LETTER: PDE Action Endorses Paul Craft for Director of the Department of War Education Activity (DoWEA)

March 3, 2026

Chairman Tommy Tuberville
Ranking Member Elizabeth Warren
Senate Committee on Armed Services, Subcommittee for Personnel
Russell Senate Building, Rm 228
Washington, DC 20510

Chairman Pat Fallon
Ranking Member Chrissy Houlahan
House Committee on Armed Services, Subcommittee for Military Personnel
2216 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515

Dear Chairman Tuberville, Ranking Member Warren, Chairman Fallon, and Ranking Member Houlahan,

As the executive director of PDE Action – a nonprofit social welfare organization created to advocate for parental rights at the local, state, and federal level – I wish to convey our organization’s support for Mr. Paul Craft as the Director of the Department of War Education Activity (DoWEA) under President Donald J. Trump. Mr. Craft is a highly qualified appointee with decades of experience in education at both the state and local level and has also served our nation honorably in both the US Marine Corps Reserves and as a commissioned officer in the Ohio Army National Guard.

Mr. Craft understands the unique challenges of running a diverse education system at scale, having most recently served as the Superintendent of Public Instruction for Ohio. Over the course of his career, he has taken on many roles, including that of teacher, coach, building administrator, and local superintendent; accordingly, he understands better than most the unique challenges that each position entails, and the opportunities for success at every level. We have the utmost confidence that he will leverage this understanding to ensure that the education system serving the loved ones of our nation’s warfighters will provide the excellence which these children deserve.

As an organization that advocates on behalf of parents’ concerns and the quality of education, we write to communicate our strong support for this appointment at a time when military families face tremendous stress, worry, and uncertainty. Our country owes our warriors and their families a debt of gratitude – and one of the many ways to repay this is through providing a high-quality, bias-free education that gives students the opportunity to thrive, no matter where a family may be stationed.

DOWEA is often cited as a shining example of our nation’s education system; sadly, however, the reality on the ground for many families is quite different.

As a recent report from Open the Books highlights, schools are regularly plagued with teacher shortages. In addition, DOWEA’s own College and Career Ready Standards (CCRS) Interim and Summative Assessments “shows widely varying results for 160 schools … Some schools show 0% of students exceeding or meeting expectations for various grade levels or subjects; while others post high percentages of students exceeding or meeting expectations.”¹

Curriculum, too, has been an area of concern; from books disparaging 9/11 first responders² through to graphic sexual lessons for children at very young ages,³ issues in DOWEA schools mirror those in America’s public schools. Unfortunately, however, military families are particularly chilled from expressing these worries publicly, having real – and valid – fears that voicing such dissent would impede their loved ones’ careers.

Scandals plagued DOWEA leadership under the previous administration; for example, the agency’s former chief diversity, equity and inclusion officer posted disparagingly about “white folx” in social media posts, raising questions about her fitness for the position,⁴ while another administrator was arrested in a human trafficking sting in 2023.⁵

There is much to clean up in DOWEA schools to provide our servicemembers’ children with the education they deserve. We have the utmost confidence that the experience and wisdom that Mr. Craft will bring to DOWEA will benefit our military – and our country.

Sincerely,

Nicole Neily
Executive Director
PDE Action

1 Open the Books, “No Voice, No Choice: DODEA,” February 2026 (pages 44-46).
https://www.openthebooks.com/assets/1/6/NoVoiceNoChoice_DODEA.pdf
2 Alec Schemmel, “Book calling 9/11 first responders ‘menaces’ promoted by military K-12 diversity chief,” The National Desk, October 17, 2022. https://thenationaldesk.com/news/americas-news-now/books-describing-911-first-responders-as-menaces-promoted-by-dept-of-defenses-inclusion-chief-kelisa-wing-dodea-dod-education
3 Ryan P. Williams & Scott Yenor, “Grooming Future Revolutionaries,” the Claremont Institute, June 2023.
https://dc.claremont.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Grooming-Future-Revolutionaries_Final.pdf
4 Patrick Reilly, “‘Woke’ Department of Defense equity chief Kelisa Wing has history of anti-white Twitter posts: report,” New York Post, September 14, 2022. https://nypost.com/2022/09/13/dod-equity-chief-kelisa-wing-has-history-of-ant-white-posts/
5 Micaela Burrow, “Pentagon Official At Office Overseeing Elementary Schools Arrested In Human Trafficking Sting,” Daily Caller, November 21, 2023. https://dailycaller.com/2023/11/21/top-pentagon-school-administrator-arrested-human-trafficking-sting/