Multi-tiered System of Supports (MTSS) Family and Community Guide

Your child’s school is committed to providing high-quality instruction and support to promote the highest achievement of all students. At the school level, the Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) is a framework used to maximize the success of all students. CCSD bases its MTSS on the New Jersey Tiered System of Support, a framework compiled of core components for multi-tiered academic and behavioral supports designed to promote student achievement and success and response to intervention (RTI); with a foundation of strong district and school leadership, a positive school culture and climate, and family and community engagement.

What is a Multi-Tiered System of Supports?

  • A Multi-Tiered System of Supports is not a separate program, class or intervention but rather a way of organizing instruction and intervention to help all students. The goal of the multi-tiered framework is to provide high-quality instruction and support based on student need.
  • This framework also helps educators by providing information (data) to identify students needing additional support (academic, behavioral, social-emotional and attendance*) and also identify students who may need special education.
  • Individual children’s progress is monitored and results are used to make decisions about further instruction and intervention. MTSS is most commonly used in addressing reading, math and behavior, but it can also be used in other areas (*). The MTSS process is flexible and designed to meet the needs of our students.

What are the key components of any MTSS process?

A key component to the MTSS process is that all children receive high quality curriculum and instruction (Tier I).

Another component of the MTSS process is that the school conducts universal screenings. Universal screenings review the progress of all students, these screenings are typically given three times a year. Universal screenings help schools identify students who may need more support or other types of instruction.

As a result of universal screening, students may be identified as needing supplemental instruction (a Tier II level of support) in addition to the high quality instruction they are receiving in Tier I. Research based interventions are used to support students in the area of need. Research based interventions are teaching strategies or methods that have been proven to be effective in helping children be more successful with academics or behavior. There are many different kinds of interventions and instruction that can happen in the classroom, outside the classroom or in small groups.

Another key component to the MTSS process is progress monitoring. Progress monitoring is a way for teachers to take a snapshot of how children are doing on a specific skill. It shows how well the intervention is working. It includes observations, tests, and other formal and informal assessments. Progress monitoring helps determine whether an intervention is successful or needs to be adjusted.

What is Response to Intervention?

  • Response to Intervention (RtI) is the practice of using data to help educators match the correct level of support to what students need.
  •  Educators monitor student Response to Intervention to find out what works.
    What are the key components of a Multi-Tiered System of Supports?
  •  High-quality instruction;
  •  Universal screening to identify students needing supplemental support;
  • Multiple tiers of academic and behavioral support that are progressively
    more intensive;
  • Evidence-based interventions matched to student need; and
  • Ongoing progress monitoring of student performance (RtI).

What are the key components of a Multi-Tiered System of Supports?

  • High-quality instruction;
  • Universal screening to identify students needing supplemental support;
  • Multiple tiers of academic and behavioral support that are progressively
    more intensive;
  • Evidence-based interventions matched to student need; and
  • Ongoing progress monitoring of student performance (RtI).

What are tiered supports?

A Multi-Tiered System of Supports organizes instruction and intervention in the areas of academics, behavior, attendance and social-emotional learning into tiers, or levels of support:

♦ Tier I – All students receive high-quality instruction in academics.

♦ Tier II – In addition to Tier I, students needing more support also receive small-group intervention and supports. The difference is increased time, smaller groups of students or narrowed focus of instruction.

♦ Tier III – In addition to Tiers I and II, students receiving Tier III intervention receive the most intensive supports based on individual need. The difference is individual team-based problem-solving, increased time, smaller groups of students and narrowed focus of instruction.

Academics

  • In Tier I, all students receive high quality curriculum and instruction. The teacher assists all students.
  • In Tier II, the school provides supplemental instructional support, usually in small groups, to students who need additional support to what they are receiving from the general curriculum.
  • In Tier III, intense instructional external support is provided to students with the greatest needs, with frequent progress monitoring.

Behavior

  • In Tier I, all students are explicitly taught positive behavioral expectations. All teachers use a consistent approach to discipline.
  • In Tier II, the school provides supplemental targeted behavioral skill interventions usually in small groups.
  • In Tier III, student centered planning is used to develop customized interventions with frequent progress monitoring.

Attendance

Foundational strategies are practices for the whole school that promote positive conditions for learning. When positive conditions are in place, students are more likely to attend and be engaged.

3 Tiers of Intervention (Attendance Works)

    • In Tier I, all students receive universal strategies to encourage good attendance. Strategies are aimed at encouraging better attendance for all students and at preventing absenteeism before it affects achievement.
    • In Tier II, provides early intervention for students who need more support to avoid chronic absence. These students receive more personalized outreach and early intervention.  Interventions are designed to remove barriers to attendance for students at greater risk of chronic absenteeism, such as those who missed 10% of the school year, the standard definition of chronic absenteeism. These students and families should receive personalized attention as part of the engagement strategy. 
    • In Tier III, offers intensive support for students facing the greatest challenges to getting to school.. Interventions provide intensive support to students missing the most school, often involving not just schools but other agencies such as health, housing and social services, and typically requiring case management customized to individual students’ challenges. Students missing 20% or more of the school year benefit from the addition of this intensive level of support.

Social-Emotional Learning

  • In Tier I, social emotional learning (SEL) supports address social, emotional, and behavioral needs of all students. These supports help foster positive environments where students feel safe and supported, and address universal needs related to social/emotional health and well-being.
  • In  Tier II, teachers, counselors and other staff offer targeted supports for some students: At Tier II, evidence-based academic and behavioral supports are provided to students for whom Tier I supports are insufficient. These supports include classroom-based interventions or small-group interventions facilitated by qualified teachers, support staff, community partners, or other professionals. It’s critical that students have supportive relationships with these staff, and schoolwide SEL can be leveraged to ensure that students’ social and emotional needs are met as they receive behavioral, academic, and/or attendance support.
  • In Tier III, teachers and MTSS team members, such as counselors, and data interventionists offer intensive supports for a few students: Highly intensive and individualized academic and behavioral supports are provided to students for whom Tier I and Tier II supports are insufficient. These supports may include wraparound supports or intensive instruction facilitated by qualified teachers, support staff, community partners, or other professionals. Schoolwide SEL is critical for ensuring that foundational relationships are established and that students’ social and emotional needs are considered when receiving intensive supports. Additionally, schoolwide SEL helps support deeper connections with families and community partners who may play a large role in Tier III supports.

How does the school identify and support students?

  • During the year, schools screen all students to see which students are meeting grade- level standards and which students need additional support.
  • For the students needing more support, a school-based team uses a problem-solving process to plan interventions and monitor progress (Tiers II and III).
  • Tier II small-group problem-solving teams may include principals, educators, school counselors, climate and culture staff, school psychologists, school social workers, instructional coaches, intervention specialists family operations coordinators and parents.
  • Tier III individual problem-solving teams should include parents and staff knowledgeable about the student, grade-level expectations and the problem-solving process for their children.
  • At Tier III, individual diagnostic assessments may be administered to help plan the intervention.
  • Parents are not required to attend problem-solving meetings, but must be given opportunities to participate in problem-solving for their child.

What can I expect from schools using a Multi-Tiered System of Supports?

  • Information on my child’s progress in meeting grade-level standards;
  • Notice of academic, behavior, social emotional and attendance concerns (early identification);
  • Instruction and intervention that is matched to my child’s needs;
  • Feedback on how my child is responding and making progress; and
  • Involvement in individual, data-based problem solving for my child.

How does the school determine if there are social emotional barriers to my child’s learning?

PASS is a student attitudinal survey that takes 15-20 minutes for students to complete on any device. We are using PASS to proactively identify underlying barriers to student achievement to help us identify interventions we can implement to strengthen programs and target supports to students based on the results we get from our students.

Who do I contact if my child is struggling and needs help?

Contact your child’s teacher, the data interventionists, school counselor or the school administrator, with your concerns.

What questions can parents ask to learn more about how MTSS works in their child’s school?

  • What curriculum is being taught in my child’s classroom?
  • What are the targeted interventions that my child’s school is using if he/she is struggling in the classroom?
  • What are the formal guidelines my child’s school is using for progress monitoring?
  • How can I support my child through this process?
  • When and how often are MTSS meetings held?
  • How do MTSS teams monitor my child’s progress?
  • How will I be informed of the progress my child is making?

What happens if an intervention is not working?

If after six weeks of trying an intervention is not working, the MTSS team may recommend another intervention to the classroom teacher, or refer a student to the next tier for added support from the team, or with your permission, an external agency (e.g. Perform Care). Parents play a critical role in supporting what their children are learning in school. Research shows that the more parents are involved in student learning, the higher the student achievement.

There are many ways parents can support what their child is doing in school. Here are a few:

  • Make reading an everyday habit at home
  • Communicate with your child’s teacher
  • Monitor and assist with homework assignments
  • Ask for regular monitoring reports
  • Share your child’s successes
  • Learn more about the curricula and interventions being used in your child’s school
  • Attend parent/teacher conferences and other school meetings about your child

What if I think my child needs special education services?

If at any time parents believe their child has a disability/exceptionality and needs special education services, they have a right to request an evaluation for these services. In addition to the information gathered from assessments and interventions during the MTSS process, other forms of evaluation must occur to determine if a child is eligible to receive special education services. Parents must give prior written consent before this evaluation is conducted. If you have additional questions or concerns, please contact your school’s Child Study Team.

Other Familiy Resources

Where can I find additional information on Multi-Tiered System of Supports?

For additional support, please contact Ebony Hinson, District MTSS Lead, Division of Student Support Services ehinson@nullcamden.k12.nj.us.

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