PANA


Home National Agenda PANA Information about Goals Goal Overview Goal 1: Referral Goal 2: Parent Participation Goal 3: Personnel Preparation Goal 4: Provision of Educational Services Goal 5: Array of Services Goal 6: Assessments Goal 7: Access to Instructional Materials Goal 8: Curricular Needs Goal 9: Transition Goal 10: Professional Development PANA Agenda Booklet and Brochure Research PA Special Education Supervisors PA Educational Service Providers Resources and Links Books Educational Resourcesl Family Directed Resources Professional Resources Recreation, Leisure, and Independent Living Visual Impairments and Eye Conditions PANA Committee Members
	What is PANA? Pennsylvania, like other states, has responded to the National Agenda and tailored it to meet its particular strengths and challenges. Pennsylvania?s Approach to the National Agenda (PANA) is a customization of the National Agenda to meet the educational needs and priorities of children with visual impairments, deafblindness, and visual and multiple disabilities in the commonwealth. On November 17, 1997, a group of 70 parents and professionals met at Overbrook School for the Blind in order to create Pennsylvania?s Approach to the National Agenda (PANA) which was designed to build upon the National Agenda for Children and Youths with Visual Impairments, Including those with Multiple Disabilities. The Co-Chairs and founders of PANA were Cynthia Jackson-Glenn and Dr. Diane Wormsley. The all day workshop opened a dialogue about the issues and concerns related to education of children and youths in Pennsylvania and established a direction for the committee. Since then, PANA has been chaired by Sandy Finkel, Dr. Lynn Murphy, and now Dr. Rebecca Renshaw. Today there are 17 PANA committee members representing various backgrounds and expertise. PANA contains a set of goals and actions designed to ensure positive educational outcomes. It is divided into ten major areas: Referral, Parent Participation, Personnel Preparation, Provision of Educational Services, Array of Services, Assessment, Access to Instructional Materials, Curricular Needs, Transition Services, and Professional Development. The PANA Agenda Booklet provides a detailed overview of the National Agenda, PANA and each area is divided into 1) a set of goals, 2) actions to be performed to attain each goal, and 3) desired outcomes based on those actions. Some of the goals may require legislative action, some may need formal authorization from the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) through guidelines or Basic Education Circulars (BECs), and some may be implemented at the school district or intermediate unit level. From goals to actions to outcomes, the Pennsylvania Agenda functions as a roadmap to improve outcomes for children and youths with visual impairments, deafblindness, and visual and multiple disabilities.