LifeChanger of the Year Nominee Profile

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Calvin Hooks

Position: Principal
School: Hyde-Addison Elementary School
School District: District of Columbia Public Schools
City, State: Washington, DC

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Dr. Calvin Hooks was nominated by an anonymous member of his community.

"I am nominating Dr. Calvin Hooks for LifeChanger of the Year because he truly goes above and beyond for his school community," his nominator said. "He has been in education for 20 years, and I believe he is the first African-American male principal at the school in which he currently leads.  The school is located in an affluent neighborhood, but serves students from every ward in the district, which is a challenge within itself."

When Dr. Hooks took on leadership of Hyde-Addison Elementary School three years ago, he was handed a school dealing with racial turmoil, social justice issues, and a physical renovation, all while the school was in a temporary building.  He has led the school through all of those things and has even been featured in The Georgetowner Newspaper. He leads professional development with his staff and school community around issues of race and equity.  Dr. Hooks also leads an Equity and Anti-Racism Taskforce within the school community, which shares a monthly newsletter with families with related resources. 

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Hooks has continued to support his school community and provide resources when necessary.  He has also created a Hybrid Learning Task Force to include the community in the planning process as instructional models adapt. Strong academics and social-emotional supports have remained priorities at his school.   

This is all in addition to Dr. Hooks’ daily work as a school principal, mentor, and community leader.  Dr. Hooks is not the kind of individual who will publicize all of his work across social media, but he will continue to put in the hard work and dedication, behind the scenes, to support his students, staff, and school community.  

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Comments (3)

Julie Hamlin Posted over a year ago

Dr. Hooks embodies our school's core values: curiosity, diversity, perseverance, kindness and integrity. Dr. Hooks has held high expectations for academic success for all students. He has been a consistent force in raising awareness around and facilitating change in the areas of anti-racism and equity. He has calmly and quietly led our school through a challenging pandemic year. He has shown kindness when dealing with adverse situations and he always maintains integrity, particularly as he has advocated for his staff members to maintain self-care.

Jose Rivera-Ramirez Posted over a year ago

Dr. Hooks inspire me to be a better person every day, the way he share his experience as an educator made want to increase my teaching technics and help students the best way I can.

Katie Mustian Posted over a year ago

I have had the pleasure of working with Dr. Hooks and appreciate his human-centered, equity driven approach to ensuring every member of the Hyde-Addison community is working towards a shared vision.