How the district uses the MTSS Framework to track growth and meet the needs of all learners
The world of education is filled with acronyms and at Maercker D60, the goal is that everyone has a common understanding of the work happening in our schools, including the acronyms. Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) is designed to help schools identify struggling students early and intervene quickly. The approach goes beyond just academics,and looks at a whole-child approach to education.
The D60 team is focused on the three target areas of behavior, attendance, and academics. At the end of each trimester, Director of Teaching and Learning Dr. Susan Ejma and Director of Student Services Maureen Kidd share data with the board, but there are additional data review cycles happening between those presentations that are an important part of making sure that students are learning and growing.
“MTSS is a team approach that brings together all areas such as behavior, academics and attendance to support all students,” said Dr. Ejma. “Analyzing data in all academic and non-academic areas helps us review core instruction (Tier 1), what support or extension (Tier 2) is needed, and determine individual interventions (Tier 3) which drives the MTSS work.”
The process involves administrators, principals, differentiation specialists, classroom teachers, and parents coming together in support of a student's individual needs. In the area of attendance, the team looks at the daily attendance rate for groups of students and for behavior they use the universal screener for social emotional skills along with discipline data from the classroom and the office. There are also assessments for academic growth including MAP, aimsweb, and other diagnostic tools to drill down on what skills a child needs to work on.
What does this look like in action?
The second grade team reviewed data from the universal screener in September and the team worked with differentiation specialists to assess how students are doing overall. The goal is to have 80% or more of students achieving in the core curriculum which is the Tier I system. If the total is lower than 80%, they work to improve the Tier I systems and to find other ways to support students which could include group instruction for specific skills or additional materials and strategies. They use these methods for 6-8 weeks and then revisit the data to see if it is working.
“Student service coordinators in each building are refining the practices related to data review cycles; identifying groups of students requiring more support; and problem solving to address the needs of individual students,” said Kidd. “Special education teachers and coordinators support the individual problem solving process to identify appropriate interventions because they have experience in supporting different learning needs and know what methods to use.”
Every student has time set aside in the school day for target time which is dedicated to individualized needs and personalized learning. For some students that means additional support in areas of need, and for others it means extending the learning and pushing things a little further. The goal is really centered around treating every student as an individual and meeting them where they are at. There is a lot of collaboration between district and school staff with a renewed sense of purpose of involving parents and families in the process.
“We are really emphasizing our growth in this area,” said Kidd. “For students who require additional support, we are making commitments to communicate with families regularly about what kinds of support they need, what kind of progress they are making and how parents can support their child in their learning at home.”
With the recent state designations that once again saw all three district schools receive a designation of Commendable, there are signs that the district is on the right track. Because of the district’s strategic plan and core values including continuous improvement, the team isn’t ready to slow down.
“We are being flexible and identifying and implementing supports and extensions for students on a 6-8 week cycle around behavior and academics,” said Ejma. “At these meetings we are targeting what is working for students and what needs improvements. These meetings are so powerful due to the data being brought forth, collaboration, and problem-solving from our staff for student success.”
The team will be presenting on Trimester I data at the December Board of Education meeting.