2023-24 Survey Administration

The 2023-24 CSCI climate survey will be open 02/12/24 - 02/23/24. Families will receive a link to complete the survey via email, staff will complete the survey during a staff meeting, and students (grades 4-8) will complete the survey during school. If you have any questions or need a survey link, please email communicationsdepartment@d181.org.

Survey Clarification

• If a question does not apply or one wishes to not answer a question
  • parents and students should SKIP THE QUESTION
  • staff should select DOES NOT APPLY

Survey Information

Measuring school climate

• District 181 uses the CSCI (Comprehensive School Climate Inventory) as its preferred climate survey
• The CSCI is a scientifically developed survey based on research and theory defining what contributes to positive climates for learning.
• The CSCI was developed by the National School Climate Center (NSCC), a non-profit organization dedicated to measuring and improving the climate for learning in schools. NSCC’s mission is to help schools integrate crucial social, emotional, and ethical learning with academic instruction to enhance student performance, prevent dropouts, reduce violence, and develop healthy and positively engaged adults.

What is school climate?

• School climate refers to the quality of school life as it relates to norms and values, interpersonal relations and social interactions, and organizational processes and structures.
• The school climate sets the tone for all the learning and teaching done in the school environment, and is predictive of students’ ability to learn and develop in healthy ways.
• All schools, like all people, have a range of strengths and weaknesses, as well as a distinctive vision for the kind of school they aspire to be.

Who takes the survey?

• All D181 parents (K-8), teachers (K-8), and 4th-8th grade students are asked to participate in the survey. If you would like to view the student survey or request that your student opts-out of the survey, please let your principal know.

How is the survey administered?

• Parents will receive the survey link by email starting Feb. 12.
• Teachers take the survey during a regularly scheduled staff meeting and receive a link by email.
• Students (grades 4-8) will be administered the survey at school, based on school schedules.

When can we expect results?

• The District will release results from CSCI in late winter/early spring 2024.

Why is this time frame chosen for the survey?

• The state requires that we administer a climate survey annually. This time of year is optimal because it doesn't interrupt our students' testing and assessment calendars and it's the half-way point of our school calendar year.

Background

Recognizing the importance of school climate and the need for measures and procedures to help schools identify and act on their needs, the State of Illinois passed Senate Bill 7 to formalize school surveys across the state and enhance public information about the schools by providing surveys of learning conditions.

The CSCI is one of the surveys identified by the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) for use. The District 181 SELAS Advisory Committee reviewed school climate surveys in 2014-15 and recommended to the Board of Education that the CSCI be used in 2016. It was elected as the preferred survey of District 181 in 2018 and has been used annually since.