Roderick “Rod” Paige, a pioneering educator, coach, and public servant who became the first African American U.S. Secretary of Education, died on Dec. 9, 2025. He was 92.
Born June 17, 1933, in Monticello, Mississippi, to two public school educators, Paige’s life was shaped by the power of learning and the urgent need to expand opportunity. After earning his bachelor’s degree from Jackson State University, he completed a master’s and a doctorate of education at Indiana University in Bloomington, Ind.
Paige began his professional career in the classroom and on the football field, teaching and coaching in Mississippi before becoming head football coach at Jackson State University, where he recruited future NFL Hall of Famer Lem Barney. He later coached at Texas Southern University (TSU) and served as its athletic director, arriving in Houston in the 1970s and quickly becoming a force for community advocacy.
Education, however, became Paige’s defining arena. At TSU, he advanced from professor to dean of the College of Education and established the Center for Excellence in Urban Education.
As a Houston Independent School District trustee, he co-authored the transformative “Declaration of Beliefs and Visions,” laying the foundation for sweeping reform focused on accountability, decentralization, and instructional quality.
In 1994, Paige became superintendent of HISD, where he implemented innovative programs—including teacher incentive pay, performance-based contracts, expanded charter options, and partnerships with certified private schools to ease overcrowding.
His leadership helped fuel what became known as the “Houston Miracle,” a period of rising test scores that was later scrutinized for dropout underreporting but is still widely credited with reshaping urban education policy.
Paige’s national impact grew when President George W. Bush appointed him U.S. Secretary of Education in 2001. He was at Bush’s side when news of the second plane striking the World Trade Center arrived on Sept. 11, 2001. Paige played a central role in developing and implementing the No Child Left Behind Act, which pushed nationwide accountability standards and earned three consecutive clean federal audits for the department.
After leaving Washington in 2005, Paige continued contributing to education, including serving as interim president of Jackson State University from 2016 to 2017. His legacy is recognized in schools bearing his name in both Houston and Mississippi.
Paige devoted his life to expanding educational access, demanding excellence, and believing in the transformative potential of every child.
Paige is survived by Stephanie Nellons-Paige, a business executive and philanthropist, and their daughter, Danielle R. Robinson.
