Summative Performance Evaluation of Dr.
Marty Pollio
Superintendent, Jefferson County Public Schools
Jefferson County Board of Education
2019-2020 School Year
On September 24, 2019 and February 11, 2020, the Jefferson County Board of Education
(“Board”) met in closed executive session to conduct formative discussions of the
performance evaluation of the Superintendent, Dr. Marty Pollio. On May 26, 2020, June 2,
2020, June 9, 2020, and June 16, 2020 the Board met in a closed executive session to conduct
preliminary discussions of this summative performance evaluation of Dr. Pollio. The
performance evaluation of the Superintendent is governed by Board Policy 02.14 and utilizes
performance indicators for each of the seven leadership standards.
The following designations were used by the Board to indicate the Superintendent's
performance in the seven leadership standards:
1) Exemplary: Exceeds the standard
2) Accomplished : Meets thestandard
3) Developing: Making progress toward meeting the standard
4) Improvement Required: Progress toward meeting the
standard is unacceptable
STANDARD 1: STRATEGIC LEADERSHIP - The Superintendent leads the development
and implementation of District vision, mission and goals while creating conditions to ensure
that every student graduates high school with the knowledge and skills necessary to be
successful in the 21st century.
Rating: Exemplary
Comments and Evidence to support the Superintendent's performance for this
standard:
Dr. Pollio has developed a clear vision for the District and he has communicated it admirably
to the Board, to faculty and staff, and to the community at large. Stakeholder input and
involvement has increased. Dr. Pollio’s Three Pillars, Six Systems and PLC Framework well
support his vision and are a testament to his strategic leadership ability. Dr. Pollio has
assembled a team of amazing individuals behind him who have clear goals in mind for the
academic achievement of students and the career development of educators and support personnel.
In nearly everything he does, Dr. Pollio strives for coherence and consistency between the many
different facets of Jefferson County Public Schools. This is no small task, as disparate factors come
into play when proposing or evaluating particular initiatives and programs. Dr. Pollio consistently
demonstrates an ability to hold many factors in mind simultaneously, checking how changing one
affects the others, and quickly making necessary course corrections. Despite facing some
headwinds, Dr. Pollio has kept a focus on building new facilities and expanding services for
children throughout the District. He has boldly made the case for increasing revenue to address the
District’s many financial needs. He has engaged the local business community to assist with
development of the Academies of Louisville project. Finally, Dr. Pollio has made great strides in
2019-2020 Summative Evaluation Dr. Marty Pollio
his ability to efficiently inform and receive feedback from Board members and has better shared
his vision to the community through the State of the District address and other improved public
communication efforts.
STANDARD 2: INSTRUCTIONAL LEADERSHIP - The Superintendent supports and
builds a system to effectively use District resources and research-based best practices for
curriculum, instruction and assessment in reducing achievement gaps and continuously
improving teaching, learning and student achievement.
Rating: Accomplished
Comments and Evidence to support the Superintendent's performance for this
standard:
From the outset of his tenure, Dr. Pollio has made clear to everyone inside and outside of
JCPS that current student outcomes are not acceptable. Student achievement, in all areas, must
improve. It is evident that Dr. Pollio passionately believes that all children can and should
excel in school and he expects those around him to share that vision. Dr. Pollio works hard to
strike a balance between universal learning expectations while allowing flexibility in how
schools, teachers, and students meet those expectations. To his credit, the Superintendent
encourages rather than shies away from accountability for less than optimal results. Dr. Pollio
strives to create coherence between the District-wide instructional vision, teacher professional
development, and student learning demonstrations. Dr. Pollio’s continuance on this path
through the rapid NTI rollout due to COVID-19 was commendable. The growth of the
Academies of Louisville has significantly increased college and career readiness and has
helped garner support from the business community for the instructional vision of JCPS. This
work should be expanded and improved upon so that a much higher percentage of JCPS
students graduate with a career certification or a college readiness designation. The Board
would like to see continued refinement of Professional Learning Communities within each
school to support the instructional needs of students. The Board would also like to see
increased ingenuity and creativity in the student instruction arena to close achievement gaps,
improve results for students in alternative schools, and allow faculty and staff to work smarter
instead of harder.
STANDARD 3: CULTURAL LEADERSHIP - The Superintendent understands the
history, tradition and multicultural differences of the District. He empowers all stakeholders
to help shape District culture and climate as they support efforts to improve teaching and
learning for all.
Rating: Accomplished
Comments and Evidence to support the Superintendent's performance for this
standard:
Our District is very diverse and Dr. Pollio supports providing appropriate learning opportunities
and needed supports for ALL students. On several fronts, Dr. Pollio demonstrates his commitment
to building an inclusive culture of success for all schools and students. Founding the Grace James
Academy, expanding the W.E.B. DuBois Academy to include 6th to 12th grades, pushing for a
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2019-2020 Summative Evaluation Dr. Marty Pollio
racial equity policy and plan, moving the Newcomer Academy to a centralized location, and hiring
hundreds of ECE implementation coaches and mental health professionals are notable examples
of concrete steps to ensure JCPS provides all children the best possible chance to succeed.
Moreover, Dr. Pollio has brought much more diversity to upper levels of both District and school
administration. His work to diversify JCPS teachers through the partnership with Simmons College
and the Teacher Internship Program are also promising initiatives that will further advance an
inclusive culture that meets the needs of all students. However, the Board would like to see
increased and more creative efforts made to provide even more resources for the support and
promotion of different cultures. A minority studies program should be developed to enhance the
District’s diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts. More work must be done to close academic
achievement gaps and eliminate racial disparities in the issuance of discipline to students.
Moreover, all students, including students of color, students with disabilities, and students who
identify as LGBTQ, must feel at home and safe inside every JCPS classroom. Additional work is
needed to achieve that result. Dr. Pollio’s work to redesign JCPS’s student assignment plan
has been laudable, and the Board looks forward to it coming to fruition in the near term. Dr.
Pollio should be congratulated for his creation of a staff scholarship program that provides college
funds to students recognized for their determination to overcome various obstacles and succeed in
school. Dr. Pollio started this fund last year, and for a second year, it raised over $60,000 to award
scholarships to deserving students.
STANDARD 4: HUMAN RESOURCE LEADERSHIP - The Superintendent leads the
District in developing professional learning communities among a highly effective and
diverse staff. He assists in planning professional development opportunities for all staff and
develops and implements an effective staff performance evaluation system. The
Superintendent provides technical advice to the Board to administer and negotiate labor
contracts.
Rating: Accomplished
Comments and Evidence to support the Superintendent's performance for this
standard:
Dr. Pollio excels at surrounding himself with talented individuals and his staff is highly
capable, dedicated, and diverse. Dr. Pollio’s efforts in reorganizing the human resources
organizational chart were needed and should be applauded. There is now concrete evidence
of systems for recruiting, retaining, and developing an adequate number of teachers and a
more diverse workforce. This work must continue and expand aggressively so that JCPS
becomes widely-known as an attractive District to potential educators and the number of open
classrooms at the beginning of each year is significantly decreased. The Board remains
concerned about recurring high vacancy levels in certain teaching positions throughout the
District. Dr. Pollio also understands that effective school principals are perhaps the most
influential factor in student outcomes and the principal pipeline he has developed is strong.
Dr. Pollio understands that human resources are a vital element to public school District
success and he routinely seeks to focus his attention on identifying and developing talent at
all levels of the organization. Professional development opportunities have also grown under
the leadership of Dr. Pollio.
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2019-2020 Summative Evaluation Dr. Marty Pollio
STANDARD 5: MANAGERIAL LEADERSHIP - The Superintendent uses data analysis
in budgeting, staffing and problem solving to make recommendations to the Board so they
can effectively and efficiently allocate resources and establish support systems for all District
stakeholders.
Rating: Exemplary
Comments and Evidence to support the Superintendent's performance for this
standard:
Dr. Pollio has built an amazing staff which he manages effectively toward achieving his vision
of success for the District. His management of that talented group to address the Corrective
Action Plan has been intentional and intense. Dr. Pollio has led JCPS through the remediation
of literally hundreds of deficiencies identified in the audit by the Kentucky Department of
Education in 2016-17. This has been a Herculean task and the fact that JCPS anticipates a
positive resolution of the audit and Corrective Action Plan in the next few months is a
significant accomplishment. The administration’s response to COVID-19 was nothing less
than remarkable. JCPS essentially changed its primary business model overnight. The shear
scope of this sudden transition was almost as breathtaking as was the District’s predominantly
successful response. Certainly going forward further refinements to NTI will be necessary to
increase access to that model of learning and make it more robust during periods that it is the
primary vehicle for delivering education services, but Dr. Pollio and his team deserve every
accolade thrown their way regarding NTI to this point. Serving a million meals from JCPS
kitchens after schools closed due to COVID-19 in tandem with developing NTI was likewise
a remarkable achievement. Dr. Pollio also skillfully made the case to the Board and to the
public in general that many of the most intractable challenges facing JCPS — student
assignment, student choice, student achievement, facilities upgrades, and educational equity,
among others — are interrelated and cannot possibly be untangled and improved without
additional resources. Dr. Pollio deserves accolades for tackling the real revenue and facilities
challenges faced by JCPS. Under Dr. Pollio’s leadership, JCPS is building more new schools
than it has in many years and plans are in place (provided additional revenue is successfully
secured) to build and renovate many more. Specifically, Dr. Pollio should be commended for
the site selection and purchase of property at Echo Trail for the new east end middle school.
Finally, the hiring of hundreds of mental health professionals and ECE implementation
coaches displayed a significant shift to better support many of our most vulnerable students.
STANDARD 6: COLLABORATIVE LEADERSHIP - The Superintendent maintains a
positive relationship with Board members as they work together to establish community
support for the District's goals through effective two-way communications with students,
staff, parents, business representatives, government leaders, community members and the
media.
Rating: Accomplished
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2019-2020 Summative Evaluation Dr. Marty Pollio
Comments and Evidence to support the Superintendent's performance for this
standard:
Dr. Pollio has been much more intentional this year about proactively informing Board
members of major proposals, events, and risks well in advance. Dr. Pollio is highly accessible
to Board members and his team acts as a well-oiled machine to quickly provide Board
members with any information needed or requested that allows Board members to make more
informed decisions. That said, the Board would like to see more and better program review in
the future to ensure policies and programs are having the intended results or else resources
can be shifted elsewhere. Dr. Pollio is also skilled at soliciting community input into the most
important District initiatives — for instance, student assignment and the need for additional
revenue — and his communications team excels at coordinating and managing community
dialogue. He has shown an ability to act collaboratively with JCTA and all JCPS bargaining
units to achieve common goals. He is very visible in the community and rarely (if ever) refuses to
meet with anyone. Collaboration with JCPS business partners has increased under Dr. Pollio. Dr.
Pollio consistently makes himself available to the media and community groups and he has been
open to utilizing outside entities to bring their expertise into JCPS to help with the continued
improvement of the District. Dr. Pollio should be cautious when using a “top down”
management style internally. While disagreements amongst faculty and staff are inevitable,
it is important that everyone feels like they are a valuable member of the JCPS team at all
times and that each voice is heard and each opinion considered. This is vital for the District’s
long term success as disappointment on one issue should not become a reason for
disengagement on others.
STANDARD 7: INFLUENTIAL LEADERSHIP RANKING - The Superintendent uses
his position in the District and community to work with local, state and federal officials to
influence policies affecting the political, social, economic, legal, cultural and ethical
governance of public education.
Rating: Exemplary
Comments and Evidence to support the Superintendent's performance for this
standard:
Dr. Pollio has changed the image of JCPS for the better in rapidly becoming one of the most
influential figures in our community and within the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Dr. Pollio has a
reputation for genuinely caring about all children in JCPS and he has high expectations for his
staff to meet the needs of every student. He clearly has the respect of numerous state legislators
of both parties, of the Kentucky Department of Education, of the Kentucky Board of Education,
of his peer superintendents, and of his staff. Dr. Pollio’s leadership has been critical in navigating
the District’s improved relationships with KBE and KDE. Dr. Pollio’s tremendous progress on
addressing all facets of the Corrective Action Plan has been a shining example of his influential
leadership. Dr. Pollio has also leveraged his influence to successfully fend off creation of school
voucher programs and charter schools and he is leading the charge to raise taxes locally to provide
the increased funding so desperately needed by the District. Dr. Pollio should continue to have
the confidence to lead from the front and push all schools to truly adopt his systems and tenets of
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2019-2020 Summative Evaluation Dr. Marty Pollio
success and to encourage parents and the community at large to do their part in driving higher
student achievement as well.
Compensation: Dr. Pollio’s contract allows the Board, at its discretion, to annually consider
an increase in his salary and/or a lump sum payment if his performance in a given year would
merit such consideration. The Board is presently very pleased with Dr. Pollio and his
performance over the past school year. In such situations, normally the Board would award
a percentage raise and/or lump sum payment. However, in light of mounting financial
pressures faced by the District, and the added financial difficulties brought on by the COVID-
19 pandemic, the Board regrettably is unable to award a raise or lump sum payment to Dr.
Pollio at this time.
While the Board appreciates his obvious commitment to putting in the long hours to achieve
better results, Dr. Pollio is cautioned to take sufficient time for himself and appropriately
prioritize those tasks which do and do not require his personal attention to avoid unhealthy
fatigue and potential burnout. The Board thanks Dr. Pollio for an excellent year and looks
forward to an even more successful 2020-2021 for Dr. Pollio and the District at large.
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2019-2020 Summative Evaluation Dr. Marty Pollio
SUMMARY REPORT
Summative Performance Evaluation of Dr. Marty Pollio
Superintendent, Jefferson County Public Schools
Jefferson County Board of Education
2019-2020 School Year
Pursuant to KRS 156.557(6) and Board Policy 02.14, the Jefferson County Board of
Education has completed the annual summative performance evaluation of Superintendent
Marty Pollio for the 2019- 2020 school year. The past year has been a positive one for public
education in our school District.
The evaluation focused on the seven standards of leadership performance: strategic,
instructional, cultural, human resource, managerial, collaborative and influential. Each
standard was evaluated based upon performance indicators approved by the Board.
Superintendent Pollio received a rating of Exemplary in the areas of Strategic, Managerial,
and Influential Leadership. He was rated Accomplished in the areas of Human Resource,
Instructional, Cultural, and Collaborative Leadership.
The Board will be working with Superintendent Pollio over the next several weeks to develop
goals for our District for the 2020-2021 school year. We look forward to working together to
continue making JCPS a better District for our students, staff and community.
Jefferson County Board of Education
______________________________ _________________________
June 23, 2020
Chairperson Date
