1970s Yearbook

Pictured here is Dr. Jere Hochman’s senior yearbook photo.

Alumni and Hall of Fame member Dr. Jere Hochman attended the Clayton School District, beginning his educational journey at Glenridge Elementary. 

“I remember the name of every teacher I had because I had the absolute best teachers I’ve ever seen. They influenced my future career path into becoming a teacher,” Hochman said.

Teachers like Dr. Virginia Jackson and Superintendent Dr. Earl Hobbs influenced Hochman to pursue an educational career while he was at Clayton.

“We went on 13 field trips with my sixth-grade science teacher, Dr. Virginia Jackson. We learned about ecology and public health,” he said. 

The field trips included inspecting restaurants and going to water treatment plants. 

“We had to write up everything we did, and the English teacher graded those,” Hochman said.  That would be the best teacher today, in 2024, [and that was ] back in 1963. She was so interested in students, their progress, and the topics. She was way ahead of her time,” Hochman said.

Hochman’s favorite high school memory included him and a buddy requesting they host an event for Earth Day. “It was the very first [one] across the country. We asked [Dr. Hobbs if we could] take lessons to all the schools and promote Earth Day, and he said, ‘yes.’ That was good modeling for me,” Hochman said.

After graduating high school, Hochman attended the University of Missouri and pursued a bachelor’s and master’s in education. Then, he earned his doctorate at Columbia University. 

“I was an English major and took an education course in my first year of college. I thought it was interesting. I knew right then that’s what I was meant to be, a teacher, so that’s how it all started,” Hochman said. Then, I continued and got my degree in administration and teaching.” 

After college, Hochman became a teacher at the Parkway School District and an assistant principal shortly after that. He then became a principal at Clayton High, where he remained until becoming the superintendent of the Parkway School District. 

“I was a teacher for seven years, and at that time, another mentor of mine was my principal, who was also a superintendent here. His name was Dr. [Don] Senti. [He] thought that I should try out administration. That is how I was appointed assistant principal,” Hochman said. 

After briefly serving as Parkway’s superintendent, he moved to New York and became an active figure in the education movement. He eventually was chosen to serve as the New York Deputy Secretary of Education. 

“I was very active in the State Superintendents’ Association, and we worked on making suggestions for education policy for the whole state. I was a staunch advocate for quality education and teachers. So the governor was looking for someone to take on the Deputy Secretary of Education role,” Hochman said. 

He served as the Deputy Secretary of Education for two years, working with school districts on policy issues and the budget. He returned to  St. Louis and became a Network Superintendent until retiring. 

“That is a “fancy name” for an assistant superintendent of public schools. I worked with all the middle schools for five years,” Hochman said. 

While retired, Hochman joined pro-education not-for-profit boards and started teaching classes at Maryville University and St. Louis University. But he said the best part of being retired is being a grandpa.

“I am semi-retired and working part-time as an adjunct professor teaching a class at Maryville University, St Louis University. I also work with some boards, such as not-for-profit and boards related to education, which are primarily the main things I do now. Along with being a grandpa, which is the best part of being retired,” Hochman said.