Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Good morning. I'm Tony Cruz. Doctor Marty Polio is joining
us this morning again and appreciate your time. Doctor Polio
here as our superintendent of Jefferson County Public Schools.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
Yeah, good morning, Tony. How are you.
Speaker 1 (00:13):
I'm good. I got out of the snow. Speaking of snow,
do we have to make up the days of snow here?
Speaker 2 (00:20):
Yeah? So, Jefferson County Public Schools we go a total
of one hundred and seventy five school days. We schedule
those for the year. The state statute is one hundred
and seventy. So we had one back in September, if
you remember, kind of the hurricane, one of the remnants
of the hurricanes coming through with the winds, and then
we had five of them on the first week in January.
(00:44):
So right now, as long as the board approves it,
it's once again a board decision. We would have to
make up one of the days at this point, but
we still have six weeks of winter left, so still
some time for some days.
Speaker 1 (00:58):
Speaking of days, let's talk a little bit about buses.
Did you were you able to get some new routes
for this semester or just nobody volunteered or work that
out what do we know.
Speaker 2 (01:13):
Yeah, So at our next board meeting, which is a
week from today, so next Tuesday night, we are bringing
a motion back to our board, a recommendation that we
bring some services back. It will not be all of
our services. We essentially have three start times, and in
order to provide Magnet transportation, you have to take them
to a depot, which is kind of like the Atlanta
(01:34):
airport where everyone comes in and switches onto a bus
and it kind of maximizes efficiency. The only one we
have that is the first time. So we're going to
bring back some of our a few elementaries, middles and highs.
So may O'manuel Butler. It's going to be a recommendation.
Then we're also Johnson Middle, Whitney Young Elementary, and Corey's
(01:55):
Taylor Elementary are going to be the recommendations for the
remainder of the year, and I think we'll look to
that for next year as well.
Speaker 1 (02:02):
Excellent, Let's talk a little bit about some of the
things that are going on, particularly ever since COVID. I mean,
I know you've been trying to, like every public school
system in America, trying to get back on track with
kids and education. Part of that is, and we've seen
a big movement of chronic absenteeism. How's that going for
JCPS this year.
Speaker 2 (02:23):
Well, we're really pleased. I mean we are still let
me say this, we are still not in pre COVID
times with chronic absenteeism. And it was too high, to
be honest with you, Tony, at pre COVID times. That
was a concern of mine at that time. But we
are down about five percent in chronic absenteeism across the
(02:44):
board in JCPS this year, So kids are coming to
school at a much higher rate than they did the
past two years. It's still not enough. I mean, any
student who is chronically absent is going to be a
struggle to get them to where they need to be.
I mean, you can just imagine anybody in the workforce
who misses eighteen more days than their colleagues are probably
going to struggle more at their job. And it's it's
(03:06):
the same way in school. Teachers and can't do their
jobs if the kids aren't in the seats ready to
learn every single day. And so we have our many
of our neediest kids who are missing eighteen to twenty
days of school every year and that's just an impossibility
to get them to where they need to be at
the end of the year, especially when we're measuring against
their peers. So very proud that we're patting in the
(03:28):
right direction, but still got a lot of work to do.
Speaker 1 (03:30):
What do you attribute that to? A is the programs
or talking to parents? How how did you kind of
start turning that that is a great improvement by percents? Big?
Speaker 2 (03:41):
Yeah. So we're really trying to do is work with
community partners and look at the reasons why kids are absent.
It's really not cut right. I mean, there are some
school reasons, so we have to look at some things
we do at schools to get kids engaged in coming
back to school every day. But I mean it could
be medical, it could be social services, it could be
(04:02):
mental health, it could be safety, it could be housing insecurity.
I mean, we could go down the line of for
reasons why, And that's one of the hard reasons of
attacking it is just because there's no clear reason. But
so what we've tried to do is really look at
ways we can provide wrap around services to kids. Can
they get medical help inside of their school, you know
(04:23):
when they may not have access to doctors. Can we
get them to a registered nurse inside of a school
who could write an antibiotic prescription and get them back
in school in one or two days instead of five
or six days. Providing more mental health services for kids
has been a huge one for us. So we still
got a lot of work to do, but some really
positive signs for kids being in school.
Speaker 1 (04:45):
We've got more to talk to with doctor Marty Polio,
Superintendent Jefferson County Public Schools. Marty, if you can hold
on for us, appreciate that, and we'll be back with
more with doctor Pollio and contact. Anna's Warnning News. Tony
Kruz talking to doctor Marty Polio, Efferson County Public School
Superintendent joining us this morning. And now for Marty, let's
talk a little bit about Elevate. We've got opening a
(05:09):
second Elevate after school learning center in Newburgh for kids.
What does this do?
Speaker 2 (05:15):
Yeah, so, Tony, this really came from what we call
ser dollars are from the ARP dollars, which were the
federal dollars provided for COVID relief back in twenty twenty one,
twenty twenty twenty twenty one, and a lot of school
districts around the nation, especially large school districts, added a
bunch of personnel, and now they're faced with massive cuts
(05:36):
because those funds are those COVID funds are no longer available.
What we did, on the other hand, was what we
were talking about before the break tony, which was getting
kids in school. So if you're going to catch kids up,
first of all, they got to be in school. Second
of all, you got to give them more time in
front of a certified teacher. So our goal was really
(05:56):
to get you know, a few hundred kids every single
day that are going to that are extending their school. Essentially,
it's not you're just the same school. You're going there
having some fun and extra meal and some some fun
things to do like robotics and music. But in the end,
we're giving them additional time in front of a reading
(06:16):
and a math teacher to really continue to build them.
So it's to me, it's it's you know, there's no
secret sauce to this. It is really about minutes in
front of a teacher. And so you know, if we're
going to catch kids up, that's what we got to do.
And we believe that we're seeing some real results because
that's what we're doing. We're extending learning for kids after
school during the summertime. We just have to be innovative
(06:39):
in education these days. It's just not going to work
from eight am to three pm and catch kids up.
We need extra time with kids, especially those that have
been struggling. So that's what the Elevate Center does. We
bust the kids there and we give them several extra
hours of instruction after school.
Speaker 1 (06:56):
It's interesting to note that news we came out with
the story that also relies on seeing and Tom Gambrel
you may know him, superintendent of schools in Bell County, Kentucky,
as well as the Trumpet supporter, both told CNN that
the proposed federal education funding cuts could be catastrophic for
schools in the state. The concern is that President Trump
(07:16):
may carve out the Department of Education. We talked about
this a little bit, I think the last time we spoke,
But Kentucky apparently is one of the fifteen states that
relies on a lot of FED money just to feed
kids so they can learn. And you know, as I
tell people all the time, even the Lord had to
feed people before they would listen to understanding. You know,
(07:38):
so to speak. So it's a big part of this.
What are your concerns and do you think now Lenna
McMahon's going to be the head of the Department of Education,
do you think it goes away.
Speaker 2 (07:51):
I don't know. I don't think the funding will go away.
It's hard for me to imagine that Congress would allow
that to happen. Look at what what federal dollars really
support in education, you know, and really it is around
special education needs for kids. That is what is called
the Idea funding, which is millions of dollars to every
(08:15):
district in America for special education needs. Then it is
around nutrition once again, feeding kids and you know, we
just need to lot. Kids can't learn if they don't.
It's sad in our country that we have to say
this that kids need food and if they don't get
it at school, they won't have food at all. But
that is you know where that comes from. And so
(08:37):
you know, these are funds that are just I think districts,
every district in America, wealthy, poor, are all tapped into these.
So I do believe this. I believe whether there's a
Department of Education or not at the at the federal level,
the funding will be provided to schools. I just can't
imagine Congress not doing that for kids in this country.
(08:57):
So I'm optimistic that at least the funding will continue,
which is the most important thing I think for us
as we look to any possible changes.
Speaker 1 (09:07):
All right, coming up very shortly as the ACT prep
boot camp. I love this idea. Who can get involved
here on January twenty fifth.
Speaker 2 (09:18):
Well, it's we want to get all of our our
high school kids involved in it. I mean, and so
you know you can reach go talk to your school
counselor kids can get in this. And so what it
is is just getting kids to make sure that you know,
they're prepared. A lot of our kids don't have access
to you know, ACT coaches and tutors and those type
of things like my daughter had, and so you know,
(09:40):
we want to provide that option for kids. And so
the more they know about how to take the test
and those type of things, the better off they're going
to do. And you know, ACT is a predictor of
how kids are going to do in college, so we
want to make sure that they have every opportunity for
support to be successful.
Speaker 1 (09:57):
Man. And when I took my ACT, I was so nervous.
Maybe calm down. Do you remember doing that?
Speaker 2 (10:04):
Oh yeah, I took the SAT but I remember it.
Speaker 1 (10:08):
Yeah. Anyway, tough times. Appreciate your time, doctor Polio, and
let's talk again soon.
Speaker 2 (10:14):
Thanks Tony. Have a great day, all right
Speaker 1 (10:16):
Doctor Martiny Polio, you too,
Good morning. I'm Tony Cruz. Doctor Marty Polio is joining
us this morning again and appreciate your time. Doctor Polio
here as our superintendent of Jefferson County Public Schools.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
Yeah, good morning, Tony. How are you.
Speaker 1 (00:13):
I'm good. I got out of the snow. Speaking of snow,
do we have to make up the days of snow here?
Speaker 2 (00:20):
Yeah? So, Jefferson County Public Schools we go a total
of one hundred and seventy five school days. We schedule
those for the year. The state statute is one hundred
and seventy. So we had one back in September, if
you remember, kind of the hurricane, one of the remnants
of the hurricanes coming through with the winds, and then
we had five of them on the first week in January.
(00:44):
So right now, as long as the board approves it,
it's once again a board decision. We would have to
make up one of the days at this point, but
we still have six weeks of winter left, so still
some time for some days.
Speaker 1 (00:58):
Speaking of days, let's talk a little bit about buses.
Did you were you able to get some new routes
for this semester or just nobody volunteered or work that
out what do we know.
Speaker 2 (01:13):
Yeah, So at our next board meeting, which is a
week from today, so next Tuesday night, we are bringing
a motion back to our board, a recommendation that we
bring some services back. It will not be all of
our services. We essentially have three start times, and in
order to provide Magnet transportation, you have to take them
to a depot, which is kind of like the Atlanta
(01:34):
airport where everyone comes in and switches onto a bus
and it kind of maximizes efficiency. The only one we
have that is the first time. So we're going to
bring back some of our a few elementaries, middles and highs.
So may O'manuel Butler. It's going to be a recommendation.
Then we're also Johnson Middle, Whitney Young Elementary, and Corey's
(01:55):
Taylor Elementary are going to be the recommendations for the
remainder of the year, and I think we'll look to
that for next year as well.
Speaker 1 (02:02):
Excellent, Let's talk a little bit about some of the
things that are going on, particularly ever since COVID. I mean,
I know you've been trying to, like every public school
system in America, trying to get back on track with
kids and education. Part of that is, and we've seen
a big movement of chronic absenteeism. How's that going for
JCPS this year.
Speaker 2 (02:23):
Well, we're really pleased. I mean we are still let
me say this, we are still not in pre COVID
times with chronic absenteeism. And it was too high, to
be honest with you, Tony, at pre COVID times. That
was a concern of mine at that time. But we
are down about five percent in chronic absenteeism across the
(02:44):
board in JCPS this year, So kids are coming to
school at a much higher rate than they did the
past two years. It's still not enough. I mean, any
student who is chronically absent is going to be a
struggle to get them to where they need to be.
I mean, you can just imagine anybody in the workforce
who misses eighteen more days than their colleagues are probably
going to struggle more at their job. And it's it's
(03:06):
the same way in school. Teachers and can't do their
jobs if the kids aren't in the seats ready to
learn every single day. And so we have our many
of our neediest kids who are missing eighteen to twenty
days of school every year and that's just an impossibility
to get them to where they need to be at
the end of the year, especially when we're measuring against
their peers. So very proud that we're patting in the
(03:28):
right direction, but still got a lot of work to do.
Speaker 1 (03:30):
What do you attribute that to? A is the programs
or talking to parents? How how did you kind of
start turning that that is a great improvement by percents? Big?
Speaker 2 (03:41):
Yeah. So we're really trying to do is work with
community partners and look at the reasons why kids are absent.
It's really not cut right. I mean, there are some
school reasons, so we have to look at some things
we do at schools to get kids engaged in coming
back to school every day. But I mean it could
be medical, it could be social services, it could be
(04:02):
mental health, it could be safety, it could be housing insecurity.
I mean, we could go down the line of for
reasons why, And that's one of the hard reasons of
attacking it is just because there's no clear reason. But
so what we've tried to do is really look at
ways we can provide wrap around services to kids. Can
they get medical help inside of their school, you know
(04:23):
when they may not have access to doctors. Can we
get them to a registered nurse inside of a school
who could write an antibiotic prescription and get them back
in school in one or two days instead of five
or six days. Providing more mental health services for kids
has been a huge one for us. So we still
got a lot of work to do, but some really
positive signs for kids being in school.
Speaker 1 (04:45):
We've got more to talk to with doctor Marty Polio,
Superintendent Jefferson County Public Schools. Marty, if you can hold
on for us, appreciate that, and we'll be back with
more with doctor Pollio and contact. Anna's Warnning News. Tony
Kruz talking to doctor Marty Polio, Efferson County Public School
Superintendent joining us this morning. And now for Marty, let's
talk a little bit about Elevate. We've got opening a
(05:09):
second Elevate after school learning center in Newburgh for kids.
What does this do?
Speaker 2 (05:15):
Yeah, so, Tony, this really came from what we call
ser dollars are from the ARP dollars, which were the
federal dollars provided for COVID relief back in twenty twenty one,
twenty twenty twenty twenty one, and a lot of school
districts around the nation, especially large school districts, added a
bunch of personnel, and now they're faced with massive cuts
(05:36):
because those funds are those COVID funds are no longer available.
What we did, on the other hand, was what we
were talking about before the break tony, which was getting
kids in school. So if you're going to catch kids up,
first of all, they got to be in school. Second
of all, you got to give them more time in
front of a certified teacher. So our goal was really
(05:56):
to get you know, a few hundred kids every single
day that are going to that are extending their school. Essentially,
it's not you're just the same school. You're going there
having some fun and extra meal and some some fun
things to do like robotics and music. But in the end,
we're giving them additional time in front of a reading
(06:16):
and a math teacher to really continue to build them.
So it's to me, it's it's you know, there's no
secret sauce to this. It is really about minutes in
front of a teacher. And so you know, if we're
going to catch kids up, that's what we got to do.
And we believe that we're seeing some real results because
that's what we're doing. We're extending learning for kids after
school during the summertime. We just have to be innovative
(06:39):
in education these days. It's just not going to work
from eight am to three pm and catch kids up.
We need extra time with kids, especially those that have
been struggling. So that's what the Elevate Center does. We
bust the kids there and we give them several extra
hours of instruction after school.
Speaker 1 (06:56):
It's interesting to note that news we came out with
the story that also relies on seeing and Tom Gambrel
you may know him, superintendent of schools in Bell County, Kentucky,
as well as the Trumpet supporter, both told CNN that
the proposed federal education funding cuts could be catastrophic for
schools in the state. The concern is that President Trump
(07:16):
may carve out the Department of Education. We talked about
this a little bit, I think the last time we spoke,
But Kentucky apparently is one of the fifteen states that
relies on a lot of FED money just to feed
kids so they can learn. And you know, as I
tell people all the time, even the Lord had to
feed people before they would listen to understanding. You know,
(07:38):
so to speak. So it's a big part of this.
What are your concerns and do you think now Lenna
McMahon's going to be the head of the Department of Education,
do you think it goes away.
Speaker 2 (07:51):
I don't know. I don't think the funding will go away.
It's hard for me to imagine that Congress would allow
that to happen. Look at what what federal dollars really
support in education, you know, and really it is around
special education needs for kids. That is what is called
the Idea funding, which is millions of dollars to every
(08:15):
district in America for special education needs. Then it is
around nutrition once again, feeding kids and you know, we
just need to lot. Kids can't learn if they don't.
It's sad in our country that we have to say
this that kids need food and if they don't get
it at school, they won't have food at all. But
that is you know where that comes from. And so
(08:37):
you know, these are funds that are just I think districts,
every district in America, wealthy, poor, are all tapped into these.
So I do believe this. I believe whether there's a
Department of Education or not at the at the federal level,
the funding will be provided to schools. I just can't
imagine Congress not doing that for kids in this country.
(08:57):
So I'm optimistic that at least the funding will continue,
which is the most important thing I think for us
as we look to any possible changes.
Speaker 1 (09:07):
All right, coming up very shortly as the ACT prep
boot camp. I love this idea. Who can get involved
here on January twenty fifth.
Speaker 2 (09:18):
Well, it's we want to get all of our our
high school kids involved in it. I mean, and so
you know you can reach go talk to your school
counselor kids can get in this. And so what it
is is just getting kids to make sure that you know,
they're prepared. A lot of our kids don't have access
to you know, ACT coaches and tutors and those type
of things like my daughter had, and so you know,
(09:40):
we want to provide that option for kids. And so
the more they know about how to take the test
and those type of things, the better off they're going
to do. And you know, ACT is a predictor of
how kids are going to do in college, so we
want to make sure that they have every opportunity for
support to be successful.
Speaker 1 (09:57):
Man. And when I took my ACT, I was so nervous.
Maybe calm down. Do you remember doing that?
Speaker 2 (10:04):
Oh yeah, I took the SAT but I remember it.
Speaker 1 (10:08):
Yeah. Anyway, tough times. Appreciate your time, doctor Polio, and
let's talk again soon.
Speaker 2 (10:14):
Thanks Tony. Have a great day, all right
Speaker 1 (10:16):
Doctor Martiny Polio, you too,
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