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Paige is the first school
superintendent ever to serve as Secretary of Education. His vast
experience as a practitioner-from the blackboard to the boardroom-paid
off during the long hours of work needed to pass President Bush's No
Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB).
Now he is leading the charge-in
partnership with states and districts-to implement these historic
reforms. The law will give local districts the tools and resources they
need to help every child learn, regardless of the color of their skin or
the accent of their speech. States and districts have moved forward,
working to improve student achievement, empowering parents with options
and information, providing supplemental services such as free tutoring
to students in danger of being left behind, and tapping new sources of
talented teachers to help students excel in our nation's classrooms. By
June 2003-a watershed moment in education-every single state had an
approved accountability plan in place to ensure that every single
student was learning.
The driving force behind his work as
Secretary is his shared belief with President Bush that education is a
civil right, just like the right to vote or to be treated equally. Paige
believes it is wrong to fight discrimination with discrimination. For
that reason, he strongly supports the President's vision of affirmative
access that promotes diversity in our nation's colleges and universities
through race-neutral alternatives.
As Secretary, Paige has held the
Department of Education to the same high standards expected of our
schools. Upon taking office, he learned of wide-scale criminal fraud,
waste, and abuse within the Department that was featured on national
network news. In response, he made improving management one of his
priorities. Paige rallied the Department to create the Blueprint for
Management Excellence in order to build an organization worthy of the
taxpayers' trust and the President's vision-a vision grounded in the
belief that good government is not only closer to the people, but also
more accountable to the people.
The Department-wide implementation
of the blueprint streamlined operations, and provided strategic
direction, resources and focus for the Department's central mission:
ensuring equal access to education and promoting educational excellence
throughout the nation.
As a result of this work, the
Department received its second clean financial audit in a row in fiscal
year 2003, only the third in the 24-year history of the Department. The
Department's accomplishment also received the highest praise from the
federal Office of Management and Budget. |
On
January 21, 2001, the United States Senate confirmed Dr. Rod Paige as
the 7th U.S. Secretary of Education. For Paige, the son of a principal
and a librarian in public schools, that day was the crowning achievement
of a long career in education. Born in 1933 in segregated Monticello,
Mississippi, Paige's accomplishments speak of his commitment to
education. He earned a bachelor's degree from Jackson State University
in his home state. He then earned both a master's and a doctoral degree
from Indiana University. 
