School Environment Matters: CUSD#4 Administers 5Essentials Survey to Improve Student Learning

Students, teachers and parents weigh in on school climate and learning conditions
 
CUSD #4 will join the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) in the eighth statewide survey of school climate and learning conditions. The survey provides a unique opportunity for students, teachers and parents to have a voice in improving their schools. From December 10 through February 14, students and teachers will be asked to take a 25 -minute research-based survey to help identify strengths and weaknesses in their school’s learning environment. The parent survey supplement will be administered from October 24 through February 14. These surveys will serve as an opportunity for schools to reflect on progress since the last statewide implementation. “We encourage all our teachers, students, and parents to make their voices heard to impact change."
 
The Illinois 5Essentials Survey provides a comprehensive picture of a school’s organizational culture in an individualized report measuring five “essentials” critical for school success:

• Effective Leaders
• Collaborative Teachers
• Involved Families
• Supportive Environment
• Ambitious Instruction

Twenty years of research at the University of Chicago in more than 400 schools has shown that schools that were strong on at least three of the 5Essentials were 10 times more likely to make substantial gains in improving student reading and math than schools that were weak on three or more of the Essentials. Those differences remained true even after controlling for student and school characteristics, including poverty, race, gender, and neighborhood characteristics. Strength on components within the Essentials also correlated with increased teacher retention, student attendance, college enrollment, and high school graduation.
 
CUSD #4 will participate in the statewide 2019-20 5Essentials Survey to meet state legislation and the Board’s mandate, Unity Schools will administer the survey to learn how schools are doing on the 5Essentials for school success.
 
Principals and superintendents will receive their 5Essentials Reports in April 2020. Survey results will also be reported publicly on the 5Essentials reporting site in Spring 2020 and on the State School Report Card website in Fall 2020. An optional parent survey is again available to all schools as a supplement to the 5Essentials Survey for teachers and students—results from the parent survey supplement will be included only in the individual school 5Essential Reports. 
 
Teachers, students, and parents may complete the Illinois 5Essentials Survey online. For more information visit: www.5-essentials.org/illinois.