Former U.S. Education Secretary Rod Paige, who helped launch the No Child Left Behind Act in 2002, died Tuesday morning, according to his family. Paige was 92.
The controversial education policy that largely defined former President George W. Bush’s administration under Paige’s leadership scaled up the federal government’s role in holding schools accountable for students’ test scores. A version of the initiative was first modeled in Texas when Bush was governor.
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Paige also had strong ties to Texas.
The Mississippi native served as Houston Independent School District superintendent from 1994 to 2001 after spending five years as a school board member, earning a reputation for “innovative reforms,” according to Education Week.
Paige, who was sworn into Houston ISD’s school board in 1990, supported sweeping changes, such as expanded charter school programing, and introduced teacher incentive pay, which led to rising student test scores, according to the Houston Chronicle. Paige’s changes were collectively coined the “Houston Miracle.”
“His legacy of leadership, commitment to education, and belief in the potential of every child continues to inspire educators and leaders across generations,” Houston ISD said in a statement to the Houston Chronicle.
Paige also was dean of the College of Education at Texas Southern University for a decade and head football coach and athletic director for four years starting in 1971.
A strong advocate for student education, Paige believed that the country’s education system, especially Houston ISD, is in need of reform. In an editorial for the Houston Chronicle published last year, Paige said the Texas Education Agency’s takeover of Houston ISD should be seen as a “playbook for urban school transformation.”
“Our school systems are in dire need of a fundamental overhaul, not just piecemeal tweaks,” Paige wrote. “We need more districts willing to reimagine what’s possible, as HISD is doing on a scale never before seen in this country.”
When Paige was appointed by Bush to serve as the seventh U.S. secretary of education, he became the first Black person to hold that position.
Bush, in a statement Tuesday, said Paige “challenged what we called ‘the soft bigotry of low expectations.’”
“Rod worked hard to make sure that where a child was born didn’t determine whether they could succeed in school and beyond,” he continued.
News of Paige’s death drew tributes from across Texas.
Houston Mayor John Whitmire, who was a state senator when Paige led Houston ISD, on X called him a “respected education and a dear friend” who “transformed lives and opened the doors of opportunity for countless children.”
Harris County Commissioner Rodney Ellis called him a “trailblazing educator, proud Houstonian, and devoted public servant” on X.
In addition to his wife, Stephanie Nellons-Paige, and their two children, much of Paige’s footprints on the country’s education system survive him. Paige created TSU’s Center for Excellence in Urban Education, which focuses on researching urban school system’s operations.
“His contributions to Texas Southern University were numerous and significant,” the university said in a statement to the Houston Chronicle. “His legacy at Texas Southern is enduring.”
Paige was dedicated to understanding and improving the country’s education system long after his education career ended, and was focused on the state’s takeover of Houston ISD.
“Not everything Houston tries will work, of course, and missteps and backlash are inevitable. But in education, the greater risk is not trying something drastically different,” Paige wrote in 2024.