Rod Paige, a former Houston ISD superintendent and U.S. Secretary of Education, passed away on Tuesday morning at the age of 92. He was a trailblazer in the field of education, serving as the first Black secretary of education and the first school superintendent to hold the role.<\/p>\n
Paige was born on June 17, 1933, in segregated Monticello, Mississippi. He earned his bachelor’s degree from Jackson State University and his master’s and doctorate from Indiana University. His educational background laid the foundation for his future career in education.<\/p>\n
Paige served as the dean of the College of Education at Texas Southern University in Houston until 1994. He was sworn in as a trustee and officer of the HISD Board of Education in 1990, eventually becoming the superintendent of HISD, one of the largest school districts in the country. In 2001, President George W. Bush appointed Paige to serve as the seventh secretary of education.<\/p>\n
During his tenure as secretary of education, Paige worked on the passage and implementation of the landmark No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. This education reform policy aimed to develop education standards for public schools to benefit all students. His efforts had a lasting impact on the education system, and his legacy continues to inspire educators and leaders.<\/p>\n
After leaving the federal government, Paige returned to Jackson State University as interim president from 2016 to 2017. He served as an honorary board member of the Greater Houston Partnership until his death. The family announced that details of a memorial service will be shared in the coming days.<\/p>\n
Former President George W. Bush expressed his condolences, stating, "Laura and I are saddened by the passing of former Secretary of Education Rod Paige. Rod was a leader and a friend. Unsatisfied with the status quo, he challenged what we called \u2018the soft bigotry of low expectations.\u2019" Houston Mayor John Whitmire and Harris County Commissioner Rodney Ellis also shared statements, praising Paige’s dedication to education and his legacy.<\/p>\n
Rod Paige’s passing marks the end of an era, but his legacy will continue to inspire future generations. His commitment to education and his tireless efforts to improve the education system have left a lasting impact. As the education community and beyond mourn his loss, they also celebrate his life and achievements, remembering him as a true champion of education and a devoted public servant.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Introduction to Rod Paige Rod Paige, a former Houston ISD superintendent and U.S. Secretary of Education, passed away on Tuesday morning at the age of 92. He was a trailblazer in the field of education, serving as the first Black secretary of education and the first school superintendent to hold the role. Early Life and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":11576,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rank_math_lock_modified_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-11574","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-news"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/cdn.houstonpublicmedia.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/09162001\/AP04111506821-1500x1124.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/houston\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11574"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/houston\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/houston\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/houston\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/houston\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11574"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/houston\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11574\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11577,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/houston\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11574\/revisions\/11577"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/houston\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11576"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/houston\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11574"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/houston\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11574"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/houston\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11574"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}