After Chris Hodge retired as principal of Allis Elementary School in Madison in the spring of 2006, she lounged around exactly zero days before throwing herself into her next project.
Three months later, she was back educating children, this time as founder of a free after-school academic program at Mt. Zion Baptist Church on the city’s South Side.
“Education is a religious calling to me, because I feel God gave me this talent and I need to use it, not just sit around,” said Hodge, 73, who has led the program without pay for nine years.