MTSS Summit 2026

Get a preview of the opening keynote, Leading with Laser Focus, before you join us on December 3. ⬇️

 Registration is FREE for this virtual event  |  Dec 3, 2026

Student outcomes improve when systems are aligned to bring effective instruction and intervention to the classroom. Join district and school leaders from across the country for a day of insightful, practical MTSS strategies and professional learning.

You'll gain new strategies and connections to strengthen your own impact as leader, including topics on: 

• Systems-level implementation and change management

• HQIM for student growth in reading and math

• Connecting MTSS and Special Education 

• Building support systems for multilingual learners (MLL)

• Integrating student safety and wellness 

Hurry! Registration for this virtual event closes November 30.

Questions? Visit our FAQ page or contact summit@branchingminds.com.

Explore the 2025 and 2024 MTSS Summit events.

Dr. Lane will share his journey as a district leader and the 7 steps he has formulated into a system for school improvement. The session will share a playbook for district leaders to help schools improve.

How can schools ensure English Learners receive the right support without confusing language acquisition needs with learning difficulties? In this session, participants will explore how connected systems and collaborative problem-solving processes lead to more confident and equitable MTSS decisions for multilingual learners.

Using case studies, decision-making protocols, and practical examples, attendees will learn how to integrate language development considerations into each phase of the MTSS process. Participants will leave with strategies for improving referrals, selecting appropriate interventions, interpreting data through a language lens, and fostering collaboration among general education, intervention, and ESOL teams.

This session is ideal for administrators, MTSS coordinators, instructional coaches, and EL educators seeking to strengthen outcomes for English Learners through aligned systems and confident practice.

Change management is crucial to leadership. Hear from district leaders who have successfully guided their teams through improvements in student support.

This session will explore how Medina City Schools is working to create one coherent framework by intentionally aligning initiatives like Portrait of a Bee, PBIS, Second Step, DESSA universal screening, MTSS, coaching, data-based decision making, intervention, and implementation. Participants will see how these systems can complement one another to create shared language, consistent practices, and a connected approach to supporting students.

Participants will:

• Identify opportunities to connect existing SEL, behavior, and MTSS systems rather than implementing them in isolation.

• Explore how Portrait of a Bee, PBIS, Second Step, and DESSA can work together within an MTSS framework.

• Examine how universal screening and other student data can inform intervention and problem-solving.

• Learn how MTSS coaching can support implementation and build staff capacity.

• Leave with practical strategies for creating greater coherence across systems in their own schools or districts.

We celebrate student growth, and rightly so. But what happens when students are improving but still not meeting grade-level expectations or proficiency standards? This gap can create a difficult challenge for educators: students may appear to be “on track” based on growth data, while still needing significant support to reach expected learning outcomes.

In this session, we will explore how to interpret student progress alongside proficiency and grade-level expectations. Participants will examine why growth alone may not tell the full story, especially for students who begin the year significantly below benchmark. We will discuss how schools can use multiple data points to better understand whether students are making enough progress, whether current supports are sufficiently intensive, and when instructional adjustments may be needed.

The session will also focus on practical MTSS decision-making, including how teams can identify students who are improving but remain at risk, evaluate whether interventions are closing gaps quickly enough, and communicate progress in a way that is both encouraging and honest. Participants will leave with a clearer framework for balancing growth, proficiency, and instructional urgency so that progress monitoring leads to meaningful action.

Participants will:

• Identify situations where students may be making progress but still require additional or intensified support.

• Use progress and proficiency data together to inform MTSS decisions.

• Evaluate whether current supports are helping students close learning gaps at an appropriate pace.

• Communicate student progress in a way that recognizes growth while maintaining focus on grade-level expectations.

How does a district help create the conditions for consistent, confident MTSS practice at the school level? In this session, leaders from Cumberland County Schools and Gray’s Creek Middle School will share the story of their pilot semester with Branching Minds. Presenters will describe how district expectations, school leadership, collaborative problem-solving, and routines were connected to strengthen shared ownership of MTSS.

The session will highlight practical decisions that supported implementation, including clarifying roles, organizing meetings, documenting student needs and supports, monitoring progress, and responding to staff learning needs. Jennifer Jasinski will offer an authentic school-level perspective on what helped the pilot gain traction, what challenges required adjustment, and how the team translated a district framework into daily practice. Participants will leave with adaptable strategies for launching or strengthening MTSS without positioning MTSS as the responsibility of one person.

By the end of the session, participants will be able to: (1) identify structures that connect district MTSS expectations with school-level implementation; (2) describe routines that build staff confidence in problem-solving, support planning, and progress monitoring; and (3) apply lessons from a middle school pilot to anticipate barriers, distribute ownership, and plan next steps for sustainable implementation.

A strong sense of belonging supports attendance, behavior, and engagement for every student. This panel will discuss practical ways to help build connection into school culture for students and staff. 

This session outlines Phoenix #1's process of overhauling and optimizing its threat assessment and suicide risk response system. Learn how district leaders updated the screening framework using the CSTAG and the Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS), built out stakeholder training across mental health staff and general district employees, and centralized case management to support follow-through. Attendees will see how pairing a validated screening protocol with coordinated case tracking improves communication, supports compliance, and gives district staff, administrators, and school mental health professionals a clearer path to supporting students within an MTSS framework.

Learning Objectives:

• Compare existing district risk-screening practices against evidence-based tools like the Columbia (C-SSRS) framework using a multi-disciplinary team.

• Describe a tiered professional development plan that addresses the distinct training needs of both specialized mental health staff and general district employees.

• Identify practical strategies for organizing case data and follow-up tasks to reduce dropped handoffs between screening and intervention.