HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) – Former HISD superintendent and first Black Secretary of Education, Roderick R. Page, at the end of last year, but his legacy lives on here in Houston.
Buildings like the Roderick R. Page Education at Texas Southern University and the Roderick R. Page Elementary at Texas Southern University is now building the future leaders of tomorrow.
“It was important that every child get the best education,” said Stephanie Nelons Page, Page’s widow. “He would say that education is the social and economic vitality of an individual.”
This will become part of the legacy that Rod Page leaves behind.
After playing on the gridiron, his stadium got bigger, starting at Texas Southern University.
“He was stubborn because he really knew where he wanted to go. He worked with people in a way and was a leader who took us to where we needed to be, and I think you see that throughout his career,” said TSU Professor of Education Dr. Lillian P. Boates.
Then that career took a leap, as when he served as dean of TSU’s College of Education; The program he helped build is now named in his honor.
Dr Potts said: “It was a special moment for us because often times buildings are named after people you don’t know. But in this case, it was as if it was ours.”
As for Dr. Lillian Boates, who Paige not only employed but also worked with, she said he would never stop being theirs, as long as his name was on the building and outside.
“We had a center for urban education. It had a real strong focus on urban education, so you still see that within the college,” Dr. Potts said.
Paige served as superintendent of HISD and later became the first former superintendent and the first African American to become Secretary of Education under President George W. Bush.
Page’s widow, Stephanie Nelons-Page, said it helped him put the problems he observed into politics.
“Uneducated neighborhoods, that in itself was an issue for Rod. When you talk about the zip code of where you live, and you’re not going to provide the resources necessary for that child to be able to learn, that was a big issue for him,” Nelons-Page said.
This gave birth to the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001.
It’s a law that Paige helped design and was signed into law at the time by then-President George W. Bush. You have ensured that all students achieve mastery of learning.
“Being able to put this national law into effect. And for it to now be a policy that has to be put into effect, that was huge,” Nelons-Page said.
He was also known for his craftsmanship on the ground, Nelons-Page said.
“These are the shoes he was actually wearing when he was sitting in that office for that very important meeting,” Nelons-Page said.
As people continue to learn in places like TSU’s Education Building and Roderick R. Paige Elementary School in Houston, Nealons-Paige said his legacy will live on. She says she wants people to remember how Page used his leadership to inspire the next generation.
“You can be a young black boy from Monticello, Mississippi, and still have a chance to rise to that level,” Nelons-Page said. “You can accomplish anything you set your mind to, because this young man was born and rose to be the premier educator of this nation.
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