Rod Paige
Encyclopedia
Roderick Raynor "Rod" Paige (born June 17, 1933) served as the 7th United States Secretary of Education
from 2001 to 2005. Paige, who grew up in Mississippi
, built a career on a belief that education
equalizes opportunity, moving from classroom teacher to college
dean
and school superintendent
to be the first African American to serve as the nation's education chief.
Paige was sitting with George W. Bush
at the Emma E. Booker Elementary School
in Sarasota, Florida
, when Bush received the news that a second plane had hit the World Trade Center
in the September 11, 2001 attacks
.
On November 15, 2004, Paige announced his resignation after overseeing the President's education agenda for four years. White House
domestic policy adviser Margaret Spellings
was nominated as his successor. The U.S. Senate confirmed her on January 20, 2005 after Bush's inauguration for a second term.
, Paige is the son of public school educators. He earned a bachelor's degree
from Jackson State University
in Jackson, Mississippi
and a Master's degree
and a Doctor
of Physical Education
degree from Indiana University Bloomington
. He also holds an honorary doctoral degree from the University of Houston
, which was presented to him in 2000.
, compiling a record of 25 wins, 19 losses and 2 ties. From 1971 to 1975, Paige served as head football coach at Texas Southern University
, and served as the university's athletic director from 1971 to 1980.
Paige first moved to Houston in the 1970s and settled in the Brentwood
subdivision. He spearheaded a move to excise a dump
from the edge of the community. The Texas Supreme Court
eventually sided with the residents.
Dr. Paige was a teacher at Texas Southern University from 1980 to 1984 and became the Dean of the College of Education in 1984, where he served until 1994. Dr. Paige also established the university's Center for Excellence in Urban Education, a research
facility that concentrates on issues related to instruction and management in urban school systems.
As a trustee and an officer of the Board of Education of the Houston Independent School District
(HISD) from 1989 to 1994, Paige coauthored the board's 'A Declaration of Beliefs and Visions', a statement of purpose and goals for the school district that called for fundamental reform through decentralization, a focus on instruction, accountability at all levels, and development of a core curriculum
. A Declaration of Beliefs and Visions was the catalyst that launched the ongoing, comprehensive restructuring of HISD. As an HISD trustee, Dr. Paige led the board to launch a municipal-style, accredited police department at HISD with police officers certified by the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement Officers Standards and Education. Dr. Paige’s board of education launched that effort to provide better school safety, and the HISD police department remains the only school district police department in the country to earn accreditation from the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies.
Paige became the superintendent of schools of HISD in 1994. As superintendent, Paige created the Peer Examination, Evaluation, and Redesign (PEER) program, which solicits recommendations from business and community professionals for strengthening school support services and programs. He launched a system of charter school
s that have broad authority in decisions regarding staffing, textbooks, and materials. He saw to it that HISD paid teachers salaries competitive with those offered by other large Texas school districts. Superintendent Paige made HISD the first school district in the state to institute performance contracts modeled on those in the private sector, whereby senior staff members' continued employment with HISD is based on their performance. He also introduced teacher incentive pay, which rewards teachers for raising test scores.
While he was superintendent, Dr. Paige led the district to enter into contracts with private schools to use them to teach some HISD students rather than placing those students into overcrowded public schools. Under Dr. Paige's leadership, HISD contracted with three private schools that were certified by the Texas Education Agency to teach HISD students so their parents didn’t have to bus them to schools across the city.
Many touted the "Houston Miracle" accomplished under Paige where student test scores rose under his leadership. A 60 Minutes
report, however, exposed deliberate fraud at one Houston high school. Dropout rates were falsified at Sharpstown High School, and Houston area teachers admitted to raising test scores (for which they received cash bonuses) by cheating.
Dr. Paige served as the United States Secretary of Education from 2001 to 2005 under President George W. Bush. The landmark No Child Left Behind education law that set new accountability standards nationwide was developed with Secretary Paige’s help and passed the Congress with his support, and it was Secretary Paige’s Department of Education that implemented the law. The Bush White House’s development of the principles of No Child Left Behind drew in part on the successes of the Houston Independent School District under Dr. Paige’s leadership. As Secretary, he traveled around the country working with school district leaders and states to implement the law.
Under Secretary Paige, the department earned “clean” audits from Ernst and Young for three consecutive years. Prior to 2001, the Education Department had achieved only one clean audit in its history, and that audit was by the Department's Office of Inspector General.
Secretary Paige proposed successful amendments to the regulations implementing Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 to provide more flexibility for educators to establish single-sex classes and schools at the elementary and secondary levels.
Paige once referred to the National Education Association
, the nation's largest teachers union, as a "terrorist organization."
and the State Board of Education's Task Force on High School Education, and he has chaired the Youth Employment Issues Subcommittee of the National Commission for Employment Policy of the U.S. Department of Labor. Paige is a member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
. He is a former member of the Houston Job Training Partnership Council, the Community Advisory Board of Texas Commerce Bank, the American Leadership Forum, and the board of directors of the Texas Business and Education Coalition. He is a member of Phi Beta Sigma
fraternity.
United States Secretary of Education
The United States Secretary of Education is the head of the Department of Education. The Secretary is a member of the President's Cabinet, and 16th in line of United States presidential line of succession...
from 2001 to 2005. Paige, who grew up in Mississippi
Mississippi
Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
, built a career on a belief that education
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
equalizes opportunity, moving from classroom teacher to college
College
A college is an educational institution or a constituent part of an educational institution. Usage varies in English-speaking nations...
dean
Dean (education)
In academic administration, a dean is a person with significant authority over a specific academic unit, or over a specific area of concern, or both...
and school superintendent
Superintendent (education)
In education in the United States, a superintendent is an individual who has executive oversight and administration rights, usually within an educational entity or organization....
to be the first African American to serve as the nation's education chief.
Paige was sitting with George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
at the Emma E. Booker Elementary School
Emma E. Booker Elementary School
Emma E. Booker Elementary School is an elementary school in Sarasota, Florida which opened in the fall of 1989. It is named for Emma E. Booker, an African-American educator who founded the first black school in Sarasota County, Florida....
in Sarasota, Florida
Sarasota, Florida
Sarasota is a city located in Sarasota County on the southwestern coast of the U.S. state of Florida. It is south of the Tampa Bay Area and north of Fort Myers...
, when Bush received the news that a second plane had hit the World Trade Center
World Trade Center
The original World Trade Center was a complex with seven buildings featuring landmark twin towers in Lower Manhattan, New York City, United States. The complex opened on April 4, 1973, and was destroyed in 2001 during the September 11 attacks. The site is currently being rebuilt with five new...
in the September 11, 2001 attacks
September 11, 2001 attacks
The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks (also referred to as September 11, September 11th or 9/119/11 is pronounced "nine eleven". The slash is not part of the pronunciation...
.
On November 15, 2004, Paige announced his resignation after overseeing the President's education agenda for four years. White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
domestic policy adviser Margaret Spellings
Margaret Spellings
Margaret Spellings was the Secretary of Education from 2005-2009 under the administration of U.S. President George W. Bush and previously served as White House Domestic Policy Adviser to President George W. Bush....
was nominated as his successor. The U.S. Senate confirmed her on January 20, 2005 after Bush's inauguration for a second term.
Early life
Born in Monticello, MississippiMonticello, Mississippi
Monticello is a town in Lawrence County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 1,726 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Lawrence County.-Geography:Monticello is located at ....
, Paige is the son of public school educators. He earned a bachelor's degree
Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
from Jackson State University
Jackson State University
Jackson State University is a historically black university founded in 1877 in Natchez, MS by the American Baptist Home Mission Society of New York. The Society moved the school to Jackson in 1882, renaming it Jackson College, and developed its present campus in 1902. It became a state supported...
in Jackson, Mississippi
Jackson, Mississippi
Jackson is the capital and the most populous city of the US state of Mississippi. It is one of two county seats of Hinds County ,. The population of the city declined from 184,256 at the 2000 census to 173,514 at the 2010 census...
and a Master's degree
Master's degree
A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
and a Doctor
Doctor (title)
Doctor, as a title, originates from the Latin word of the same spelling and meaning. The word is originally an agentive noun of the Latin verb docēre . It has been used as an honored academic title for over a millennium in Europe, where it dates back to the rise of the university. This use spread...
of Physical Education
Physical education
Physical education or gymnastics is a course taken during primary and secondary education that encourages psychomotor learning in a play or movement exploration setting....
degree from Indiana University Bloomington
Indiana University Bloomington
Indiana University Bloomington is a public research university located in Bloomington, Indiana, in the United States. IU Bloomington is the flagship campus of the Indiana University system. Being the flagship campus, IU Bloomington is often referred to simply as IU or Indiana...
. He also holds an honorary doctoral degree from the University of Houston
University of Houston
The University of Houston is a state research university, and is the flagship institution of the University of Houston System. Founded in 1927, it is Texas's third-largest university with nearly 40,000 students. Its campus spans 667 acres in southeast Houston, and was known as University of...
, which was presented to him in 2000.
Career
Dr. Paige served in the United States Navy from 1955 to 1957. Dr. Paige then taught health and physical education and coached at Hinds Agricultural High School and what is now Utica Junior College (located on the same campus) in Utica, MIssissippi from 1957 to 1963. From 1964 to 1968, Paige served as head football coach at Jackson State UniversityJackson State University
Jackson State University is a historically black university founded in 1877 in Natchez, MS by the American Baptist Home Mission Society of New York. The Society moved the school to Jackson in 1882, renaming it Jackson College, and developed its present campus in 1902. It became a state supported...
, compiling a record of 25 wins, 19 losses and 2 ties. From 1971 to 1975, Paige served as head football coach at Texas Southern University
Texas Southern University
Texas Southern University is a historically black university located in Houston, Texas, United States....
, and served as the university's athletic director from 1971 to 1980.
Paige first moved to Houston in the 1970s and settled in the Brentwood
Brentwood, Houston
Brentwood is a residential subdivision in the Hiram Clarke community, in Southwest Houston, Texas. Jennifer Frey of The Washington Post said in 2001 that Brentwood was "a medium-size, lower-middle class neighborhood[...]"-History:...
subdivision. He spearheaded a move to excise a dump
Landfill
A landfill site , is a site for the disposal of waste materials by burial and is the oldest form of waste treatment...
from the edge of the community. The Texas Supreme Court
Texas Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of Texas is the court of last resort for non-criminal matters in the state of Texas. A different court, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, is the court of last resort for criminal matters.The Court is composed of a Chief Justice and eight Associate Justices...
eventually sided with the residents.
Dr. Paige was a teacher at Texas Southern University from 1980 to 1984 and became the Dean of the College of Education in 1984, where he served until 1994. Dr. Paige also established the university's Center for Excellence in Urban Education, a research
Research
Research can be defined as the scientific search for knowledge, or as any systematic investigation, to establish novel facts, solve new or existing problems, prove new ideas, or develop new theories, usually using a scientific method...
facility that concentrates on issues related to instruction and management in urban school systems.
As a trustee and an officer of the Board of Education of the Houston Independent School District
Houston Independent School District
The Houston Independent School District is the largest public school system in Texas and the seventh-largest in the United States. Houston ISD serves as a community school district for most of the city of Houston and several nearby and insular municipalities...
(HISD) from 1989 to 1994, Paige coauthored the board's 'A Declaration of Beliefs and Visions', a statement of purpose and goals for the school district that called for fundamental reform through decentralization, a focus on instruction, accountability at all levels, and development of a core curriculum
Curriculum
See also Syllabus.In formal education, a curriculum is the set of courses, and their content, offered at a school or university. As an idea, curriculum stems from the Latin word for race course, referring to the course of deeds and experiences through which children grow to become mature adults...
. A Declaration of Beliefs and Visions was the catalyst that launched the ongoing, comprehensive restructuring of HISD. As an HISD trustee, Dr. Paige led the board to launch a municipal-style, accredited police department at HISD with police officers certified by the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement Officers Standards and Education. Dr. Paige’s board of education launched that effort to provide better school safety, and the HISD police department remains the only school district police department in the country to earn accreditation from the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies.
Paige became the superintendent of schools of HISD in 1994. As superintendent, Paige created the Peer Examination, Evaluation, and Redesign (PEER) program, which solicits recommendations from business and community professionals for strengthening school support services and programs. He launched a system of charter school
Charter school
Charter schools are primary or secondary schools that receive public money but are not subject to some of the rules, regulations, and statutes that apply to other public schools in exchange for some type of accountability for producing certain results, which are set forth in each school's charter...
s that have broad authority in decisions regarding staffing, textbooks, and materials. He saw to it that HISD paid teachers salaries competitive with those offered by other large Texas school districts. Superintendent Paige made HISD the first school district in the state to institute performance contracts modeled on those in the private sector, whereby senior staff members' continued employment with HISD is based on their performance. He also introduced teacher incentive pay, which rewards teachers for raising test scores.
While he was superintendent, Dr. Paige led the district to enter into contracts with private schools to use them to teach some HISD students rather than placing those students into overcrowded public schools. Under Dr. Paige's leadership, HISD contracted with three private schools that were certified by the Texas Education Agency to teach HISD students so their parents didn’t have to bus them to schools across the city.
Many touted the "Houston Miracle" accomplished under Paige where student test scores rose under his leadership. A 60 Minutes
60 Minutes
60 Minutes is an American television news magazine, which has run on CBS since 1968. The program was created by producer Don Hewitt who set it apart by using a unique style of reporter-centered investigation....
report, however, exposed deliberate fraud at one Houston high school. Dropout rates were falsified at Sharpstown High School, and Houston area teachers admitted to raising test scores (for which they received cash bonuses) by cheating.
Dr. Paige served as the United States Secretary of Education from 2001 to 2005 under President George W. Bush. The landmark No Child Left Behind education law that set new accountability standards nationwide was developed with Secretary Paige’s help and passed the Congress with his support, and it was Secretary Paige’s Department of Education that implemented the law. The Bush White House’s development of the principles of No Child Left Behind drew in part on the successes of the Houston Independent School District under Dr. Paige’s leadership. As Secretary, he traveled around the country working with school district leaders and states to implement the law.
Under Secretary Paige, the department earned “clean” audits from Ernst and Young for three consecutive years. Prior to 2001, the Education Department had achieved only one clean audit in its history, and that audit was by the Department's Office of Inspector General.
Secretary Paige proposed successful amendments to the regulations implementing Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 to provide more flexibility for educators to establish single-sex classes and schools at the elementary and secondary levels.
Paige once referred to the National Education Association
National Education Association
The National Education Association is the largest professional organization and largest labor union in the United States, representing public school teachers and other support personnel, faculty and staffers at colleges and universities, retired educators, and college students preparing to become...
, the nation's largest teachers union, as a "terrorist organization."
Other activities
Paige has served on review committees of the Texas Education AgencyTexas Education Agency
The Texas Education Agency is a branch of the state government of Texas in the United States responsible for public education. The agency is headquartered in the William B...
and the State Board of Education's Task Force on High School Education, and he has chaired the Youth Employment Issues Subcommittee of the National Commission for Employment Policy of the U.S. Department of Labor. Paige is a member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, usually abbreviated as NAACP, is an African-American civil rights organization in the United States, formed in 1909. Its mission is "to ensure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of rights of all persons and to...
. He is a former member of the Houston Job Training Partnership Council, the Community Advisory Board of Texas Commerce Bank, the American Leadership Forum, and the board of directors of the Texas Business and Education Coalition. He is a member of Phi Beta Sigma
Phi Beta Sigma
Phi Beta Sigma is a predominantly African-American fraternity which was founded at Howard University in Washington, D.C. on January 9, 1914, by three young African-American male students. The founders A. Langston Taylor, Leonard F. Morse, and Charles I...
fraternity.
Legacy
Houston ISD renamed campus of James Bowie Elementary School after Paige, naming it Rod Paige Elementary School.External links
- worldwhoswho.com Paige's entry in the International Who's Who; accessed September 1, 2006
- Markley, Melanie. Backers, critics agree nominee reversed declines - Houston ChronicleHouston ChronicleThe Houston Chronicle is the largest daily newspaper in Texas, USA, headquartered in the Houston Chronicle Building in Downtown Houston. , it is the ninth-largest newspaper by circulation in the United States...
August 1, 2003