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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]
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]
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]
Dr. Hodge died on February 16, 2019, at the age of 65.[9]
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