How Roanoke Rapids Made Literacy Gains with MTSS

Roanoke Rapids Graded School District

State: North Carolina | Type of School: Rural | Students: 2,632

Diversity: 53% White, 29.4% Black, 10.7% Hispanic, 5 % Two or more, 2.3% Asian

Free or reduced lunch: 26.5%

Roanoke Rapids Graded School District (RRGSD), located in Northeastern North Carolina, serves approximately 2,700 students across five schools and two centers. When Krissy Martin joined the district as the MTSS Coordinator in 2022, she identified several challenges that limited the district’s ability to provide effective, consistent support for students through its Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) framework. “Data tracking, progress monitoring, and tiering happened at elementary schools. However, the way the data was housed and shared was more with spreadsheets and manual color coding students. Essentially, things were done manually by hand, and maybe not with as much fidelity.”

By partnering with Branching Minds, RRGSD has successfully addressed these challenges, leading to meaningful improvements in their practices and outcomes. 

DISTRICT MTSS CHALLENGE:

Fragmented and Ineffective Resource Allocation

Prior to Krissy’s time, data was tracked in Google Docs, notebooks, and spreadsheets, creating inefficiencies and a lack of continuity. “If the teacher left or was absent, no one could access that [information],” highlighting the challenge of fragmented systems. This lack of centralized data limited the district’s ability to monitor progress effectively across grades and schools.”

• MTSS tiering practices were new to the district, and decisions often relied on subjective judgments rather than data. 
• Interventions were sometimes based on behavior or teacher recommendations, rather than academic performance, creating inequities in how resources were allocated. 
• The absence of a resource inventory made it difficult for educators to know which interventions to use for Tier 2 or Tier 3 students. This gap left teachers feeling unsupported and unsure of how to address specific needs effectively.
  

DISTRICT MTSS RESULT:

Data-Driven Decisions and Early Intervention Success

With Branching Minds, RRGSD introduced a consistent, objective tiering system. “Students who score at this level to this level are Tier 3…instead of a teacher saying, ‘Oh, take these five.'" This shift has created more equitable and effective intervention practices district-wide. “We are using our data to make informed decisions, and then we are actually monitoring the effectiveness of those decisions.”

And, teachers and administrators now have access student information quickly and comprehensively. “It’s a lot to run around to each classroom…[but with Branching Minds], you get all the data that you need.” The platform has also improved accountability through to-do lists and progress monitoring tools.

One of RRGSD’s most significant achievements has been literacy. Through the hard work and commitment of all teachers, instructional coaches, interventionists, and school-based administrators they are seeing incredible progress. 

One of RRGSD’s most significant achievements has been literacy. Through the hard work and commitment of all teachers, instructional coaches, interventionists, and school-based administrators they are seeing incredible progress. 

• Using Branching Minds to manage Read to Achieve individual reading plans, the district achieved 100% creation and monitoring of these plans, ensuring all identified students received targeted support.
• Additionally, interventions now begin within the first ten days of school, thanks to Branching Minds’ ability to leverage existing data, rather than waiting for mid-year diagnostics. 
• This early intervention approach has improved literacy outcomes and strengthened support for struggling readers, “Our district outpaced the state in growth, in K-3 literacy, according to our DIBELS-8 data. So that is in every grade K-3 and every subgroup.”

As a result of this progress, student intervention has become much more manageable, with reasonable percentages of students needing targeted or intensive interventions. “For the first time, [our MTSS triangle] is as close to ideal triangle, than it has ever been."

What’s Next for Roanoke Rapids Graded School District?

RRGSD is focused on extending its MTSS success to secondary schools. With new universal screeners for both academics and social-emotional learning (SEL), the district is poised to strengthen support for middle and high school students. The continued emphasis on collaboration and data-driven decision-making will help RRSD sustain and build upon its progress.

By transforming its approach to MTSS with Branching Minds, Roanoke Rapids Graded School District has created a strong foundation of support for all students. Their success in literacy and their commitment to continuous improvement are paving the way for lasting impact across the district.

🎧 Listen to Krissy share about their work with Standard Treatment Protocols.