Happy Holidays

On behalf of the staff at Gary D. Wright Elementary School, I would like to take this opportunity to wish you all the best this holiday season!  Enjoy Winter Break!  We look forward to continuing the 2016-2017 school year on January 3, 2017, when classes resume.

The 5Essentials Survey to Improve Student Learning

Beginning November 16, District 300 will join the Illinois State Board of Education in the statewide survey of school climate and learning conditions. The Illinois 5Essentials Survey provides a unique opportunity for students, teachers and parents to have a voice in improving their schools.

From November 16, 2016 through January 16, 2017, students in grades 6-12, teachers, and parents will be asked to take the Illinois 5Essentials Survey by visiting https://survey.5-essentials.org/Illinois.  This 25-minute research-based survey will help identify strengths and weaknesses in each school’s learning environment. This survey will serve as an opportunity for schools to reflect on progress since the last statewide implementation.

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 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 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.

District 300 has consistently participated in the statewide 5Essentials Survey and is opting to administer the survey to teachers,  students and parents again this year to continue tracking and informing progress.

Principals and superintendents will receive their 5Essentials Reports in March 2017. Survey results will also be reported publicly on the 2017 State School Report Card website and the full 5Essentials Reports will also be released in the fall.

For more information regarding the survey, please visit: https://illinois.5-essentials.org.