Gregory Hodge

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]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 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.
  2. ↑ Fix, Sybil (November 26, 2000). "A beacon of hope". The Post and Courier. p. 20A.
  3. ↑ Holland, Robert (September 1, 2001). "How to build a better teacher". USA Today., online at Highbeam (subscription required)
  4. ↑ Fix, Sybil (November 26, 2000). "Schools that beat the odds". The Post and Courier. p. 25A.
  5. ↑ Williams, Monte (January 2, 2001). "A Model for Learning In a Harlem School; Tough Standards and High Scores". The New York Times.
  6. ↑ Billups, Andrea (March 27, 2000). "Academy in Harlem enforces strict rules". The Washington Times., online at Highbeam (subscription required)
  7. ↑ Thernstrom, Abigail M.; Thernstrom, Stephan (2003). No Excuses: Closing the Racial Gap in Learning. New York: Simon & Schuster. p. 74. ISBN 9780743204460.
  8. ↑ Berg, Barbara J. (2009). Sexism in America: Alive, Well, and Ruining our Future. Chicago: Lawrence Hill. p. 178. ISBN 9781556527760.

Further reading


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