GreatSchools recognizes 532 Illinois schools for creating positive, supportive learning environments

Public elementary, middle, and high schools receive first-of-its-kind Thrive Award

OAKLAND, Calif., Aug. 22, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- GreatSchools.org, the nation's leading nonprofit school information site, today announced 532 Illinois schools as recipients of its Thrive Award. The first-of-its-kind, data-driven award recognizes and celebrates public schools in Illinois that demonstrate positive, supportive learning environments for students and staff.

The award is given to schools that complete and score favorably on the Illinois State Board of Education's annual 5Essentials Survey, completed by students and staff at the state's public schools. Survey results provide an overview of a school's climate — information that's important for families to understand but often not easy to locate.

GreatSchools' recent research of K-12 parent priorities following the COVID-19 pandemic suggests a strong demand for insight into schools' cultures, but that this information is often challenging to uncover. This addition of school climate data — as well as advanced course offerings, STEM programs, and information directly from school leaders — to GreatSchools profiles over the past few years seeks to bridge this gap.

"Parents know the kind of educational experience they want their child to have, but without access to quality school information, it can be hard to find," said GreatSchools CEO Jon Deane. "We hope the Thrive Award helps Illinois parents gain a broader understanding of what is happening within a school and, most importantly, discern whether the environment is conducive to supporting their child's needs."

Illinois parents can now filter their school search on GreatSchools.org for Thrive Award winning schools and view updated 5Essentials Survey data¹ across five categories: leadership, teaching culture, academics, family engagement, and learning environment.

The Illinois Parent Teacher Association (PTA) noted the importance of accessing this information to understand more about their child's learning environment and the degree to which a school values strong family engagement.

"We want to make every child's potential a reality by engaging and empowering families and communities to advocate for all children," said Illinois PTA President Greg Hobbs. "To do this, families need access to relevant information that allows them to be their child's best champion. We're grateful that this award helps connect families with that data — and understand how schools across Illinois are valuing and supporting family involvement in their child's education."

The University of Chicago Consortium on School Research has validated the effectiveness of the 5Essentials Survey in promoting positive student outcomes. Though the survey has been administered to over 6,000 schools in 22 states, Illinois schools were selected to receive Thrive Award because of the Illinois State Board of Education's transparent data policy that makes this critical school information publicly available. GreatSchools first launched the Thrive Award in 2021, with 452 Illinois schools as inaugural winners.²

Learn more about the significance of the Thrive Award and its methodology.

About GreatSchools
GreatSchools is the leading nonprofit providing high-quality information that supports parents pursuing a great education for their child, schools striving for excellence, and communities working to diminish inequities in education. We are the only national organization that collects and analyzes data from all 51 state departments of education and the federal government to provide analysis, insights, and school quality ratings for parents, partners, researchers, and policymakers. Over 49 million users visit GreatSchools' award-winning website annually to learn about schools in their area, explore research insights, and access thousands of free, evidence-based parenting resources to support their child's learning and well-being. Learn more at GreatSchools.org and join us on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook.

¹ The 2024 Thrive Award winners were determined based on 2023 5Essentials Survey data from the Illinois State Board of Education, which represented the most recently available data set at the time of collection and analysis.

² The Thrive Award was not given in 2022 or 2023.

SOURCE GreatSchools.org