Frequency Asked Questions About MTSS @ CFCI
Who is impacted by MTSS?
MTSS is about students. It also involves administrators, teachers, and student support professionals collaborating to address the academic,behavioral, and social-emotional concerns of students.
MTSS uses a team of educators to examine individual, classroom, and school-wide data to make decisions on how to best meet the needs of all students. Team members are selected based on their expertise and knowledge of students. Through this process, teams identify students who require additional support in reading, math, writing, and/or behavior/social-emotional learning, and provides these students with research-based interventions and strategies that will facilitate their success. Teams also identify students who make very limited progress even after receiving intensive support for a substantial period of time.
Why did we implement MTSS?
CFCI is committed to MTSS as it is right for ALL students and needed to support ALL students academically and behaviorally in the general education setting in a changing world. School improvement is needed to help teachers feel better about helping struggling students, improve instruction for all students and efficiently use the resources we have to move schools forward with growth for ALL.
When did MTSS become fully implemented?
CFCI began to implement the MTSS process during the 2015-2016 school year. The model has been rolled out over a three year period. CFCI fully implementing the model for the 2019-2020 school year.
How do schools decide which students need interventions?
Strong, differentiated core instruction (Tier 1) is the foundation of MTSS. As a school, administrators, teachers, and student support professionals monitor student achievement in all subject areas. However, we closely monitor reading, math, and writing. We also monitor other areas such as behavior, social-emotional wellness and school attendance. A variety of data sources are used (i.e., report cards, work samples, benchmarks, standardized assessments, etc.) to monitor each area.
Grade-level classroom instruction will meet the needs of most students. However, some students may need additional support to be successful. If a team determines through progress monitoring that a student needs more supplemental instruction (Tier II), a plan is developed that defines the supports that will be provided. The plan will also outline how progress will be tracked to determine whether the interventions are successful. If supplemental instruction does not remediate the concern, more intensive interventions (Tier III) will be implemented and documented.
What does it mean if my child is receiving interventions?
An intervention can be defined as additional instruction beyond what is already provided in the classroom. Interventions take place in small groups and target a specific area of need (i.e., vocabulary) rather than a broad content area (i.e., reading). The intensity of the intervention is determined by the size of the group, how many days per week the group meets, and for how many minutes the intervention lasts. Students with more significant needs will receive more intensive interventions. MTSS is not one-size-fits-all. Every student is different and how student needs are met can vary from class to class.
As a parent, how do I request that my student receive assistance through the MTSS model?
The MTSS team at CFCI works hard to identify student needs and to design intervention plans that will lead to success. However, parents may raise concerns about their student’s progress at any time. Simply, contact your child’s teacher to request a meeting to discuss your concerns.
Have a General MTSS Question not addressed here?
If you have a specific questions about your child or interventions your child is receiving, your first point of contact is your child’s classroom teacher. Please start there. If you have a general question about the CFCI MTSS framework and processes, please submit your question below and someone will respond as soon as possible!