Bill Craft is a guidance counselor at Wellesley Middle School and was the Wellesley METCO elementary coordinator for six years. Bill also worked in the Lincoln Public Schools for eleven years, first as an elementary and middle school special education tutor and later as the METCO academic advisor. Bill is an elementary and middle school educator committed to emphasizing the value of supporting the social and emotional well being of children, the exploration of cultural identity and of the shared components of backgrounds, the celebration of differences in backgrounds, and the creation of sustainable, successful academic programming and support. Equally important to Bill are the many components of a healthy, nurturing community and the notion that high academic achievement is realized through a focus on these elements of the educational experience of children.