Trump picks former Mansfield band director for post

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump has appointed Arkansas native James Lynn Woodworth to lead the National Center for Education Statistics.

Based in Washington, D.C., the center describes itself as “the primary federal entity for collecting and analyzing data related to education in the U.S. and other nations.” It “fulfills a Congressional mandate to collect, collate, analyze, and report complete statistics on the condition of American education; conduct and publish reports; and review and report on education activities internationally.”

The White House announced the appointment Thursday evening.

Woodworth, originally from Harrison, has numerous Arkansas ties.

He earned a bachelor of arts in music education and a graduate degree in educational leadership from Arkansas Tech University in Russellville. He subsequently earned a doctorate in education policy from the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville.

Before his time in Fayetteville, he was band director for 11 years in the Mansfield School District.

Woodworth left the state to take a job in 2012 at the Center for Research on Educational Outcomes, part of Stanford University’s Hoover Institution.

While there, he worked as a quantitative research analyst.

Woodworth also has a gift for languages. While serving in the Marine Corps, he worked as an Arabic cryptologic linguist.

Former colleagues on Friday welcomed news of Woodworth’s appointment.

“I know he has the ability to just shine in that position. He was always interested in educational policy and government,” said Tina Smith, federal programs coordinator in the Mansfield School District and the former high school principal.

Woodworth taught music to junior high and high school students in the small Sebastian County community. He even volunteered to teach music at the elementary school, if Smith remembers correctly.

He was a “very, very intelligent man, great band director, loved kids. Just a very, very good person,” Smith said. “He’s remembered fondly here.”

Professor Jay Greene, head of the Department of Education Reform at the University of Arkansas, was also pleased by Woodworth’s success.

“He’s had an impressive trajectory,” Greene said. “This is one of the most prestigious positions for an education researcher in the U.S. Department of Education.”

Woodworth, whose dissertation focused on school funding, is “extremely smart and very hard-working,” Greene said. “He has the self-discipline of a Marine and the passion for education of an experienced teacher. That has helped him be very successful.”