Russell Cranford graduated from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock with a Bachelor of Mathematics. He has a Masters of Education degree specialized in Administration from Texas Wesleyan University. He is currently a Dean's Scholar at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley where he is seeking his Masters of Mathematics degree specializing in statistics. He hails from his home state of Arkansas, and is a proud graduate of Little Rock Central High School.

Before teaching at YWLA, Mr. Cranford taught at Eastern Hills High School for eight years and served as department chair of mathematics for five of those years. While he has taught nearly every math course offered in high school, he specializes in Honors Geometry, AP Statistics, and AP Calculus. Before teaching in the Fort Worth Independent School District, Mr. Cranford taught as an Assistant Language Teacher in Japan's Chiba, Kanagawa, Tokyo and Ibaraki Prefectures.

Mr. Cranford has been married to his wife of 12 years, and they have 3 children: William, Celia, and Lewis.

Other stuff: Mr. Cranford has several hobbies. He plays the bagpipes (only a few tunes), practices kendo (a type of Japanese sword fencing), loves building computers and 3D printers, reading mathematics journals, and playing disc golf.