Joanne Panopoulos

Joanne Panopoulos received her Bachelor’s degree in Special Education from Illinois State University; a Master’s degree in Educational Administration from Northern Illinois University; and her Doctorate of Education from National Louis University in Educational Leadership.

Joanne has thirty years of experience in public education, ten years as a versatile special education teacher, and the remaining as a skilled administrator in various roles. Her passion is to continue to lead others and systems to increase academic and social-emotional wellness achievement for all students and decrease the gap for those identified as struggling.

She has demonstrated successful administrative experience in working in various public educational settings such as a special education cooperative, a small elementary school district, and a unit school district with 20 school buildings pre-k through age 22. She currently serves as an administrator in one of the state’s highest-performing high school districts in Illinois. She possesses a repertoire of essential leadership skills that pertain to identifying evidence-based practices and curricula in English/Language Arts (ELA), Math, and Social Emotional Learning (SEL) for successful implementation, implementation of Multi-Tiered Systems of Supports at the elementary, middle, and high school levels, supervision and evaluation of teachers and principals, using the Professional Learning Community (PLC) framework for team planning and decision making related to improving practices and increasing student performance at the elementary and middle school level, and lastly, managing the Student Services budgets in all previous positions.     

Joanne has served as an adjunct professor for three years at Aurora University, Illinois, and National Louis University teaching courses in the Department of Special Education. Joanne keeps abreast of current trends and practices in special education and general education with her memberships with several state and National Professional organizations such as the Council of Administrators of Special Education (CASE), Council for Exceptional Children (CEC), and Illinois Alliance of Administrators for Special Education (IAASE).