Dear Unit 9 Parents,

The window for the 5Essentials Survey for Unit 9 begins February 1 and runs until March 31.  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 

Prior research in more than 400 schools has shown that schools that were strong on at least three of these “5 Essential” indicators were 10 times more likely to improve student learning gains in math and reading than those that were weak on three or more Essentials. 

All teachers and 4th through 12th grade students will be responding to this survey. 5Essentials Reports will be generated for schools if their teachers and/or students meet the response rate threshold of 50 percent. These reports will be sent to schools and districts in May 2023 and will also be included in the State School Report Card. 

Additionally, Unit 9 has chosen to provide the optional Parent Supplement survey. If at least 20 percent of each of our schools' parents complete this survey, a parent supplement report will also be generated. The parent data will not be reported on the State Report Card. 

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 for students and teachers will be conducted February 1, 2023 through March 31, 2023. The Parent Survey Supplement will be conducted during that same time frame. To take the survey please visit https://survey.5-essentials.org/illinois/ and select the appropriate survey to begin. 

For more information about the Illinois 5Essentials Survey, or to view previous years’ reports, please visit https://www.5-essentials.org/illinois. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact 5Essentials Client Services at 1-866-440-1874 or impact-surveys@uchicago.edu. 

• You may enter your email address if you would like to receive confirmation of your submission, but it is not required. 

• Then enter “Iroquois” into the county field

• Then enter the name of your child’s school 

  • Type Watseka Community High School-Grade 9-12

  • Type Watseka Junior High School-Grade 6-8

  • Type Glenn Raymond School-Grades 1-5

  • Type Wanda Kendall School-Grades Pre-K-Kindergarten

• If you have more than one child, you may submit a survey for each child. However, only one parent per household may submit a survey for a given child. 

For more information about the Illinois 5Essentials Survey, or to view previous years’ reports, please visit https://www.5-essentials.org/illinois. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact 5Essentials Client Services at 1-866-440-1874 or impact-surveys@uchicago.edu.