Letter: Putnam County School District 535 seeks community input via survey

Dear PC #535 Community,

We are off and rolling with the 2023-2024 school year. Student learning is already soaring in all four schools thanks to our amazing teachers and staff.

This great start builds off of the success and accomplishments from the past few years. A few of these points of pride are as follows:

• Putnam County Primary School and Putnam County Elementary School both received “exemplary” designations by the State, meaning they are rated within the top 10% of all schools in Illinois.

• Putnam County Junior High has updated supports and resources for student learning leading to improvements with the school’s designation by the State.

• Putnam County High School has expanded on college and career based courses to help students prepare for success after graduation. The graduation rate is also the highest it’s been in recent history.

Along with these accomplishments, the district has also made the following improvements in the past two years:

• Partnered with the Village of Granville to welcome a School Resource Officer and improve safety and security of all four schools

• Added athletic opportunities, including golf and cross country at PCJH and football and bowling as coop teams with Hall High School at PCHS

• Completed of a fiber optic project to provide reliable, high-speed Internet to all schools

• Developed a curriculum review process to ensure learning resources are updated on a regular basis

While these accomplishments and updates are worth celebrating, we continue to look forward and seek improvement at PC #535. These improvements are not possible without the input, support and collaboration of the community.

Therefore, the district will be sending a survey via USPS during the last two weeks of September to all homes within its boundaries to gather feedback on our schools and future areas of focus.

Along with feedback on planning for the future, there is a need to seek your input on the school buildings.

Over the last year, the district partnered with Cadence Consulting to complete an assessment of the facilities. Findings from this process show that all four buildings are in need of significant improvements to building systems, safety and security and learning spaces.

We are now at a crossroads and must consider if we should continue to invest in existing buildings or begin closing schools while expanding onto or replacing others.

We understand that planning for our schools must reflect the priorities of the community and invite you to share your insights by completing the survey.

If you have questions about the survey or would like more information about the facilities assessment, we encourage you to visit the district website. You can also send an email to info@pcschools535.org.

Thank you for your continued support of our students and schools.

Dr. Clayton Theisinger - Superintendent, Putnam County School District #535