(FRANKFORT, Ky.) -- Robert Smotherman, superintendent of the Bardstown Independent school district, is the recipient of the second annual Dr. Samuel Robinson Award, presented today by the Kentucky Board of Education at its meeting in Frankfort.
To honor retiring board member Samuel Robinson and to celebrate the Brown vs. Board of Education decision of 1954, the Kentucky Board of Education established the Dr. Samuel Robinson Award. The annual award is conferred on an individual or organization in Kentucky for demonstrating outstanding commitment, service and leadership in promoting opportunities to learn at high levels for all Kentucky students.
Three former Kentucky Board of Education members -- Carol Gabbard, Deborah Morrow and Wade Mountz -- served as this year's selection committee.
In its selection letter, the committee noted that "While Dr. Robinson has set a high standard, we believe that Dr. Robert Smotherman, Bardstown Independent superintendent, is worthy of the award bearing Dr. Robinson's name."
Smotherman has served as superintendent for 22 years and has 39 years of experience as an educator. He is a graduate of Duke University, Vanderbilt University and Peabody College. Smotherman's educational career has taken him to schools in Atlanta, Nashville and Birmingham, among others.
Under his leadership, the Bardstown Independent school district joined with five other school districts in Kentucky's Minority Student Achievement Partnership, working to identify ways to reduce the achievement gap between minority and white students. His school district became the first in the state to create a private educational foundation to raise money for its schools. It also was the first district to offer preschool to all 4-year-olds, regardless of economic or special education status.
Smotherman was nominated for the award by Dorothy White, executive director of the Bardstown Chamber of Commerce. In her nomination letter, White said that Smotherman " … has attained a laudable level of accomplishment within his field and has played a vital role in the advancement of education in Kentucky."
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