MTSS Framework

What is MTSS in Rhode Island?

Introduction  

A Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) is a systemic, continuous school-improvement framework in which data-based decision-making is practiced across all levels of the educational system to support students. The MTSS framework is a “way of doing business” that uses high-quality, evidence-based instruction, intervention, and assessment practices to ensure that every student receives the appropriate level of support to be successful, promoting equity. A Multi-Tiered System of Supports helps schools and districts organize resources by aligning academic standards, behavioral expectations, and social-emotional competencies, implemented with fidelity and sustained over time, to enable every child to reach his/her fullest potential.   

Definition (2019)  

In Rhode Island, a Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) is defined as: a framework for school improvement that ensures that all students are supported for meeting academic, behavioral, and social-emotional outcomes. All students means all students - including multilingual and differently abled students. In an MTSS, all students have equitable access to strong, effective core instruction using high-quality curriculum and universally designed and differentiated instructional practices at Tier 1, evidence-based group interventions at Tier 2, and intensive individualized interventions at Tier 3.  

MTSS RI Components

The Essential Components are:

• Team Driven Shared Leadership
• Data-Based Problem Solving and Decision Making
• Family, School, and Community Partnering
• Layered Continuum of Supports
• Evidence-Based Practices

When schools and districts fully embrace and embed these components into their organizational structures and systems, substantive improvement can occur. An enabling context is established to enable systems-level and stakeholder-level innovations to be initiated, implemented with fidelity, and maintained successfully over time.

The goal and primary purpose of MTSS RI implementation is to improve outcomes for students, using:  

• data for decision making,  
• evidence-based practices for student outcomes, and  
• systems which adults need in order to support implementation efforts collaboratively (general  education, special education, related service, etc.) through shared responsibility for all students

Creating a Problem-Solving Culture

By systematically evaluating and analyzing student progress through ongoing universal screening and progress monitoring, school systems are able to use their available resources more efficiently and improve student outcomes. This process allows educators to problem-solve less severe educational challenges in the general education environment, preserving additional resources for students who require more targeted and intensive instruction/intervention to achieve educational benchmarks. This type of structured problem-solving process meets the mandates of both ESEA (2002) and IDEA (2004) and aligns with the legislative considerations in the Every Student Succeeds Act/ESSA (2015). MTSS RI also supports the Rhode Island educational regulations put forth in the Basic  Education Plan (e.g., data-driven decision making, access to high-quality core interventions), Secondary Regulations  (e.g., screening, evidence-based intervention), and Regulations Governing the Education of Students with Disabilities  (e.g., Coordinated Early Intervening Services [CEIS] and SLD identification).  

MTSS RI implementation depends on the effective use of data and information to inform decisions about student- and system-level progress. For districts and schools to function as a problem-solving culture, a shift in thinking must take place. The shift is the recognition that student achievement stems from the shared responsibility of all stakeholders to ensure an appropriate fit among curriculum, instruction, and the environment that enables student learning. Effective leadership facilitates the development of systems and an atmosphere that supports and encourages educational stakeholders to problem-solve at all levels and to more efficiently meet student needs. 

Leadership for MTSS RI

Shared leadership within MTSS RI exists at all levels (school, district, region, and state). For MTSS implementation to be successful, it is critical to establish leadership teams at each level of the system; these teams will ensure effective implementation across all levels (district, school, classroom, grade/content, and individual student).  Initially, the team creates a shared vision and establishes a common language to clarify the purpose and desired outcomes. Through data-driven problem-solving and decision-making, system support needs are identified, and plans are developed. Leadership teams engage in ongoing review and evaluation of progress data to determine how best to allocate funding and available resources. Implementation, on the other hand, is the responsibility of all. 

Implementation is a Science 

Effective implementation of an MTSS framework—building both individual stakeholder capacity and the system’s collective capacity—takes time. To achieve full implementation, implementers should expect the process to take 2-4 years (longer in secondary schools) and then build toward sustainability. An MTSS framework systematizes:  administrative and distributed leadership, teaming structures, personnel roles, use of a problem-solving process,  coaching, operating routines, embedded and continuous personnel development, and action planning.  The Office of Student, Community, and Academic Supports at RIDE provides MTSS support through the RI Systems of Support. In the past, support was primarily through face-to-face training and technical assistance - limiting scale-up and sustainability. The current focus is on building more robust blended online offerings as part of the Educator Course Network to expand offerings across a variety of models: self-paced, facilitated, and online communities of practice.