Do You and Your Team Have Parts of MTSS in Place But Still Can’t See the Whole Picture? A Comprehensive, Integrated, Three-Tiered (Ci3T) System of Prevention Can Help!
Multi-tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) has been around for a while now—particularly since the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) was updated in 2015. In our profession as educators, we were all familiar with parts of what “tiered systems of support” should look like. Most of us had dabbled in Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS), RtI’d our way into upside-down triangles, and “Dibbled” to gather universal screening data.
As a state, OSPI created an MTSS Framework for districts in 2017 and rolled out a federally funded grant to support district leadership teams as they built capacity to help school teams implement an MTSS framework. One legacy product of that five-year grant is the WA State MTSS Guidebook, a free guidebook with resources promoting what MTSS can look like from the boardroom to the classroom. (Find it on https://www.waesd.org)
Most schools have parts of the framework in place, but not all the parts. Or they have all the parts but are not seeing the results they expected because the parts are not yet functioning as a whole system.
With changes coming in 2028 to the process for identifying students with a specific learning disability using an RtI process, the stakes are pretty high. Having a coherent MTSS framework and the infrastructure to support it can help districts prepare for the RtI transition rather than trying to build the necessary systems at the last minute.
What could help? Making your MTSS framework visible at the building level.
How do we do that? By taking all the parts you do have, understanding what you don’t have, and designing your framework.
What can we use to do that? School teams can use the resources and professional development materials available on the Ci3T website (ci3t.org). Start with the “Design” tab at the top. These materials have been developed over the last two decades by Dr. Kathleen Lane, Dr. Wendy Oakes, and their teams at the University of Kansas and Arizona State University. Ci3T addresses three interconnected domains of a systems approach to student success: academics, behavior, and social-emotional well-being.
All of the resources are free because Dr. Lane and Dr. Oakes believe in making their research-based resources available to all.
However, if you are tired of building the plane while flying it—and serving the passengers—then you know this do-it-yourself model can be flawed and exhausting. If you want help with the first year or two of the process, contact the team at Olympic Educational Service District 114. OESD 114 has three certified Ci3T trainers who can help you and your team by facilitating the design process.
This fee-for-service professional learning series supports school leadership teams in articulating the elements they already have within their school-based MTSS framework, identifying gaps, designing an integrated system, and planning for implementation. If you are interested in learning more, the OESD 114 team has room for one more team in this year’s cohort. Teams must apply by October 21st.
To apply, please contact Sandy Gessner, Assistant Superintendent of Teaching and Learning, at sgessner@oesd1114.org.
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READY TO DESIGN YOUR Ci3T
Comprehensive, Integrated, Three-Tiered Model of Prevention
Build one integrated system of prevention for academic, behavioral, and social-emotional success.
Olympic Educational Service District 114 offers the Ci3T Design Your Model Series, a six-session facilitated process that supports school teams in designing a Comprehensive, Integrated, Three-Tiered model of prevention for their local context.
THE 6-SESSION DESIGN YOUR MODEL SERIES
01 — Introduction to Ci3T
Build shared understanding of the Ci3T framework and begin the design process.
02 — Primary Tier 1: Teaching & Reinforcing
Design the Tier 1 plan for explicitly teaching and reinforcing academic, behavioral, and social-emotional expectations.
03 — Primary Tier 1: Monitoring
Determine how implementation and student outcomes will be monitored and used for decision making.
04 — Targeted Tier 2 Supports
Develop the targeted intervention matrix and clarify how students access additional supports.
05 — Individualized Tier 3 Supports
Develop the individualized intervention matrix and connections to increasingly intensive supports.
06 — Preparing to Implement
Prepare professional learning, communication, implementation, and monitoring structures for launch.
LEARN → DESIGN → BUILD → PREPARE TO IMPLEMENT
This isn’t a prepackaged MTSS model.
Teams use the Ci3T framework and research-informed design process to build a model that reflects their students, staff, priorities, resources, and local context.
NATIONAL Ci3T TRAINERS • REGIONAL SUPPORT
Sandy Gessner
Assistant Superintendent of Teaching & Learning
Andrea Bowman
Regional MTSS Implementation Strategist
Beth Bourque
Director of Special Programs
National Ci3T Trainers | Olympic ESD 114
READY TO EXPLORE Ci3T FOR YOUR DISTRICT?
Phone: 360-478-5850
Email:
sgessner@oesd114.org
bbourque@oesd114.org
abowman@oesd114.org
Olympic Educational Service District 114