Hooray! You've already laid the groundwork for MTSS success by establishing a clear vision for the work in collaboration with your colleagues. The initial hurdle of getting systems off the ground and providing basic training for staff members on board has been completed. But now, as you move toward full implementation and continuous growth, you're stepping into the big leagues.

Recently, my sister asked me if emailing teachers several times a week is too much. She wanted to know how her three elementary-age children were doing in class, and one child in particular. Whether a parent, a teacher, or both, you know how important it is to work as a team. Families and school staff are working for the same outcome: student growth and success. 

The ability to read with fluency and comprehension is THE foundational academic skill that leads to all others. Despite the importance, reading performance in the US has been stagnant for decades. In 2022, only 32% of 4th graders demonstrated proficiency in early literacy skills. 

Years ago, as part of a team opening a new high school, our principal emphasized the importance of site-based decision-making. With input from our leadership team, we dedicated considerable thought to our master schedule. Our principal reminded us that scheduling reflects our priorities, leading us to adopt a nonconventional schedule to support deep learning for all students. We decided on a 4x4 block schedule but heard the concerns raised by stakeholder groups, so we modified it. We alternated classes by quarter instead of semester. We also added an extra "floating block" in 9th and 10th grade English to offer additional literacy instruction for all students.

So, you have identified students needing a support plan, created goals, selected and implemented appropriate interventions, and collected data using a progress monitoring tool or assessment. Fantastic! These are all necessary steps to supporting students through your Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS).

As the end of the fiscal year approaches, schools must exhaust allocated funds, whether from local, state, or federal sources. One approach is to view these funds as opportunities for one-time investments that will yield ongoing returns for students. 

Here are some practical ways to invest remaining funds for long-term benefits:

In my decade in the classroom, I worked with several co-teachers. Some were special education teachers, some para-educators, ELL teachers, and even gifted and talented teachers. Each year, the co-teaching relationship worked differently. And yes, some were more successful than others. But when we had planning time and appropriate facilitation, co-teaching benefited not only the students who required extra support but all the students in my classes.

Data is central to the MTSS framework. In fact, one of the most important components of an effective Multi-Tiered System of Supports is easy access to data from multiple sources, brought together in a way that supports intervention planning and delivery. But with access can come vulnerability. Schools often struggle to keep up with the cloud security and data privacy standards of their vendors, making them vulnerable to cyberattacks. EdWeek has gone so far as to call it the Cybersecurity Wild-West for schools!

How do you get the most impact out of your MTSS efforts? Impact and effort are often competing realities, so it can be a challenge to know how to strategically approach the work. An Impact-Effort Map is a tool you can use to visualize and prioritize tasks when launching your MTSS practice or with any initiative. It's a two-dimensional matrix where impact is plotted against effort in order to identify which tasks should be done now, done later, or delegated.

A critical part of education is helping students build the life skills and resiliency they need to complete high school and successfully transition to adult life. Branching Minds partners with The Jed Foundation (JED) to bring practical resources to high school classrooms that are informed by direct research with high school students about what they need as they graduate. These areas include: