Thomas William Payzant was an American educator who served as superintendent of San Diego Unified School District and Boston Public Schools and was Assistant Secretary of Education for Elementary and Secondary Education.
15 Facts About Thomas Payzant
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Thomas Payzant's mother was a schoolteacher and his father was a real estate salesman who died when Payzant was 6 years old.
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Thomas Payzant earned a Bachelor's degree in history from Williams College a master's degree in teaching and a doctorate in education from Harvard University.
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The couple met when a student mixer Payzant was a student at Mount Hermon School and Watson attended the nearby Northfield School.
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Thomas Payzant began his teaching career in 1963 at Belmont High School.
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Thomas Payzant moved to the West Coast to teach junior high school in Tacoma, Washington.
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In 1973, Thomas Payzant became superintendent of the Eugene School District.
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The complaint against Thomas Payzant was dropped because the judge found the issue to be a civil matter.
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Thomas Payzant was sued by four principals who were transferred without public hearings.
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From 1979 to 1982, Thomas Payzant was the superintendent of Oklahoma City Public Schools.
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Thomas Payzant then served as superintendent of the San Diego Unified School District from 1982 to 1993.
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In 1993, Thomas Payzant was nominated for the position of Assistant Secretary of Education for Elementary and Secondary Education in the United States Department of Education.
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Thomas Payzant's nomination came under fire from conservatives due to his decision to end a tutoring program run by the Boy Scouts of America on school grounds during school hours because he felt that the organization's ban on homosexual leaders violated the San Diego Unified School District's non-discrimination policy.
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Thomas Payzant died on July 23,2021, complications from Alzheimer's disease at the age of 80.
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Thomas Payzant was survived by his wife and three children.