Jamie Roberts Woodson (born March 6, 1972), is the executive chairperson and chief executive officer of the State Collaborative on Reforming Education (SCORE), a Tennessee-based nonprofit and nonpartisan education research and advocacy organization. Previously she served as a state senator in the Tennessee General Assembly (2005–11) and was Speaker Pro Tem and Chairman of the Senate Education Committee. Earlier she served three two-year terms in the state House of Representatives (1999 to 2005).[1][2][3]

Jamie Woodson
Member of the Tennessee Senate
from the 6th district
In office
January 2005 – July 2, 2011
Preceded byBen Atchley
Succeeded bySue Atchley
Member of the Tennessee House of Representatives
from the 17th district
In office
January 1999 – January 2005
Preceded byWayne A. Ritchie
Succeeded byFrank S. Niceley
Personal details
Born (1972-03-06) March 6, 1972 (age 52)
Political partyRepublican
EducationUniversity of Tennessee (BA, JD)

Biography

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She attended the University of Tennessee (UT) in Knoxville and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree and a J.D. She was a member of Alpha Omicron Pi sorority while she was at UT. She was admitted to the Tennessee Bar and works as an attorney. Her first marriage was to Jeff Hagood, whose surname she used during the first several years of her political career.[4]

She won election to a two-year term in the Tennessee House of Representatives in 1998 as a Republican, representing the 17th State House District.[5][6] She won re-election in 2000 and 2002, serving in the 101st through 103rd General Assemblies.[7][8] In 2004 she was elected to a four-year term in the state senate.[9]

In the summer of 2005 she was married to Knoxville lawyer William (Bill) Woodson Jr., at the couple's farm "Horse Fly Farm." Upon her marriage, she assumed her new husband's last name. She has three stepchildren: Joseph, Elizabeth, and Caitlin.

Woodson represented the 6th district in the Tennessee Senate. The district at the time comprised the majority of Knox County. After her first term in the state senate, she was re-elected in 2008 to a second four-year term.[10] In January 2009 she was elected Speaker Pro-Tem for the 106th General Assembly (2009–2010).

During the 105th General Assembly (2007–2008) she served as the Secretary of the Senate Republican Caucus, as the chair of the Senate Education Committee, and as a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee and the Senate Transportation Committee. In 2007 she sponsored legislation that resulted in a major revision to Tennessee's K-12 education funding formula, creating Basic Education Program 2.0, often known as BEP 2.0.[11] She also helped lead efforts to improve education, including to identify and support effective teaching, raise academic standards for Tennessee students, turn around low-performing schools, and expand high-quality public charter schools in Tennessee.[12]

In April 2011 Woodson announced that she would resign her Senate seat after the 2011 session of the General Assembly. She then became the head of SCORE, an education reform organization started by former U.S. Senator Bill Frist. SCORE focuses on achieving three student achievement goals for Tennessee: being among the fastest-improving states and ranked in the top half of states in student achievement on the National Assessment of Educational Progress by 2020; closing student achievement gaps at every grade level and in all subject areas by income, race, geographic location, and student need; and preparing every Tennessee student to graduate ready for postsecondary education and the workforce.[13]

Woodson also serves on the Tennessee Fish & Wildlife Commission [14] and the boards of the Governor's Foundation for Health and Wellness,[15] Tennessee Business Roundtable,[16] and the Policy Innovators in Education (PIE) Network.[17]

References

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  1. ^ "Knox commission to pick temp replacement for Jamie Woodson when she leaves state Senate". Archived from the original on 2012-10-14. Retrieved 2023-09-24.
  2. ^ "Resignation letter" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-03-14. Retrieved 2023-09-24.
  3. ^ "State Sen. Jamie Woodson resigns to be CEO, president of SCORE". 2011-04-15. Archived from the original on 2012-06-22.
  4. ^ Jamie Hagood profile, archived website of the 102nd Tennessee General Assembly, accessed April 15, 2011
  5. ^ "Our Campaigns - TN State House 17 Race - Nov 03, 1998".
  6. ^ "Tennessee House Member, 101st Assembly".
  7. ^ "Our Campaigns - TN State House 17 Race - Nov 07, 2000".
  8. ^ "Our Campaigns - TN House 17 Race - Nov 05, 2002".
  9. ^ "Our Campaigns - TN State Senate 06 Race - Nov 02, 2004".
  10. ^ "Our Campaigns - TN Senate 06 Race - Nov 04, 2008".
  11. ^ Senator Jamie Woodson Archived 2009-04-29 at the Wayback Machine, campaign website, accessed November 4, 2008
  12. ^ "Jamie Woodson – SCORE". tnscore.org. 31 August 2017.
  13. ^ "About SCORE – SCORE". tnscore.org.
  14. ^ "TFWC Commissioners - TN.Gov". www.tn.gov.
  15. ^ "About - Healthier Tennessee". healthiertn.com.
  16. ^ "TBR Board". 28 March 2012.
  17. ^ "PIE network | Board of Directors". Archived from the original on 2016-08-26. Retrieved 2016-08-15.
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