Supporting Early Literacy With MTSS and Branching Minds

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. 

Students who fail to master basic reading skills by the midpoint of their elementary education are four times more likely to drop out before completing high school. This is not merely an educational concern; it correlates with a heightened likelihood of mental and physical health challenges, an increased risk of involvement in the criminal justice system, and a noticeable reduction in potential earnings over the course of a lifetime.  

For all of these reasons, improving literacy outcomes is a top priority nationwide. Many states have regulations related to evidence-based reading instruction, and schools are looking for solutions that lead to growth in literacy skills and meet state requirements.

Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) provides a framework for effective reading instruction and early identification and intervention for students with reading challenges:

• Systematic screening for literacy skill development

• Evidence-based instruction and intervention   

• Progress monitoring and responsive adjustment that tailors instruction and interventions to individual needs

• Effective school leadership and collaboration

• Family communication and partnership 

For each important aspect of early literacy growth in MTSS, Branching Minds makes the work more practical and sustainable. 

Here Are 5 Ways That Branching Minds Supports Early Literacy:

#1: Systematic Screening for Literacy Skill Development

Reading assessment data is brought together in the Branching Minds platform to help you identify risk for dyslexia and early reading difficulties at a glance. The next step? Group students with common reading intervention and progress monitoring needs to make the best use of intervention time. 

Branching Minds' Cohort Assessment Performance Report

#2: Evidence-Based Instruction and Intervention   

Student support teams can easily develop reading support plans with evidence-based reading interventions tied to identified student needs using the Branching Minds library of supports. The creation of reading plans is scaffolded step-by-step in the Branching Minds platform, with all important details gathered together in one accessible place.

Branching Minds' Reading Intervention Library 

#3: Progress Monitoring and Responsive Adjustment 

With the Student Overview page, teachers, interventionists, and teams can monitor growth in literacy skills to determine if a support plan is working or needs to be adjusted. In addition, you can see whole-child needs that may be contributing to reading difficulties, such as attendance challenges or social/behavioral skills deficits.

Branching Minds' Student Overview Page

#4: Effective School Leadership and Collaboration 

District and campus administrators work with Branching Minds professional services to build the infrastructure needed for effective MTSS implementation, including team and meeting structures, access to data, and clear protocols. School leaders can use the Implementation Health Report to track user engagement, tier breakdown by subject, support plan documentation, action item completion, utilization of normed assessments for progress monitoring, and universal screener data ingestion. 

Branching Minds' Implementation Health Report

#5: Family Communication and Partnership 

Collaboration with families to support literacy development is critical to success. Educators can generate intervention reports and letters about student support plans right from the Branching Minds platform. Other types of family communication such as phone calls, meetings, and email can also be documented, giving visibility into the amount and kind of information that educators and parents are sharing with one another. 

Branching Minds' Family Communication Log

Early Literacy Success Story: Orange County Schools, NC

As a result of their hard-working teams and the Branching Minds platform to help them, Orange County Elementary Schools were able to use their reading data and work together with literacy coaches to target reading intervention, achieving dramatic improvement in reading performance as evidenced by their DIBELS data. Read more of the success story >>