Gregory M. Hodge was the principal for over a decade at The Frederick Douglass Academy (FDA) in Harlem, where he was noted for his tough love, "No Excuses" approach. [1]
Early life
Hodge was raised in Harlem and the Bronx. Orphaned by the age of 16, he recounts to his students a life of homelessness that puts him on a par with their own experiences of poverty. [1] After a counselor "forced" him not to leave school, he earned two Master's degrees and a doctorate. [2]
Career
Hodge spent 31 years as a New York City school teacher, culminating in his 14-year tenure at FDA that began in 1995 when he replaced the founding principal, Lorraine Monroe. [1] He retired from FDA and teaching in general in July 2011. [1]
Hodge is noted for his tough love, "No Excuses" approach to education, [3] enforcing strict discipline within his school of mostly lower-income students. [1] He advocated personal attention to the students and personal responsibility: he greeted each student at the door every day [4] [5] and frequently spent nights on the couch in his office. [6] He said: "We do everything we can to help, but we place the burden on them to get the job done." [7] When he became principal at FDA in 1995, the student body was 80% female; he recruited boys to equalize the sexes but achievement did not decline. [8]
Death
Dr. Hodge died on February 16, 2019, at the age of 65. [9]
References
- ^ a b c d e Evans, Heidi (July 14, 2011). "School's out for Frederick Douglass principal Gregory Hodge: Tough-love head retiring after 31 years". New York Daily News.
- ^ Fix, Sybil (November 26, 2000). "A beacon of hope". The Post and Courier. p. 20A.
- ^ Holland, Robert (September 1, 2001). "How to build a better teacher". USA Today., online at Highbeam
- ^ Fix, Sybil (November 26, 2000). "Schools that beat the odds". The Post and Courier. p. 25A.
- ^ Williams, Monte (January 2, 2001). "A Model for Learning In a Harlem School; Tough Standards and High Scores". The New York Times.
- ^ Billups, Andrea (March 27, 2000). "Academy in Harlem enforces strict rules". The Washington Times.[ dead link]
- ^ Thernstrom, Abigail M.; Thernstrom, Stephan (2003). No Excuses: Closing the Racial Gap in Learning. New York: Simon & Schuster. p. 74. ISBN 9780743204460.
-
^ Berg, Barbara J. (2009).
Sexism in America: Alive, Well, and Ruining our Future. Chicago: Lawrence Hill. p.
178.
ISBN
9781556527760.
Gregory Hodge, Douglass.
- ^ "CSA News" (PDF). p. 9. Retrieved 24 October 2023.
Further reading
- Carter, Samuel Casey (2000). "Gregory Hodge: Frederick Douglass Academy, New York, NY". No Excuses: Lessons from 21 High-Performing, High-Poverty Schools. Washington, D.C.: Heritage Foundation. pp. 81–. ISBN 9780891950905.