Kentucky Board of Education Chair Sharon Porter Robinson, Robinson Award nominator David Tachau, Jefferson County Superintendent Marty Pollio and Commissioner of Education Robbie Fletcher pose with the 2025 Robinson Award. Not pictured: fellow 2025 Robinson Award recipient Michael Griffin, principal of Browning Springs Middle School (Hopkins County). Photo by Joe Ragusa, Kentucky Department of Education, March 27, 2025
(FRANKFORT, KY) – The Kentucky Board of Education (KBE) presented the 2025 Robinson Award for Diversity and Equity in Public Education to Jefferson County Public Schools (JCPS) Superintendent Marty Pollio and Browning Springs Middle School (Hopkins County) Principal Michael Griffin at its March 27 meeting.
Pollio said he was honored to be a recipient of the Robinson Award.
“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.”
Griffin thanked his staff for their support.
“My nine years at Browning Springs have been rewarding, and I am grateful for the exceptional support of my staff,” said Griffin. “Their dedication has been instrumental in achieving this recognition.
“I collaborate closely with my school’s youth service center coordinator, our district director of community schools, and the rest of my administrative team to identify and address any barriers our students and community may face. I am truly appreciative of the commitment shown by my staff to prioritize the diverse needs of our students. At Browning Springs, we treat everyone as family.”
Each year, the KBE gives the Robinson Award to a Kentuckian or a Kentucky organization demonstrating extraordinary efforts and contributions in educational diversity and equity. The criteria for receiving this award includes, but is not limited to:
- 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.
Commissioner of Education Robbie Fletcher noted that both Pollio and Griffin are worthy recipients because of their dedication to their students.
“It is an honor for the Kentucky Board of Education to be able to recognize the efforts of two leaders who strive to ensure all students have the opportunities and support they need to be successful,” he said. “Dr. Pollio and Mr. Griffin are ‘All In’ when it comes to reducing barriers for students and families.”
Superintendent Marty Pollio
“More than 70% of JCPS students qualify for the free or reduced lunch program and more than 60% are students of color,” said Pollio nominator David Tachau, who served on the KBE board alongside Robinson. “Dr. Pollio often says, ‘I believe the students who have the fewest resources at home are those who should receive the most resources at school.’ He has thus made supporting those students his primary focus during his seven years as superintendent.”
According to Tachau, under Pollio and the local board’s leadership, the district:
- Changed the funding formula to ensure schools with the highest percentage of students in poverty have additional funding, staff and support.
- Opened two schools, W.E.B. DuBois Academy for boys and Grace James Academy for girls, with an Afrocentric curriculum for families who want their students to be educated in a setting that highlights and honors their experience and culture.
- 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.
- Preserved the integrationist underpinnings of cross-district busing, while also recognizing the difficulties that disproportionately fall on Black families and students in poverty and revising policies so that students in West Louisville and other Choice Zone areas can attend schools in their neighborhoods.
- Targeted capital improvements with more than 20 new playgrounds at elementary schools in the district’s Choice Zone, eliminating much of the disparity with schools whose parent-teacher associations could afford new equipment.
Tachau said Pollio’s focus on equity has helped the district make substantial gains in narrowing gaps in achievement and graduation rates. For instance, the graduation rate for the district’s Black students is at an all-time high of 88.9% and the gap between Black and White students has been virtually eliminated (in 2024, it was .5%). Meanwhile, the postsecondary readiness rates have continued to rise, while the gap between Black and White students has narrowed each of the past several years.
“As a result of Dr. Pollio’s leadership, Black and other students of color now have a greater chance of seeing administrators and teachers who look like them,” said Tachau. “53 of the district’s 152 school principals are Black, and 43% of top administrators and more than 1,200 teachers are Black or of color.”
Principal Michael Griffin
According to his nominators, Griffin has a mission to create an environment where all students and families feel supported. He collaborates closely with the youth service center coordinator to identify and address student needs, providing targeted interventions through the school’s multi-tiered system of supports. By analyzing data on at-risk students, Griffin ensures that appropriate academic and behavioral interventions are in place to support success, according to Hopkins County Director of Community Schools Wendy Gamblin, who was one of two people nominating him for the award.
“At the heart of Mr. Griffin’s leadership is his unwavering belief in the potential of every student,” she wrote in her nomination. “He makes it his mission to ensure every child feels respected and celebrated, recognizing their achievements in academics, athletics, attendance, behavior and more. His efforts to uplift students and remove barriers to success reflect his deep commitment to equity and his dedication to fostering a community of belonging.”
Griffin’s other nominator, Zachary Evans, Browning Springs Middle School’s family resources and youth services center coordinator, said the principal, “is the true definition of a leader who lives out the values of equity and inclusion.
“Every decision he makes proves his steadfast commitment to closing achievement gaps, fostering a positive school culture and empowering students and families. Through his leadership, Browning Middle School is an amazing community school that is advancing equity and reducing barriers to learning.”
“His transformative leadership has driven meaningful change, improving outcomes for both students and families while fostering a school culture rooted in respect, diversity and opportunity,” Gamblin added.
Griffin’s leadership at Browning Springs Middle has resulted in “remarkable growth,” Gamblin wrote. He spearheaded initiatives that elevated the school’s overall performance rating from orange to yellow, eliminating its Targeted Support and Improvement designation for students with disabilities and Black students. Across the academic areas, student performance has “significantly improved.” Gamblin said the school advanced two classifications in the Quality of School Climate and Safety survey.
Griffin’s leadership spans beyond academics and he has “focused on creating a safe and inclusive environment for all,” Evans said. Griffin led school efforts to address disparities in school discipline, significantly reducing in-school and out-of-school suspensions.
“These changes, along with his initiatives to improve attendance, have ensured that more students are engaged in learning and feel a sense of belonging at school,” Evans added. “Family and community engagement are central to Mr. Griffin’s vision for equity.”
Griffin has implemented programs tailored to meet the needs of diverse learners and their families; introduced multicultural events, parent workshops and family engagement nights; and removed communication barriers by having all school correspondence translated into the language spoken by students and their families, Gamblin said in her nomination.
“These efforts have strengthened school-home partnerships and empowered families to play an active role in their children’s education,” Evans wrote.
The Robinson Award is named for Samuel Robinson, a member of the KBE from 1991-2004 who made diversity and equity in public education his life’s work.
A noted educator and civil rights leader, Robinson began his career in Kentucky in Louisville in 1960. His diverse background in public education includes everything from serving as principal at Shawnee High School (now the Academy at Shawnee) to president of the Lincoln Foundation. Robinson also was a well-known community figure as Louisville navigated the Civil Rights era.
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