In February and March, certified teachers, students in grades 6-12, and parents across Illinois will have an opportunity to participate in the Illinois 5Essentials Survey: Organizing Schools for Improvement. This survey was designed to provide a detailed portrait of the inner workings of a school from an organizational perspective using feedback from you, your child and your child’s teachers on the critical elements of school effectiveness. The survey identifies five indicators that positively affect school success:

Effective Leaders

Collaborative Teachers

Involved Families

Supportive Environments

Ambitious Instruction

The Illinois 5Essentials Survey will be available for school districts in Illinois to administer from February 1- March 31, 2013. All certified teachers, students in grades 6 through 12, and parents of all District 109 students will be asked to participate in the 15- to 20-minute online survey. UChicago Impact at the University of Chicago, on behalf of the Illinois School Board of Education, will administer the survey.

Respondent identities and individual responses will be kept completely confidential. Teachers or administrators will never see individual responses to survey questions only summary level responses, such as the percentage of students’ who agree homework assignments help them learn the course material.