1. Getting started: Convening

Convening MTSS implementation starts with the principal identifying the Site MTSS Coordinator, assembling the MTSS School-wide Leadership Team, and ensuring that the Student Success Team is in place. The MTSS leadership team’s first task is to develop a shared understanding of the MTSS framework and to align the team. This may include participating in professional learning on the MTSS framework and working collaboratively with the district MTSS Team to build their capacity. Identifying the MTSS teams for a site may involve consolidating various site teams that engage in similar team functions already working to foster school-wide improvement. 

MTSS Team Alignment

MTSS team alignment ensures that all members of an MTSS team are working towards the same goals and using the same methods. To improve MTSS team alignment, team members need to have a shared understanding of the purpose and goals of MTSS, as well as a common understanding of the data used to make decisions about student support. Collaborative decision-making and shared responsibility are also crucial.

Regular team meetings provide a forum for sharing information, discussing challenges, and making decisions about student support. Data-driven decision making can help identify struggling students and determine the best way to support them. A culture of collaboration ensures that team members feel comfortable sharing ideas and working together to find solutions. Providing professional development opportunities can help team members learn about MTSS and best practices for supporting students.

MTSS Team Consolidation

MTSS teams do not need to be developed from scratch. Existing teams may already serve this purpose. MTSS teams may also be formed by consolidating various site teams that engage in similar team functions for fostering school-wide improvement. By identifying site initiatives, committees, teams, and their various strategic goals, we often find overlap. By analyzing team goals, the intended target group of students to support, and the data that they use to measure outcomes, we can determine if the function can be modified or eliminated by consolidating the work into the function of the MTSS team.

A protocol for identifying and consolidating site team functions into the MTSS teams can be found in Appendix 1: Aligning Teaming Structures: Working Smarter, Not Harder.