Former US education secretary Rod Paige dies at 92

By Asiye Latife Yilmaz

ISTANBUL (AA) - Rod Paige, the first African American to serve as US education secretary and a key figure in implementing the No Child Left Behind law, has died at the age of 92.

Former US President George W. Bush, who appointed Paige as education secretary, announced his death in a statement on Tuesday.

“Rod was a leader and a friend,” Bush said, adding that Paige fought against “the soft bigotry of low expectations” and worked to ensure every child had a fair chance to succeed.

During Paige’s tenure, the Education Department put in place the No Child Left Behind policy, which became Bush’s landmark 2002 education law and was based on Paige’s earlier reforms as Houston’s school superintendent.

The law introduced nationwide testing requirements and imposed penalties on schools that did not meet performance benchmarks.

After serving as education secretary from 2001 to 2005, Paige returned to Jackson State University nearly 50 years after graduating, taking on the role of interim president in 2016 at the age of 83.