The MTSS Journey: How MTSS Has Helped This Educator Better Support His Students

MTSS Practice Experience Spotlight

This past spring, Branching Minds held a nationwide competition for educators to share their MTSS journeys. We received some truly great submissions from dedicated teachers across the country. The prompt for this competition was to answer the following question: “How has MTSS helped you in your job as an educator? Where and how has it made a difference in your journey as an educator?”

Educators had their choice on how to respond. Some responded with essays, while others responded with videos. Larue M. Fitch, M.Ed., a Lead Teacher at Chicago Public Schools, was one of the honorable mentions of this contest. For his submission, he provided a video detailing how he has utilized the MTSS framework to provide targeted and proactive support for all of his students. His enthusiasm and passion for his profession and students shine in every moment, and we couldn’t wait to share his story with our audience.

A Teacher’s Perspective: “How Has MTSS Helped You in Your Jobs as an Educator?”

In this short video, Mr. Larue Fitch walks his audience through his use of MTSS to support his students. Mr. Fitch outlines how each tier of MTSS provided proactive support for his students in Reading.

Mr. Fitch used a universal screener to identify which students needed additional support beyond core instruction. Through his analysis, he identified that the majority of his students needed immediate intervention in Reading in order to be on grade level. His data showed an upside-down pyramid, a situation where more than 20% of students have been identified as needing intervention at the Tier 2 and Tier 3 levels. Using this data, he identified three areas to prioritize in his instruction in order to proactively meet the needs of his students. Using the problem-solving process of MTSS, Mr. Fitch was able to quickly identify the top areas of need of his students, determine the intensity of that need, and adjust his instruction based on his student data.

But don’t just trust our word on it. Here is Mr. Fitch breaking down his experience of how MTSS has allowed him to better support his students.

About the presenter

Larue M. Fitch, M.Ed. has been in education for 15 years. His teaching career has been at the middle school level, where he has taught science, reading, social studies, and math.

Mr. Fitch sought a career in education because he wanted to become a change agent for youth and provide equitable support for students in his pursuit to help close the achievement gap. When asked, “What is one thing about teaching that brings you joy?”, Mr. Larue responded, “the opportunity to transform and shift mindsets.”

You can connect with Mr. Fitch through LinkedIn and Twitter.

Additional resources you may find helpful:

Save teachers time and effort

The Branching Minds platform enables teachers to find streamlined documentation, automate data ingestion from multiple sources, improving the efficiency of preparing for problem-solving meetings. Additionally, the platform provides data visualizations, collaborative input, and holistic student view, improving the quality of the problem-solving conversation during meetings.

[Guest Author] Mollie Breese

Mollie Breese is the former Content Manager at Branching Minds. She helped streamline the support library, so schools can identify and access the interventions they need to support student success. She researched the newest strategies, activities, and programs to add to the robust library, providing a wealth of resources for partner schools. Prior to joining Branching Minds, Mollie worked in the classroom as an English teacher, Reading teacher, and ESL instructor. Mollie earned her B.A. in Political Science from the University of Missouri, and her M.A. in English Literature from the University of Glasgow.