Jefferson County Public Schools (JCPS) Superintendent Dr. Marty Pollio is the winner of the 2025 Samuel Robinson Award for Diversity and Equity in Public Education. The Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) gives the Robinson Award each year to a person or organization that has demonstrated extraordinary efforts and contributions in the area of educational diversity and equity. Pollio and Michael Griffin, principal of Browning Springs Middle School in Hopkins County, each received the award at the Kentucky Board of Education (KBE) meeting in Frankfort today.
“I want to thank those that nominated me for this prestigious award and all those that are a part of the JCPS team, as they are the reason I am receiving this award,” said Pollio. “The work that JCPS has done in regard to diversity and equity has been all about reducing and eliminating the achievement gap between Black and White students. I am proud that our hard work is starting to pay off and I believe JCPS will be a national model on how to reduce the achievement gap in K-12 education."
The award is named after Samuel Robinson, a former member of the KBE who made diversity and equity in public education his life's work. Robinson was a Louisville educator and civil rights leader who served in multiple roles including principal of Shawnee High School and President of the Lincoln Foundation. The criteria for receiving the award includes successful efforts in closing socioeconomic and/or racial achievement gaps and significantly improving student learning, student achievement, or other measured outcomes among students of color or economically disadvantaged students.
More than 70 percent of JCPS students qualify for free or reduced price lunches and more than 60 percent are students of color.
Pollio was nominated for the award by former KBE member David Tachau and nine other Louisville community leaders who praised Pollio's focus on improving the lives of JCPS students.
During Pollio’s seven year tenure as superintendent, JCPS has:
Narrowed the graduation gap between Black and White students to .5 percent with the graduation rate for Black students at all-time high of 88.9 percent.
Changed its funding formula to ensure schools with the highest percentage of students in poverty have additional funding and staff.
Created a Choice Zone giving all students, particularly those in West Louisville, the option of attending a school close to home.
Added summer programming for 10,000 students and two after-school learning centers for students struggling to perform at grade level, most of them from economically disadvantaged homes.
Pollio has announced plans to retire July 1 after more than 30 years in public education, 28 of them in JCPS as a teacher, coach, principal and superintendent.