Hyde-Addison’s Hooks Named Principal of the Year
By • December 23, 2024 0 190
The principal of Georgetown’s only public elementary school – Calvin Hooks at Hyde-Addison School on 3219 O St. NW – received “the Principal of the Year” award from K-12 Dive, a leading publication operated by Industry Dive, focused on education.
In his seventh year as pre-K to 5th grade principal (and 24th year as an educator), the bow-tie wearing Hooks seems to be quite popular with the students. But he didn’t get the accolade for just being likeable.
His record of achievements at the school includes the double-digit gains on reading and math assessments over the past five years. The school’s chronic absenteeism rate dropped from 20 percent during the 2022-23 school year to 8 percent last school year. Hyde-Addison also has less than a 1-percent rate for suspensions, expulsions and discipline due to bullying.
The District of Columbia Public Schools and its partners also has awarded Hooks the 2022 Standing Ovation Award for Building Bridges for Students and Families and a 2023 Standing Ovation Award for School Leaders.
Throughout the years, Hyde-Addison has become known for its wide diversity. “In many ways, it is the most diverse school in Washington, D.C.,” Hooks told The Georgetowner in a 2019 cover story, when the school had about 360 students.
At that time, over 50 languages were spoken by students, parents and staff here, since many of the children’s parents work at embassies, the World Bank, IMF and at Georgetown and George Washington Universities. For the 2017-18 academic year, Hyde-Addison’s official demographics were: 44 percent black, 27 percent white, 16 percent Hispanic, seven percent Asian and six percent of multiple races.
Now among Hyde-Addison’s 400 students (top capacity) are dozens of international families. About 60 percent of the students come from outside Georgetown, enrolled via the citywide lottery system.
“All eight wards are represented at Hyde-Addison” according to DCPS, “41% Black and 38% White. The remaining student population is 8% Hispanic/Latino, 7% two or more races, and 6% Asian.”
The school also employs about 60 faculty and staff members and Hooks has sought to assure that they too come from diverse backgrounds and makes everyone feel welcome. Hyde-Addison retains almost 100 percent of the professionals who teach and work there, defying the retention problem of many D.C. public schools to keep their teachers and staff on board.
“Retention is one of the biggest problem we face,” D.C. Teachers Union President Jacqueline Pogue-Lyons, who was a teacher at Hyde Addison and whose son attended the school, told The Georgetowner in a recent interview.
Hooks has made diversifying the staff a goal, fully embracing the sometimes controversial policy DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) that the DCPS supports. This policy encourages staff “to explore their own personal biases and to dig into student performance data to see how subgroups of students and each individual student could be supported. Staff examines the curricula and refined lessons to be more inclusive of different races, cultures and experiences,” according to Deep Dive.
“This multinational and ethnic diversity creates a particular mission for Hyde-Addison,” Hooks told The Georgetowner. The principal, who has been with DCPS for 18 years, grew up in San Jose, California, before attending Howard University.
“Our core values of curiosity, diversity, integrity, kindness and perseverance are aligned with our responsibility to embrace diversity, promote equity and educate the whole child … with the skills necessary to become global citizens,” Hooks said.
According to Deep Dive, the school has made progress in building family engagement and school-home connectedness.
