New Trier Hires Assistant Superintendent For Special Education

From New Trier Township High School District 203: Dr. Joanne Panopoulos, a veteran student services and special education administrator who began her career as a special education teacher, will join New Trier Township High School District 203 this summer as Assistant Superintendent for Special Education.

Panopoulos, currently Assistant Superintendent of Student Services for Wheaton Warrenville Community School District 200, will begin at New Trier on July 1. The New Trier Board of Education approved her appointment on Monday night.

The Assistant Superintendent for Special Education is a new position at New Trier, replacing the Director of Special Education. The change of the position to an assistant superintendent recognizes the strategic, District-wide nature of the role and will help the District better implement an integrated approach to serving every individual student’s needs and goals in all parts of the school.

Panopoulos was selected following an extensive search that involved the input of parents, teachers, support staff and administrators, who participated through an online survey, focus groups and an interview committee. She will come into the position following a transitional year during which two retired Special Education directors, Gayle Brankin and Laurel Burman, have shared the Director of Special Education role.

“Joanne embodies the values, skills, knowledge and abilities we wanted to find in the new Assistant Superintendent,” said Dr. Paul Sally, Superintendent of New Trier District 203. “We are thrilled to receive the benefit of her experience as an administrator at school districts both large and small and the insight she brings to the role as a former special education teacher herself. She will help us stay true to our vision that each and every student is part of all discussions about teaching, learning, support and engagement.”

Panopoulos began in her current position at Wheaton Warrenville District 200 in 2011. Prior to that, she served as Director of Student Services at West Northfield School District 31, Director of Special Education at Niles Township District for Special Education and as a special education teacher at the middle school and high school level. She is also an adjunct professor at National Louis University, teaching courses for students seeking a Master’s degree or endorsement in Special Education.

She received a Doctor of Education degree in Educational Leadership from National Louis University, a Master of Science degree in Educational Administration from Northern Illinois University and a Bachelor of Science degree in Special Education from Illinois State University.

Image courtesy of New Trier Township High School District 203