Woodland Community Consolidated School District 50 leaders on July 24 presented results from the University of Chicago 5‑Essentials survey and described building‑level actions to address improvement areas. Superintendent Dr. Maycheck and Dr. Schroed led the presentation that summarized teacher, student and parent survey responses and recommended district and building next steps.

The most important takeaway: district leaders said several measures improved noticeably year‑over‑year — including parent satisfaction and student perceptions of safety — but they identified continued needs for program coherence, collective responsibility and school commitment.

Why it matters: The 5‑Essentials survey is associated with school effectiveness research; district leaders said that when at least three of the five factors (effective leadership, collaborative teachers, involved families, supportive environment and ambitious instruction) are strong, student success is more likely.

Key findings: Dr. Schroed and Dr. Maycheck told the board that Woodland Primary, Elementary, Intermediate and Middle schools showed mixed but generally improving results. Highlights included a near‑doubling of multilingual learners reaching English proficiency compared with state averages across several years (district figures presented as historical comparisons), and an increase in parent satisfaction (reported district‑wide as a rise from roughly 52% to 61% on a composite satisfaction measure over recent years).

Safety and student voice: The district reported a 14% improvement in families who say their child is safe at school, with about 72% of families answering that question affirmatively in the most recent cycle. Student measures at the intermediate and middle schools showed higher response rates and increased peer support for academic work.

Next steps: To address low scores for program coherence and collective responsibility, staff described summer planning sessions that brought teachers, paraeducators, clinicians and administrators together to set “wildly important goals” with lead and lag measures; district staff said the teams will refine goals this summer and implement them during the school year. District curriculum work — including LETRS training and mapping standards, assessments and culturally responsive resources — was cited as the primary strategy for increasing coherence.

Parent outreach: Dr. Maycheck highlighted increased parent engagement and said district web and social media improvements likely contributed to higher parent response rates and perceptions of being welcomed and informed. The district also reported expansion of parent mentor programming and plans to explore additional grants and partnerships to extend parent supports into middle school.

Ending: Board members praised the improvements and asked how specific changes — such as assigning assistant principals to specific grade spans at the middle school and the adoption of phone‑storage protocols — affected safety and climate. Staff said the changes, along with consistent rule enforcement and curricular engagement, contributed to the measured gains and that they will continue to report progress.