Louisville Magazine

AUG 2017

Louisville Magazine is Louisville's city magazine, covering Louisville people, lifestyles, politics, sports, restaurants, entertainment and homes. Includes a monthly calendar of events.

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32 LOUISVILLE MAGAZINE 8.17 e New Supe By Mary Chellis Austin Photo by Mickie Winters "Got all these shelves," says Jefferson County Public Schools interim superintendent Marty Pollio. "I don't have anything to put on all these shelves." It's July 3, Pollio's first official day on the job, and the walls in his office, at the VanHoose Education Center on Newburg Road, are bare, save for a few dated family photos. "Not a whiteboard in this place. I like whiteboards everywhere so I can write my thoughts on the board. I'm a visual type and like thinking that way." While the interim position could last six to nine months, unless the board decides to hire Pollio permanently, he's not showing any signs of being a placeholder. Following his mid- May promotion from principal at Doss High School, he spent a month and a half meeting with influential school insiders, in- cluding politicians, businesspeo- ple and his predecessor, Donna Hargens, who announced her resignation in April and official- ly stepped down July 1. Having worked in JCPS for 20 years, Pollio knows a lot going into the job. e 46-year- old taught at several high schools before becoming prin- cipal at Jeffersontown High and then, two years ago, at strug- gling Doss. e year he came to Doss, 98 percent of teachers and staff said in an end-of-year survey that their supervisor provided effective leadership, up from 66 percent the previous year. Meanwhile, 44 percent of JCPS teachers and staff said the same about Hargens and her administrative staff. In Pollio's new role, the stakes are higher. He's overseeing 101,000 students, up from 1,100 at Doss. JCPS is in the midst of a thorough state audit for possible mismanagement of funds. e district has close to a 30 percent achievement gap between white and black students. Charter schools are on the horizon. e list goes on. One of the first things Pollio tells me is that he likes to simplify things. Yet, his early ambitions seem exhaust- ing: bi-weekly press briefings to improve communication with the public; dedicated school visits three days a week; Jefferson County Public Schools' interim superintendent Marty Pollio discusses the district's new path. SCHOOLS

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