Dr. John W. Hodge is president and co-founder of Urban Learning and Leadership Center (ULLC), an organization focused on student achievement and reduction of the achievement gap. Dr. Hodge has over 28-years of experience in education, and is a nationally recognized consultant. During his career, Dr. Hodge has provided training and support to educators in over 300 rural, urban and sub-urban school districts that serve over a million students in the United States, Canada and South America. Additionally, Dr. Hodge has co-authored over $30,000,000 in federal grants. His work and expertise are particularly focused in the areas of student achievement, equity, student resilience, poverty and high academic achievement.
Prior to launching Urban Learning and Leadership Center, Dr. Hodge served as a reading teacher, English teacher, AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) teacher, and Assistant Principal of a large urban middle school that received recognition by the United States Department of Education as a National Blue-Ribbon School. Following his success in this position, Dr. Hodge was named Associate Director of AVID Center Eastern Division where he provided training and support to all AVID schools and districts in the eastern United States. His passion and enthusiasm for working with underserved student populations resulted in him being named Director of An Achievable Dream Academy, a high-poverty inner city school in the commonwealth of Virginia.
At the time, An Achievable Dream served over 1,000 K-12, inner-city students. It was on this campus that many of the interventions used by Urban Learning and Leadership Center were piloted. Under the leadership of Dr. Hodge, An Achievable Dream Academy was named a National School of Character, and received the Mutual of America Community Partnership Award (MACPA). This is a national award that annually honors the outstanding contributions that nonprofit organizations make to society in the U.S. Dr. Hodge’s leadership, expertise and collaborative spirit resulted in the academy becoming a fully accredited, high performing school.
The success of An Achievable Dream Academy became the catalyst for the creation of Urban Learning and Leadership Center. Recognizing the expertise of the ULLC staff and the efficacy of is school improvement model, Governor Mark Warner and Dr. Jo Lynne DeMary, Superintendent of Public Instruction for the state of Virginia, selected the Urban Learning and Leadership Center to provide training for selected schools statewide. This effort was called the Governor’s Urban Learning and Leadership Institute and took place in July of 2003. The training institute served as the genesis of the Governor’s Partnership for Achieving Successful Schools (PASS) initiative. PASS targeted more than 100 academically warned schools based on results of Virginia’s Standards of Learning exams.
John received his Bachelor of Science degree from North Carolina A&T State University where he graduated with honors. He later received his Master of Arts degree from Chapman University. John completed his academic and professional preparation by earning a Doctor of Education degree from Virginia Tech where he conducted extensive research on factors that contribute to the academic success and/or failure of impoverished children.
What sets Dr. John W. Hodge apart in the field of education is his well-documented ability to put research and theory into everyday practice in rural, urban and suburban schools. Dr. Hodge has helped educators in elementary, middle and high schools make the necessary changes to help all children meet and exceed rigorous academic standards. He is known as a master teacher and staff developer.
Dr. Hodge’s career has been defined by assisting students and teachers overcome obstacles and achieve goals. He has also served as an inspirational speaker throughout the United States.
Meetings and Conventions Magazine, a leader in the conventions industry since 1965, polled conference organizers about the best speakers they’d heard in recent years. Poll respondents listed Dr. John Hodge along with Mr. Steve Forbes, Gen. Colin Powell, Former First-Lady Laura Bush, Dr. Condoleezza Rice and Rev. John Maxwell among America’s very best speakers. Dr. John W. Hodge is truly one of America’s most respected voices in education. His seminars are often “the spark” for schools in their quest to meet and exceed state/federal accreditation standards and implement strategies for continuous improvement. Dr. Hodge is an expert in helping schools create and sustain academic excellence.
Prior to starting his career in education, Dr. Hodge distinguished himself in the service of our country with the 7th Infantry Division of the United States Army.
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