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11:20 AM - 12:10 PM ET
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Session Block 1
 MTSS Outside the Box: A Collectivist Approach to MTSS
Donna Cross, Director of MTSS and SEL, Evanston/Skokie District 65
TRACK: MTSS is an Umbrella, Not a Train - Supporting ALL Kids
Format: Spotlight on Innovation
MTSS is equity with its work boots on. When we design our systems and structures using an "MTSS Mindset," we design systems that support ALL students and leverage all of our resources in a collective movement toward educational equity. This session will outline one district’s approach to MTSS through a full redesign, including the addition of high-dosage tutoring provided during the school day in Academic Skills Centers (ASCs), plus intentional connection with community partners and volunteers. Participants will learn how to create student-centered schedules, utilize a collectivist approach, and leverage the strengths of all educators in a school to ensure a strong implementation of the MTSS framework - ultimately accelerating learning for ALL students.
 Exploring Suicide Prevention in Schools Through the Lens of MTSS
Kurt Michael, PhD, Senior Clinical Director at The Jed Foundation
TRACK: MTSS is an Umbrella, Not a Train - Supporting ALL Kids
Format: Spotlight on Innovation
Suicide is the third-leading cause of death among 15- to 24-year-olds in the U.S. It's a stark statement, but in order to protect the mental health of high-schoolers we need to be able to talk about it. Understanding the factors that are impacting youth wellbeing are critical in implementing evidence-based frameworks and tiers of support. In this session, Dr. Kurt Michael will share evidence-based resources, discuss the principles of lethal means safety and why “means matter” in suicide prevention efforts. Attendees will learn how the evidence-based resources introduced, including how the Jed Foundation (JED) High School Comprehensive Model aligns with the MTSS framework and can be used to scale up suicide prevention efforts in high schools.
 It's All Connected: Leading and Learning through Relationships
Elle Essenmacher, Strategic Account Advisor, Harmony SEL
TRACK: It’s All Connected: Academics, SEL, PBIS, and Mental Health
Format: Spotlight on Innovation
Harmony SEL has been developed to work within the MTSS model. Through our everyday practices, lessons, and activities, all students - at each tier - can learn and practice the social skills necessary to build positive relationships that will not only help with building a healthy classroom community, but the skills learned and engrained will go with the individual student into middle school, high school, and college. Join us in “hands-on” fun, getting the tools to easily implement Harmony SEL into your learning environment. You’ll leave this workshop with practical everyday practices, lessons, and activities to create safe, inclusive, culturally responsive learning environments to build harmonious relationships. Your toolkit will expand to include strategies to empower the voices of students and teachers, and how to use SEL supports to increase student academic success.
 Differentiation? I bet you are already doing it!
Rachel Howard, Reading Specialist, Learning Prep School
TRACK: It’s All Connected: Academics, SEL, PBIS, and Mental Health
Format: Data-Driven Decision-Making
This presentation will support teachers in learning how to differentiate their instruction for all learners. It will spotlight the fact they most likely are already doing this and now have a name for it. Vocabulary around differentiation will be shared to ensure everyone is on the same page. Teachers will engage in this session by using a lesson plan presented to them and figuring out how to differentiate that lesson in a small group. Participants will walk away with knowledge they can use right away in their classroom. Participants will also learn about data-driven instruction, the importance of research-based lessons, and how to engage more students in everyday learning.
 Data in Action: Integrating SEL into the MTSS System
Dr. Clark McKown, Founder and President, xSEL Labs
Jennifer Maichin, District Level Instructional Leader, SEL Coordinator, Mineola Unified School District
Catherine Shanahan, Principal, Jackson Avenue Elementary School, Mineola Unified School District
TRACK: Designing Systems that Work – Strengthening MTSS Infrastructure
Format: Data-Driven Decision-Making
In this session, Jennifer Maichin, Instructional Leader at Mineola Union Free School District, and Catherine Shanahan, Principal at Jackson Avenue Elementary School (Mineola UFSD), describe how SEL assessment informs instructional practice. Jennifer and Catie will explain how they integrated high-quality SEL assessment, an innovative MTSS support platform (Branching Minds), and systems processes supporting MTSS and instructional decision-making at all tiers of instruction. In addition, they will provide essential background on how the MTSS system she has worked to develop provided the opportunity for us to seamlessly incorporate SEL data into our MTSS System. The first step of this process involved adopting a high-quality, strengths-based universal SEL assessment and reviewing assessment data to inform Tier I instructional support planning. Initially, this focused on using SEL assessment data to guide school-wide practices, leading to measurable improvement in student skills. Jennifer and Catie will describe the data use and decision-making process and present data showing changes over time in student skills. Next, the Mineola team adopted Branching Minds to provide an integrated set of resources for MTSS. Finally, Catie will describe how Mineola integrates SEL assessment data into the Branching Minds platform to provide a unified system for collecting and using SEL assessment data, alongside other assessment data, to make decisions about instructional practices from Tier I through III. Catie and Jennifer will conclude with thoughts about the next steps in the evolution of this initiative.
Teachers and Administrators Collaborate to Drive MTSS Decisions
Todd Hartman, MTSS Supervisor, Lakota Local Schools
Amanda Hook, Reading Specialist, Lakota Local Schools
Wendy Radcliffe, Reading Specialist, Lakota Local Schools
TRACK: Designing Systems that Work – Strengthening MTSS Infrastructure
Format: Spotlight on Innovation
This session will discuss the importance of teacher voice in MTSS decisions, along with the importance of collaboration between teachers and administrators when building and growing MTSS in a school district. The session will also review strategies to help drive student-centered, highly effective MTSS decisions within the aforementioned collaborative environment.
 Engaging Families within MTSS
Tiffany Eudy, Lead Navigator, In Bloom Advocacy, LLC; Sales Development Representative, Branching Minds
TRACK: Managing/Leading Change on the MTSS Journey
Format: MTSS Fundamentals
When targeted with integrity and fidelity, school-home collaborations can improve student learning and behavioral outcomes. During this session, we will outline recommendations for how to intentionally build meaningful partnerships with families throughout the MTSS framework. You will leave the session with ready-to-use resources and defined opportunities on how to actively engage families throughout the problem-solving process.
Building Educator Capacity for SEBL
Emily Arkfeld, SEBL Specialist, NeMTSS
Jill Guenther, SEBL Specialist, NeMTSS
Mackenzie Riedel, SEBL Specialist, NeMTSS
TRACK: Managing/Leading Change on the MTSS Journey
Format: Spotlight on Innovation
As student behavior and mental health concerns, teacher shortages, and work requirements continue to rise, social-emotional and behavioral learning (SEBL) has become a top priority for educators around the nation. Unfortunately, accessing relevant professional development is often challenging due to limited time to attend in-person training, and other logistical challenges such as staffing shortages, limited funds, and unavailability of local opportunities. One state agency tried to increase access to professional development by launching a Coffee Connect learning series to promote SEBL. The 5-part series consisted of one-hour, free-of-charge, virtual sessions. The learning series was facilitated by state SEBL specialists and promoted via state education agencies. Sessions targeted educators wanting to learn and collaborate about SEBL. A specific effort was made to increase access to these opportunities for all educators throughout the state. Each session was recorded and posted on a website to further increase accessibility. All sessions offered a review of SEBL, research-informed resources, and time to ask questions or share experiences of how to support SEBL. In each session, a definition of a target competency was shared along with application strategies for both students and educators. This Bright Spot/Spotlight on Innovation session will explore the logistics of starting the SEBL Coffee Connect series and material covered. It will also review participant feedback and implications and planning for future sessions.
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12:30 PM - 1:20 PM ET
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Session Block 2
It Starts at the Top: Aligning District Leadership for Effective MTSS Implementation
Olivia Jolliff, Director of MTSS, Guilford County Schools
TRACK: MTSS is an Umbrella, Not a Train - Supporting ALL Kids
Format: MTSS Fundamentals
This session will highlight the MTSS implementation progress made in the 3rd largest public school district in North Carolina. While implementation efforts initially stalled as a result of the pandemic, in January 2021, we have overhauled our approach to implementation. Prior to January 2021, the district's approach to MTSS implementation was piecemeal (e.g., interventions here and there, inconsistent trainings in the form of recorded sessions, etc.). We were missing the most critical pieces of successful implementation: a prevailing belief in MTSS as a framework for comprehensive school improvement and district-level infrastructure to coordinate and sustain a cohesive approach to implementation. We believe our district's progress over the last 18 months is attributed to the focused efforts to build district-level buy-in and capacity to support MTSS as our framework for school improvement, collaborating with other departments to align initiatives, and developing key infrastructure for communication, feedback, and collaboration. We are eager to share our success with other large school districts!
The Intersection Between SEL, Mental Health, and Restorative Practices
Angela Pastizzo, Director of Pupil Personnel Services, Berlin Central School District
Amy Donohue, MTSS Coordinator, Berlin Central School District
TRACK: It’s All Connected: Academics, SEL, PBIS, and Mental Health
Format: MTSS Fundamentals
This session will focus on the intersection between SEL, Mental Health and Restorative Practices and, specifically, the intersection of Tier 1 strategies within these categories. This session will also explore how Tier 1 strategies can support academics, allowing students to be more present and increasing their ability to access the curriculum, by addressing the needs of the whole student (including their family and potential needs outside of the school environment). This session will help teachers and administrators see the value in building relationships with students first and foremost, and then determine how best to support them socially, emotionally, and academically across all settings. Finally, the session will also discuss the importance of considering a universal mental health screening tool for all students, as well as the implementation of a universal SEL curriculum (at all grades levels). Trauma-informed education is a huge piece of this as well, and there are many things schools can do (tier I - school wide, and even at Tiers II and III) to reduce behaviors and increase academic success, without needing to refer students to the CSE or 504 process.
Universal Practices that Support a Climate of Wellbeing
Emily Lashorne Walz, Social Emotional Learning Specialist, The Zones of Regulation
TRACK: It’s All Connected: Academics, SEL, PBIS, and Mental Health
Format: Spotlight on Innovation
A climate that supports both student and staff wellbeing is integral to a thriving learning environment, but how can we actually build it? This session will focus on ways to integrate best practices in SEL, PBIS, and Mental Health to create more proactive and healthy school communities. This begins by connecting the dots between what we know to be best practice and practical strategies that can build consistency among staff and settings and inclusion for all learners. We will discuss how we can leverage simple practices that make a big impact such as common language, classroom check-ins, and access to regulation tools. This does not mean throwing out what’s already working well for teachers, grade levels, and programs, rather overlaying these common practices to create a more consistent, proactive, and healthy climate schoolwide. There will be time for Q&A and community discussion at the end.
 A Guide for Implementing an MTSS SEL System
Evelyn Johnson, Vice President of Research and Development, Aperture Education
Emily Parker, Research Assistant, Aperture Education
TRACK: It’s All Connected: Academics, SEL, PBIS, and Mental Health
Format: Data-Driven Decision-Making
Social emotional learning (SEL) efforts are most effective when delivered through an MTSS framework. In this way, schools can create a responsive, preventive system to help students develop their social emotional competence. A key driver of an effective MTSS system is data. When SEL instructional decisions are driven by data, schools make better decisions, and students experience better outcomes. The question though, is what data should be used to inform SEL programming? And, once collected, how can it be used to inform decisions? This session is designed to answer these questions. Drawing on Aperture Education’s new Guide to Data-Driven SEL, we will outline a process for using the DESSA system of social and emotional assessments to inform your SEL program. Universal screeners inform school-wide SEL efforts and help to identify students who may benefit from additional supports. In-depth assessments provide a more complete picture of students’ social emotional strengths and needs and the results can inform targeted, or Tier 2, supports. Finally, a strengths-based assessment can inform individualized education planning, or Tier 3, and focus students, parents, and special education teachers on building students’ competence rather than remediating deficits. Throughout the presentation we will share examples from school districts that are using the DESSA and reports in the Aperture System to inform their SEL efforts. In addition to illustrating how these districts have implemented a data-driven SEL system, we will share the challenges encountered and the problem-solving approaches used to address them.
How to Differentiate Strategies, Products, and Programs for MTSS Academic Success
Dr. Janicka Newbill, Director of Special Projects, School District of Philadelphia
Tiffany Moyer, Professional Learning Specialist, School District of Philadelphia
TRACK: Designing Systems that Work – Strengthening MTSS Infrastructure
Format: MTSS Fundamentals
Strategies, products, and programs are at the core of providing tiered instructional support for MTSS Academics. There is a need for district and school leadership teams to clearly define intervention expectations and criteria to optimize the impact of strategies, products, and programs to support students along the continuum of MTSS Academics. This session will answer the following questions, “How do I select the appropriate strategies, products, and programs to support tiered instruction for my students?” “How do I make an informed decision at the district or school level to ensure products and programs are meeting the needs of ALL students?” “What steps can I take to evaluate the effectiveness of intervention partnerships at the school and district levels?” This presentation will provide participants with tools and action steps that can be strategically replicated and implemented to improve the educational process for tiered instructional support.
Leveraging Infrastructure Coaching to Create Holistic Change for Students
Danielle Aliano, MTSS Coordinator, Southwest ISD
TRACK: Designing Systems that Work – Strengthening MTSS Infrastructure
Format: Spotlight on Innovation
This session will outline how Southwest ISD utilized Branching Minds infrastructure coaching to create a district-wide handbook, which included specific strategies for all learners: Emergent Bilinguals, Gifted and Talented, Social Emotional Learning, and Behavior through the Tier 1, Tier 2, and Tier 3 models. This session will also review how Southwest ISD has started shifting staff mindset away from RTI as an academic intervention and toward MTSS as a way to more holistically support students. Additionally, this session will review how Southwest ISD addressed Senate Bill 11's additional requirements added in 2019 to create Safe and Supportive Student Teams by including MTSS in our district Southwest Cares Team practices. Participants will have time to discuss their current practices in breakout sessions and as a large group, as well as ask questions.
Shifting Mindsets and Developing Buy-in for MTSS
Dr. Lauryn Mascareñaz, CEO, Rise DEI Consulting
Format: Spotlight on Innovation
TRACK: Managing/Leading Change on the MTSS Journey
Assata Shakur said, “It’s not enough to change the system, we need to change ourselves.” Change management is necessary to develop successful systems of MTSS, but the human aspect of shifting mindsets and capacity is often overlooked. How do we strategically develop buy-in for this critical work? What about the naysayers who are opposed to change?
Getting Intentional about School Climate: Using Data to Drive Improvement
Trudy Bender, MTSS Content Marketing Manager, Branching Minds
TRACK: Managing/Leading Change on the MTSS Journey
Format: Data-Driven Decision-Making
There is a sense of urgency around ensuring that all students and staff members feel safe, connected, and supported at school. A positive school climate sets the stage for more effective teaching and learning, higher attendance, improved behavior, increased graduation rates, and increased teacher retention. In addition, the Centers for Disease Control states that a positive school climate is an important protective factor against risky behavior, including early sexual initiation, alcohol, tobacco, and other drug use, and violence and gang involvement. A focused effort to improve school climate and connectedness bears dividends in all areas of life, not just within the school but across the communities that our schools serve. MTSS provides a framework to support schools in creating positive learning environments. In this session, we will discuss how to use data to accurately assess school climate and to guide interventions at the universal, targeted, and individual level.
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2:25 PM - 3:15 PM ET
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Session Block 3
 Breaking The Education Code: Equitable Supports to Increase Scholar Achievement
Larue M. Fitch, M.Ed., Educational Consultant, LM Fitch Consultants, LLC
TRACK: MTSS is an Umbrella, Not a Train - Supporting ALL Kids
Format: Data-Driven Decision-Making
This session will focus on the need for MTSS in education, including the changes that must occur to best service our scholars. This session will review MTSS best practices and strategies that have been implemented by an instructional leader, and it will also detail how to use the MTSS framework to support equity and equality, ultimately ensuring that all scholars receive the support needed to become college and career ready.
More than Literacy: Seamlessly Integrating Social Emotional Learning into Core Literacy Instruction
Katharine Bonasera, Manager of Educational Partnerships, Center for the Collaborative Classroom
Megan West, Manager of Educational Partnerships, Center for the Collaborative Classroom
TRACK: It’s All Connected: Academics, SEL, PBIS, and Mental Health
Format: MTSS Fundamentals
To maximize the impact of core literacy instruction, educators must first understand that literacy is, at its heart, both a social and an emotional transaction. As such, core instruction is most powerful when SEL practices are woven into the fabric of how our students learn to read, write, and respond to literature and each other. This session builds on the SEL core competencies from CASEL (the Collaborative for Academic, Social and Emotional Learning) and connects these competencies directly to specific best practices in literacy. Participants will explore teaching practices which exemplify how best to integrate SEL into core literacy instruction.
Resilience-Focused MTSS Systems
Erica Ilcyn, Sales Development Representative, Branching Minds
TRACK: It’s All Connected: Academics, SEL, PBIS, and Mental Health
Format: Spotlight on Innovation
This session will focus on strategies for implementing a robust MTSS framework that is inclusive of SEL/Behavior & Academics from a resilience-focused mindset. This allows us to be trauma responsive and identify students in need of additional services - not separate from behavioral or mental health services, but inclusive of a diverse range of services to approach the child holistically from a strengths-based mindset. Often, we feel these are all separate initiatives or focus areas, but rather they are all integrated to the aim of supporting the whole child.
Ideas into Action: How to Build Capacity to Support MTSS Integration at the Campus Level
Melissa Saenz, Principal, Montwood Middle School, Socorro Independent School District
TRACK: Designing Systems that Work – Strengthening MTSS Infrastructure
Format: MTSS Fundamentals
Don’t let your journey of developing Multi-Tiered Systems of Support be overwhelming. Give yourself some grace and learn how to build teacher capacity to support the development and integration of MTSS systems into your campus. This session will share words of wisdom on the fundamentals of how to take ideas into action at the campus level from the perspective of a Principal and MTSS Coach. The key takeaways from this session will focus on building MTSS campus committees, integration of systems and communication with all stakeholders, as well as how to assess the effectiveness of your MTSS at the campus level. An opportunity for participants to ask questions will also be available.
Effective MTSS Teaming Structures: People, Processes, and Practicality
Melissa Wainwright, EdD, MTSS Coordinator, Kentucky Department of Education
Susan Robertson, EdS, Director of Professional Learning and Support, Ohio Valley Educational Cooperative
Chrissy Jones, Chief Academic Officer and Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Ohio Valley Educational Cooperative
TRACK: Designing Systems that Work – Strengthening MTSS Infrastructure
Format: Spotlight on Innovation
This session will provide an overview of a linked teaming structure with state, regional, district, and building leaders. The fundamentals of an MTSS team will be shared, along with examples of how the interconnected systems function in order to maximize effectiveness and efficiency. Participants will gain insight into the process and practices of the MTSS teaming structure. Examples of sample agendas, evidence-based data analysis protocols, and team meeting protocols will be shared during the session. The panel will include representation from each of the teaming levels to provide examples of how the systems work collaboratively to support educators in meeting the academic, behavior, and social emotional needs of each student in the school community.
Matching Reading Data to Intervention: A simple tool for elementary educators
Jill Dunlap Brown, PhD, Co-Founder CALE Education and Company
Kaytee Jones, Co-Founder CALE Education and Company
TRACK: Designing Systems that Work – Strengthening MTSS Infrastructure
Format: Data-Driven Decision-Making
In this session, participants will learn how to analyze reading data to find the missing foundational skill. They will learn what to do next, and what intervention should be matched to the deficit need. Participants will leave with an understanding of how to use The Columns tool to find the missing foundational skill and then how to match the need to the correct intervention. This tool can be customized to match assessments and resources used by each participant. Participants will also learn additional diagnostic assessments that can be given to pinpoint needs in phonological awareness and phonics. This session will equip the teacher with the steps needed to identify the reading deficit and take action immediately to help students.
School Teams Effectiveness
T. Liza DeMello, District Manager, MTSS, Chicago Public Schools
Mark Wesolowski, MTSS Specialist, Chicago Public Schools
Michelle Breland, MTSS Specialist, Chicago Public Schools
TRACK: Managing/Leading Change on the MTSS Journey
Format: Spotlight on Innovation
This session will support participants in understanding that in order to have an effective school team and engage in meaningful and candid data analysis conversations, and make critical decisions, they must first build trust. Important and honest conversations are most productive when relational trust has been built among team members. Participants will engage in discussion to build understanding around the components and dynamics that lead to relational trust. This is done through the utilization of social Emotional Learning Standards, perception surveys, and activities for both teachers and students to develop a reciprocal understanding of important foundational skills that support emotional and academic growth.
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