Mount Pulaski Grade School

Dear Parents and Guardians,

Beginning today, parents across Illinois will have an opportunity to participate in the statewide Illinois 5Essentials survey by visiting http://survey.5-essentials.org/illinois/survey/parent/. 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 is 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: effective leaders, collaborative teachers, involved families, supportive environments, and ambitious instruction. Mt. Pulaski Schools will use this data, along with other data, to inform Strategic Planning and School Improvement Planning in the Spring of 2020.

Prior research in more than 400 schools has shown that schools that were strong on at least three of these "5Essential" 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.

If at least 20% of MPHS parents and 20% of MPGS parents complete this survey, the parent supplement 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. If you have a child in each building, please take the survey twice (once for each building). If there are multiple parents in the household, each parent is invited to take the survey individually.

The Illinois 5Essentials Survey will be conducted through April 2, 2021. To take the survey, please visit https://survey.5-essentials.org/illinois/survey/parent/login/.

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

Sincerely,

Fred Lamkey, Superintendent