Christian Hodge, the Pelham school district’s new director of physical education, health and athletics, said he plans to use the time during the summer vacation to analyze feedback from the physical education teachers about online classes. By doing this, he said he will be more prepared for the possible challenges in distance learning that are ahead. 

Hodge said reviews of this form of online schooling from around the nation were generally negative. He, however, looks at these results from a different perspective.“I feel that this first run now allows school districts time to work out issues,” he said. With this period of preparation, the district will be ready for the coming school year.

Hodge was named to the job July 4 by the board of education and starts July 20. He arrives from the Poughkeepsie City School District, where he was the assistant superintendent of athletics, physical education, health, wellness, and security. He replaces Stephen Luciana, who resigned in early May to work in Mahopac.

“The staff members that I met have been very welcoming,” he said. “The new athletic facilities are state of the art, and I look forward to being able to help students reach their full potential athletically.” He hopes that the community is able to “come back to a safe environment for everyone and be able to offer great opportunities for our students.”

“I am very excited to be able to become a part of a wonderful school system and community.”

Prior to his job in Poughkeepsie, he held leadership positions in Section 1 Athletics, the Syracuse City School District and the Gates Chili School District. In addition, he served as principal and assistant principal of the Calvert County School District in Maryland. He earned a B.A. in secondary social studies from Cortland State University, a Master’s Degree in school administration and supervision from Bowie State University and a certificate of advanced study from Niagara University.