Statewide launch builds on successful REACH initiative, which showed improved teacher retention, reduced chronic absenteeism, decreased use of out-of-school suspensions, and a greater capacity to respond to trauma and support student mental health
The Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE)
and the Center for Childhood Resilience at Ann and Robert H. Lurie Children’s
Hospital of Chicago today announced the statewide rollout of Resilience-Supportive Schools Illinois (RSSI) — a free, data-informed initiative that provides schools with tools to strengthen student and educator mental health and resilience.
RSSI builds on the Resilience Education to Advance Community Healing (REACH) Initiative, which has led to reduced chronic absenteeism, improved teacher retention, and decreased the use of suspensions, and improved schools’ capacity for trauma- responsiveness for participating schools.
“Students have the best chance at succeeding academically when they feel safe, supported, and seen at school,” said State Superintendent of Education Dr. Tony Sanders. “Resilience-Supportive Schools Illinois gives educators the tools, training, and data to create school environments where students can truly thrive. What I appreciate most about this initiative is that it’s not a one-size-fits-all approach. It meets schools where they are, honors local context, and reflects our shared commitment to the success of every student in Illinois.”
RSSI is part of Illinois’ broader effort to improve student mental and behavioral health. This coordinated approach includes universal mental health screenings, Social-Emotional Learning Hubs that support trauma-informed practices, the BEACON portal to connect families with services, the Resiliency Toolkit for educators and caregivers, and the Children’s Adversity Index to quantify community-level trauma risks. RSSI complements these efforts by offering a scalable, data-driven, educator-ready platform to help schools strengthen school climate, coordinate services, and support student well-being.
“RSSI is an essential part of the infrastructure we need to support the transformation of children’s behavioral health in our state,” said Dr. Dana Weiner, chief officer for Children’s Behavioral Health Transformation in the Governor’s Office. “ISBE and Lurie Children’s Hospital have been key partners in efforts to ensure that schools are places where young people can receive the support they need to thrive.”
RSSI is a free and voluntary initiative. Schools start by completing a 15-minute survey in ISBE’s Web Application Security (IWAS) system. The information that is collected, combined with existing data from the Illinois Report Card and 5Essentials Survey, is used to generate a personalized snapshot to help each school identify areas of strength and opportunity.
Schools will have access to a suite of virtual tools and personalized, regionalized supports provided by Illinois’ Social Emotional Learning (SEL) Hubs and RSSI partners to help them develop and implement a resilience action plan focused on one or more of RSSI’s four foundational pillars:
- Trauma-responsiveness and healing-centeredness: Educators are trained to recognize the impact of trauma on learning and to foster environments that are safe, supportive, and healing-centered.
- Mental health: Schools receive support to promote well-being for all students and respond to individual mental health needs through intervention and connections to community-based care.
- SEL: SEL instruction equips students with critical life skills, including responsible decision-making, respect for others, conflict resolution, and empathy.
- Cultural awareness, responsiveness and equity: RSSI schools work to ensure every child, family and educator feels their culture is welcome and respected, providing an environment for students to reach their full potential.
A pilot phase of RSSI took place in more than 300 Illinois public schools during the 2024-25 school year to test and refine the initiative prior to full statewide implementation.
“RSSI meets schools where they are, using visuals to show our school’s strengths and opportunities with a helpful summary to align our school’s efforts toward targeted improvement,” said Catherine Murray, who is the SEL/behavior manager in Batavia Public School District 101. Her school participated in the pilot phase of RSSI.
RSSI expands on the foundation laid by the REACH Initiative, which was launched in 2020 and expanded in 2022. REACH was piloted and developed by ISBE and Lurie Children’s Hospital in close collaboration with ISBE’s SEL Hubs, the Stress and Trauma Treatment Center, and Partnership for Resilience. REACH has supported approximately 25 percent of Illinois public schools to date.
The American Institutes for Research studied schools that participated in REACH, finding strong outcomes for students, educators, and schools overall, including:
- Improved teacher retention: Schools that participated in REACH had better teacher retention than schools that did not.
- Reduced chronic absenteeism: REACH schools that were “engaged” (participated in most elements of REACH) had lower rates of student chronic absenteeism — defined as the percentage of students who are absent 10% or more of school days — than REACH schools that did not complete REACH activities.
- Decreased use of out-of-school suspensions: REACH schools that were “very engaged” had a slightly lower rate of out-of-school suspensions compared with REACH schools that did not complete REACH activities.
- Greater capacity to respond to trauma and support student mental health: On average, schools became more trauma-responsive over time while participating in REACH, as measured by the Trauma Responsive Schools Implementation Assessment.
“Illinois is on the path to becoming a national leader in how we support young people’s mental health and well-being,” said Dr. Colleen Cicchetti, executive director of the Center for Childhood Resilience at Lurie Children’s Hospital. “By bringing together schools, community groups, and public agencies, we’re making sure kids across the state get the help they need, when and where they need it. RSSI gives schools practical tools and support to care for their students and strengthen the systems that surround them. This work is not only urgent — it’s making a real difference in the lives of children, families, and communities every day.”
How Schools Can Join RSSI
School administrators in Illinois can now complete the RSSI Screener Survey in IWAS so that their schools can begin participating in RSSI for the 2025-26 school year. To access: Log into IWAS, select “System Listing,” and then “RSSI Screener Survey 2025.” After submission, schools will receive a tailored data snapshot and can begin building their local action plans.
Visit the Resilience-Supportive Schools Illinois website to learn more and watch the RSSI overview video.
***Courtesy of the Illinois State Board of Education***
