5Essentials Survey

The 5Essentials Survey from UChicago Impact is a diagnostic assessment of a school’s culture and climate designed to identify organizational strengths and areas of opportunity on the five essential factors that research has shown to drive school improvement – Effective Leaders, Collaborative Teachers, Involved Families, Ambitious Instruction, and Supportive Environment.

As revealed through World Cafés and the development of the district’s strategic plan, we are in need of a more comprehensive instrument that takes into account relational trust as a key factor for improvement. The data from this annual survey will help the district and schools measure and respond to factors aligned to the strategic plan that go beyond and complement traditional School Performance Framework (SPF) scores.

This 20-30 minute electronic survey will be administered from January 30 to February 16 to students* in grades 4-12, all teachers, most school staff**, and parents. We need at least 50% participation to get school level reports which will be shared in early April.

The student survey is available in English and Spanish. Students with disabilities should be provided with necessary accommodations, such as having the survey read aloud or given extra time as needed. Any accommodations made for a student must protect the confidentiality of the student’s responses.

To also include counselors, social workers, reading specialists, interventionists, instructional coaches, librarians, and some educational support professionals. The survey is not intended for administrators, deans, cafeteria workers, security staff, tutors, guest teachers, or student teachers.

This partnership with UChicago Impact is part of a multi-year effort to streamline surveys, minimize the number given, and align our survey results to the strategic plan initiatives. We have the option of adding additional questions in the coming years.

To improve, we need your honest input. While this anonymous survey is intended to capture the overall health of culture and climate in schools – it is not a place to air individual grievances.

Beginning in February, a cross-disciplinary district team, with support from UChicago Impact, will help schools translate 5Essentials Survey findings into actionable plans for school improvement and to build leadership capacity to successfully execute school improvement efforts.