Construction of Crawford Elementary started in 1996 and was finished for the opening of school in August 1997.  This state-of-the-art 65,000 square foot building received the 1999 USAF Award for Design Excellence.

Crawford Elementary is named after Robert McArthur Crawford, who lived much of his life in Fairbanks.  Robert was known as "The Flying Baritone" because of his fine singing voice and his love of flying.  He composed the Official U.S. Air Force song, "The US Air Force", better known by the first line of lyrics ("Off We Go, Into the Wild Blue Yonder").

Crawford has been named a 2014 National Blue Ribbon School by the U.S. Department of Education.

U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan recognized 337 schools as National Blue Ribbon Schools for 2014 based on their overall academic excellence or their progress in closing achievement gaps among student subgroups.

“We’re delighted Crawford earned this honor,” said Superintendent Dr. Karen Gaborik. “The administrator and educators at Crawford worked diligently to reach every student and we're proud they’re receiving recognition on a national level."

Crawford Elementary is listed among the Exemplary High Performing Schools of the National Blue Ribbon School recipients. With 169,000 schools across the United States, its territories and DODEA schools, Crawford ranks in the top quarter of 1% of schools.