From Student to Teacher, Alexis Barton Finds Her Home in Crandall

Alexis Barton’s life has come full circle.

The wife and mother of two is a teacher at Walker Elementary, the same school where she was a student when the campus opened in 2009.

“I remember the smell,” said Barton, laughing. “I remember the smell of the school. It was very fresh and new, it smelled a little bit like paint.”

She spent two years there in fifth and sixth grade, then continued her education in Crandall ISD through her graduation from Crandall High School.

After college at Texas A&M-Commerce, it was time to find a teaching job, and Barton applied to one school district only: Crandall ISD. “I interviewed with (former principal) Miss Reed and (assistant principal) Miss McCullar, and I was just so grateful when I got the call that they wanted to hire me,” said Alexis.

Barton (formerly Alexis Crane) married her high school sweetheart Matthew Barton, who also graduated from Crandall HS and returned there to teach AP Human Geography. Their son is a first grader at Walker, and their daughter will be a pre-K student there next year. Barton’s parents still live right behind the Walker campus, so while her world has stayed small, she has everything she needs.

“Crandall is definitely home,” said Barton. “It’s where my family, my parents, my husband’s parents – it’s where everybody is from. We want to stay real close to everybody.”

Barton teaches third grade math and science, and fully expects to teach her own children before eventually watching them take the same educational path that she and her husband took.

“Crandall itself is a home, is a family, is a community,” Barton said. “You get that feeling every time you go to a football game and every time you go to the Cotton Gin.

“I feel so lucky, all the time. I’m so grateful to be here.”