experience, the size and grade level of China Grove Middle and local supplements.

Initially from New York, Crawford began his career not too far away, at A.L. Brown High School in Kannapolis, where he taught English and served as the Advanced Placement coordinator from 2002 to 2005.

After three years at A.L. Brown, he took a job as the director of guidance and student services at Independence High School in Charlotte.

After a one-year stint at John Taylor Williams Middle School in Charlotte as a principal fellow, Crawford took a job as a graduation coach at Vance High School in Charlotte from 2010-2012.

He spent three months as the dean of students at Bailey Middle School in Cornelius, when he took an assistant principal position at Mallard Creek High School in Charlotte. He worked at Mallard Creek from March 2012 until the end of July, when he was moved to North Mecklenburg High School.

Crawford double majored in English and history at the University of Scranton in Scranton, Pennsylvania. He graduated in 1998.

Three years later, he received his master’s degree in school counseling, also from the University of Scranton. In 2001, Crawford earned an add-on certificate in professional counseling from the college in 2006 as well.

Crawford graduated from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte with a master’s degree in 2010. He completed his degree through the North Carolina Principal Fellows Program. During the fellowship, Crawford worked at John Taylor Williams Middle School.

Crawford has been married to his wife, Donna, for 13 years, and they have three children: Madelyn, 12; Casey, 10, and Abigail, 3.