Dr David Lett, Superintendent
Dear Friends and Supporters of Pana CUSD #8:
On behalf of the Board of Education, Administrative Team, and Staff of Pana CUSD #8, it is my privilege to greet you and welcome you to the Pana CUSD #8 website. Our staff is working hard to utilize this form of informational technology to keep each of you informed on the happenings within our District. We hope you will visit our website on a regular basis so that you can stay current on the happenings of our District.
For those of you less familiar with Pana CUSD #8, the District itself is located in East, Central Illinois and spans nearly 220 square miles. Pana CUSD # 8 is a Unit School District (i.e. preK-12) with 5 Schools (i.e. Washington Elementary preK-1; Lincoln Elementary 2-4; Jefferson Middle School 5,6; Junior High 7,8; High School 9-12). The District has 225 full and part-time employees and a current budget of over $13 million.
Despite having one of the highest poverty rates for our part of the state, we are proud of the fact that all of our school buildings have been able to meet No Child Left Behind AYP standards while Washington and Lincoln Elementary Schools were recently recognized by the Illinois State Board of Education as "Illinois Spotlight Schools" awarded to high poverty schools exhibiting high academic performance. In addition, Pana CUSD #8 has received the State's highest financial rating (i.e. "Financial Recognition") for the past 3 years while protecting a rich curriculum and academic offerings that are the envy of many of our neighbors.
Presently, Pana High School enjoys an excellent working relationship with Lake Land College in Mattoon, Illinois and through its partnership with Lake Land offers more than 40 dual credit opportunities for its students. Since the inception of dual credit dating back to 1999-2000, Pana High School students have benefited both financially and academically in taking more than 11,000 semester credit hours through Pana High School's partnership with Lake Land College.
Pana CUSD #8 also enjoys excellent educational support services. The District's technology staff supports current computer technology in all our classrooms and across all our programs. Presently we have 2 nursing staff, 3 counseling staff, and the District benefits from significant amounts of special education supports as an active member of Mid-State Special Education Cooperative. Additionally, those students who qualify for Federal Title I reading and math services are being supported in the classroom by "Highly Qualified" teaching and support staff. Pana CUSD # 8 is also able to offer its students a wide variety of co-curricular activities to help round out their educational experiences in our District.
Again, we hope you will soon be adding www.panaschools.com to your list of internet favorites and will use this form of information technology to stay current on the happenings of Pana CUSD # 8. Thank you for your continuing support of our efforts to make our schools the very best they can be.
Educationally Yours,
Dr. David R. Lett
Superintendent of Schools
Pana CUSD #8