MTSS: W HAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE IN MIDDLE SCHOOLS ? Shelly Dickinson Janet Stephenson

The Goal of Having a Multi-Tiered System of Support in Middle School is to… A. Identify kids who are at risk. B. Make sure students are on track for graduation – college and career ready. C.Use data to find out our school’s weaknesses and how to best use resources. D.Help students who struggle in math and reading. E.All of the above

Developing a District-Wide Early Warning System The best predictor of future failure is current failure and disengagement Assessing risk across multiple variables allows teams to provide early intervention and prevent disengagement from school and course failures – At-risk and off-track students are identified through analyzing a combination of engagement and academic data. Many students experience course failures as a result of disengagement (e.g., excessive absenteeism, lack of productivity, inattention) Systematically assessing student engagement allows schools to identify students in need of support before they have failed courses or acquired skill deficits related to missed instruction

Middle School Early Warning Systems Identify all students who miss more than 20% of the available instructional time and/or Identify students through engagement scales or behavior indicators Identify all students who fail their math course Identify all students who fail their English course Flag students who display both engagement and academic failure as high risk

High Off Track 3 or more risk factors Extreme Off Track 2-3 Years Behind No chance for graduation in a traditional school setting Disengagement At Risk for Off Track 1 of 4 risk factors indicated On Track No risk factors indicated Off Track 2 of 4 risk factors indicated Students entering with 20% absenteeism and/or 2 or more F’s in 8 th Grade Risk Factors: 1. Disengagement 20% absenteeism 2. Behind in Credits Particularly Core Course Failures 3. GPA less than Failed FCAT Hendry County Schools

At-Risk Eighth Graders Those who attend school less than 80% of the time (78% became drop outs) Those who receive a failing grade in math and/or English (77% became drop outs) Did not have strong predictive power: – Gender, race, age, test scores

Attendance: The Canary in the Coal Mine Of these 79 students 78 % could potentially become high school drop outs. 61 drop outs. School More than 9 Absences – students not in school 80% of the time Central9 Clearlake4 Cocoa Beach Jr/Sr2 DeLaura2 Edgewood2 Hoover7 Jackson7 Jefferson4 Johnson12 Kennedy5 Madison9 McNair3 Southwest5 Spacecoast1 Stone7 Westshore0 Total79

The bottom line… Disengaged students are likely to be disengaged at the next grade/school level in the absence of prevention and intervention support Students with a history of academic underachievement or failure are likely to continue to fail without prevention and intervention support Addressing academic and engagement issues earlier rather than later is more successful and more cost effective Preventing disengagement and/or academic failure is more effective than reacting to them once they occur

Let’s Take A Look at Russell Middle School Implementation Video

Integrated, Multi-Tiered Prevention/Intervention Supports It is not enough to simply identify at-risk students, leadership teams must follow identification with effective and appropriate intervention Schools need to provide prevention supports which act to prevent students from becoming disengaged or developing skill deficits Schools need to develop a continuum of intervention supports which are readily accessible as soon as a student is indicated as at-risk or off-track Creating a comprehensive prevention/intervention program which addresses academic, behavioral, and social- psychological disengagement and academic skill deficits as indicated by data is critical

Supports for ALL (Core, Universal Instruction- Tier 1) Academics All students Evidence ‐ based core curriculum & instruction Assessment system and data ‐ based decision making Behavior All students, All settings Positive behavioral expectations explicitly taught and reinforced Consistent approach to discipline Assessment system and data ‐ based decision making

First Steps The most important first step in successfully implementing MTSS/RTI and increasing learning is ensuring the quality of full class instruction. The least expensive way to increase learning at your school is to improve full class instruction. The change that will affect the most number of students at your school is to improve full class instruction.

Improving Tier 1 Syllabus Pre test – prerequisite assessment Common Assessments – analyzing and using the data Differentiation of content, process, product Proactively seeking out data of incoming students Vertical alignment between 6 th & 7th grade Vertical alignment between 8 th & 9 th grade

Supports for SOME (Supplemental Instruction – Tier 2) Academics Supplemental targeted skill interventions Small groups Frequent progress monitoring to guide intervention design Behavior Supplemental targeted skill interventions Small groups Frequent progress monitoring to guide intervention design

Helping Students who Are Off Track Tier 2 – Credit Retrieval – Reading Intervention Class – Math Intervention Class – Learning strategies – AVID – Academic Tutoring – No Zero Zone

Support for FEW (Intensive, Individualized Instruction – Tier 3) Academics More intense targeted skill interventions Customized interventions Frequent progress monitoring to guide intervention design Behavior Student centered planning Customized function based interventions Frequent progress monitoring to guide intervention design

Infrastructure of a Multi-Tiered System of Supports Think about…could we… Direct a significant amount of resources to critical transition years (6 th and 9 th ) to prevent academic and behavioral problems Provide opportunities for mentoring, advisement, and academic support within the master schedule for all students Include classes which provide instruction in organization, study skills, note-taking, problem solving, and communication in the school’s master schedule Intensify instruction by providing additional time and personnel or smaller class sizes for classes which typically result in high rates of course failures

Scheduling of Multi-Tiered Supports Suggestions – Are we already doing these? Build time into the school’s master schedule to allow for weekly common planning/PLC time for content teams and for cross content teams at least monthly Intervention teachers plan with core content teachers and align intervention strategies with core instruction Develop school leadership team members who can monitor and participate in the work of all other school teams

Great Behavior Resource

How to Find Behavior Site… MTSS Web Site – Resource Links – Polk County Behavior Or Google: : Polk Elementary PBS