District updates Stage 1 curriculum work and MTSS rollout; middle-school health doubled to 30 days

The district's curriculum and student-support teams presented updates on two related fronts: Stage 1 curriculum drafts for Kthrough 12 wellness courses and the district's multi-tiered system of supports (MTSS).

Curriculum: Dr. Furman said the district is formalizing Stage 1 curriculum drafts and will publish final versions after board approval. The Kthrough-5 drafts largely preserved existing practice; middle-school wellness saw the most substantive change, with health instruction lengthened from 20 to 30 days per year. Administration said the change reflects teachers' request for more seat-time to enable deeper skill transfer and practice rather than brief exposure. High-school wellness course names were edited for clarity, and the district reiterated that students must earn two wellness credits to graduate (one semester of health plus three semesters of elective wellness coursework, with provisions to repeat a course once for credit-count purposes).

MTSS: Dr. Campbell described MTSS as an instructional and behavioral framework rather than a discrete program. MTSS uses universal screening, targeted small-group interventions and intensive individualized instruction when required. The district said the elementary rollout (begun in 2021) has moved to an implementation-and-monitoring stage that emphasizes fidelity and consistent decision rules; the middle school launched last year and is in early implementation. The presentation included benchmarks for the three-tier model (the familiar 80/15/5 split the district uses as an aspirational guide), and administrators said the district-wide patterns were moving toward the goal but had not yet reached the ideal distribution: several elementary schools still show a larger-than-expected share of students receiving interventions, and the district continues to align core instruction and interventions to shift more students into universal (tier 1) success.

Operations and data: the district reported that it uses benchmark assessments and a data system (EdInsight and a newly adopted MTSS Suite tool) to compile individual student plans, track progress and operationalize the team's locally adopted decision rules. School psychologists, counselors and social workers are integrated into building-level MTSS teams; staff noted additional hires (two school psychologists mentioned in the meeting) have helped the district move from an evaluation-focused workflow to a team-led pre-referral and intervention model. Administrators also said the district is preparing a written MTSS manual for district use and stakeholder transparency.

Board members asked for follow-up items including: an explanatory summary of PBIS implementation and metrics, descriptions of how families are informed and engaged in MTSS interventions and examples of typical intervention durations and group size. Administration said staff would supply supplemental materials and that formal course approvals would return to the board after the two-week review period.