DISTINGUISHED ALUMNI

Martin “Marty” Pollio, Ph.D., superintendent of Jefferson County Public Schools (JCPS) in Louisville, KY, has spent his career dedicated to JCPS students and the pursuit of excellence in education. However, he very nearly chose a different path. As an undergraduate at Indiana University at Bloomington, he was a student manager for the IU men’s basketball team coached by Bob Knight from 1989 to 1993. Pollio originally wanted to follow in his father’s footsteps and become a basketball coach. He majored in education, thinking he would become a high school teacher and basketball coach.

Applying Lessons From the Court to the Classroom Pollio was hired in 1997 as a social studies teacher and head basketball coach at Shawnee High School. While he still had a love for basketball, a new passion started to grow.

“I really fell in love with the teaching part of my job,” said Pollio, “I’ve always been interested in leadership roles and that drove me to the principal job, but I found I enjoy teaching and leading as much as or more than being a basketball coach. And so, it kind of pushed me down that path away from coaching and into school leadership.”

Pollio learned valuable lessons from his time around the basketball program including learning how to handle conflict, be clear with your goals, and how to treat people when you are the leader. All of these skills have served him well throughout his career at JCPS.

His career path included serving as teacher and assistant principal at Waggener High School, principal at Jeffersontown High School from 2007 to 2015, principal of Doss High School, and then his selection as superintendent of JCPS in 2017.

Preparing for Leadership and Advancement Through IU Southeast’s Educational Leadership Licensure Program Prior to becoming a principal, Pollio went through the Educational Leadership Program at IU Southeast in the early 2000’s. This program offers qualified candidates a licensure program to receive their principal license. A friend suggested that Pollio consider the program at IU Southeast, and he was pleasantly surprised at how friendly and welcoming the staff was.

“At that time, I was a teacher,” said Pollio. “I got very personalized attention. Within 48 hours, I had a meeting with a counselor from the School of Education to talk through everything. I decided that IU Southeast was the place for me just because it was the exact opposite of some of my previous education experiences. I knew as soon as I drove over that first time and met with an advisor that this was the place I needed to be great.”

As the leader of the 30th largest school district in the country serving nearly 100,000 students, Pollio continues to face many challenges and opportunities. He has been at the helm of many improvements and bold initiatives for JCPS, including the Three Pillars initiative and the Future State plan which encompasses school assignment plans, new school start times, and opening new schools in underserved communities.

2023 Alumni Award of Excellence Recipients

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Brooke Stewart

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Heather K. Hardin

School of Social Sciences

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