Parent Informational Letter

Parents, students, and teachers across Illinois will have an opportunity to participate in the tenth annual statewide Illinois 5Essentials Survey. This survey is designed to generate a detailed picture of the inner workings of your child’s school. As a parent, this opportunity will allow you to share your thoughts on the important elements of school effectiveness in a survey about your child’s school.

On behalf of the Illinois State Board of Education, the Illinois 5Essentials Survey will be administered online by UChicago Impact at the University of Chicago. The survey gathers data related to five indicators that can predict important student outcomes, including improved attendance and larger test score gains. These five indicators that affect and predict school success are:

· Effective Leaders

· Collaborative Teachers

· Involved Families

· Supportive Environments

· Ambitious Instruction

All teachers and 4^th-12^th grade students will be responding to this survey. Students’ identities will be completely confidential. Teachers or administrators will never see individual responses to survey questions and will only receive aggregated information. These reports will be sent to schools and districts and will also be included in the State School Report Card.

Additionally, we are asking for your participation in the parent survey. If at least 20 percent of parents complete this survey, a parent report will also be generated. Your participation in the parent portion of the survey will help us understand the conditions at your child’s school and guide improvement. Your identity and survey responses will be kept completely confidential and will never be connected to you or your child.

The Illinois 5Essentials Survey is available January 24, 2023 through March 31, 2023. Parents may complete the survey by visiting https://survey.5-essentials.org/Illinois/ and select the appropriate survey to begin. The link is also available on our district website in the main menus at the top of the screen, as well as on our Zion 6 mobile app. In the weeks to come, we will be emailing/texting you reminders to complete the survey, as your feedback is crucial to the work we do with your children.