Select one essential support area to improve—chosen for community interest, need, or buy-in—and continue working on it, since improvement in any essential positively impacts student success¶

Strategy · All strategies
Evidence · no claims cited

Description¶

The brief advises: "The most important thing is to select an area to work on, and continue working to improve it." It states the best focus area is one "that the school community has interest in, need for, and/or buy-in from staff and the broader school community," because these drive the efforts that fuel improvement. It also states improvement in any essential has a positive impact on student success.

Design Implications¶

Context¶

Requirements¶

• Staff and broader school community interest, need, or buy-in to sustain improvement efforts

Constraints¶

• Continuous improvement work is described as truly continuous; the brief warns schools do not completely start over each year but must keep working

Target Learners¶

• K-12 students in elementary and high schools

Target Learning Goals¶

• School climate and culture improvement supporting attendance and learning

Related Strategies¶

• Dig into item-level survey responses: examine how students and teachers answer specific questions as a starting point for learning and responding
• Use a targeted universalist approach to identify student groups with less positive survey reports and respond with empathy, curiosity, and support
• Select evidence-based mindfulness programs matched to school needs assessment data

Examples¶

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Key Sources¶

• 5Essentials Survey: New insights for school leaders. (2026). University of Chicago Consortium on School Research. https://consortium.uchicago.edu