The Pentagon late Friday announced Paul Craft, a retired National Guard colonel and former Ohio Superintendent of Public Instruction, as the new DODEA director. (Ohio State Board of Education)
A new director with a background in public education and prior military service will lead Defense Department schools starting next month as part of an abrupt leadership change announced Friday night that could signal a shift in instructional focus for the students of military families serving around the world.
Paul Craft will succeed Beth Schiavino-Narvaez as the Department of Defense Education Activity civilian boss starting March 9, the Pentagon said in a statement.
Craft is a retired colonel with the Ohio Army National Guard. During his 31 years of military service, he worked as a school administrator, physics teacher and coach, the Pentagon said. He most recently served as Ohio Superintendent of Public Instruction.
No reason was given for Schiavino-Narvaez’s departure.
But Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth called Craft “the right leader to swiftly reorient (DODEA) towards patriotic values and classical learning, consistent with the Department’s focus on merit, standards, and excellence,” according to the Pentagon statement.
Hegseth is the co-author of the New York Times bestselling book, “Battle for the American Mind: Uprooting a Century of Miseducation.” In it, he called for “a renaissance of classical education, which teaches students the best of what has been thought and said and inculcates a clear vision of human virtue,” according to the American Enterprise Institute, a prominent, Washington, D.C.-based conservative think tank.
Going forward, the Pentagon is “focused on embracing the fundamentals of excellence in education,” which includes “parental transparency, high expectations for students, superb teachers, and rigorous curriculum,” the agency statement said.
Craft will oversee the more than 67,000 children of U.S. service members and DOD civilians attending 161 schools in Europe, Asia and the United States in grades pre-K to 12.
“When our warriors sign up to serve, we commit to taking care of them and their families,” Hegeseth said in the Pentagon statement. “Paul is going to guide the K-12 transformation required to deliver on this promise, providing our military-connected children with the best possible education and opportunities.”
Schiavino-Narvaez’s last day is March 6. She served as the DODEA director for less than two years and with the agency for a total of nine years.
“On behalf of the Department, I want to thank Beth for her many years of dedicated service to (DODEA),” Defense Under Secretary for Personnel and Readiness Anthony J. Tata said in the Pentagon statement. “We appreciate her contributions to the organization, as well as her support facilitating a seamless transition.”
Schiavino-Narvaez told her staff she was leaving in an email hours before the Pentagon issued its statement.
“I want to express my deepest and most sincere gratitude to the entire DoDEA community,” Schiavino-Narvaez said in the email, which was shared with Stars and Stripes.
“While the timing of my departure brings a sense of reflection, I want to pause and thank you for your trust, collaboration, and unwavering commitment to our shared purpose,” she added, in part. “It has been the honor of a lifetime to serve alongside you, to be part of the DoDEA team and to serve our military connected students and families.”
Friday’s announcement about the leadership change took at least one of DODEA’s teachers’ union by surprise.
“Our surprise stems in part from the manner of the announcement, which did not come directly from DoDEA to the DoDEA community and its unions,” the Overseas Federation of Teachers said in a statement Saturday morning.
The union represents educators in DODEA’s Europe South District, which includes schools at U.S. military bases in Italy, Spain, Bahrain and Turkey.
“A leadership change of this magnitude would typically include formal communication and advance notice,” the union statement said. “There was no prior notification, no indication of a candidate search process, and no signal that such a transition was imminent — aside from broader speculation related to recent leadership changes within the Department of Defense affecting both military and civilian roles.”
The union also questioned the rationale for the change “at a time when our schools are part of the one of the highest-performing school districts in the nation,” its statement said.
DODEA in recent years has consistently ranked first in the nation in the federal government’s biennial math and reading tests. In the latest results, released in early 2025, DODEA fourth and eighth graders not only outpaced their stateside peers in the National Assessment of Educational Progress, but bucked a trend of declining national performance seen since the pandemic.
Assessment results and feedback from stakeholders “do not suggest an urgent need in leadership direction,” the union said in its statement.
As the Ohio Superintendent of Public Instruction, Craft was responsible for the licensure of more than 350,000 individuals, ensuring 1.6 million students across the state “engaged with well-qualified educators displaying strong character and sound judgment,” the Pentagon said.
He announced his resignation from the position late last month, according to a Jan. 23 report on Cleveland.com, the largest news website in Ohio.
Craft has held numerous executive roles in the public and private sectors, including as superintendent of Buckeye Valley Local Schools and Delaware City Schools, both in Ohio, and as the CEO of META Solutions Ohio’s largest educational informational technology services provider, according to the Pentagon. He earned master’s degrees in educational leadership and strategic studies from The Ohio State University and U.S. Army War College, respectively.
svan.jennifer@stripes.com @stripesktown