District 59 officials outline how MTSS screens, groups and adjusts interventions for students

District 59 presented an overview of the district's Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS) framework and described how the system identifies and adjusts instruction for students needing supplemental or intensive support.

Dr. Katie Assel, assistant superintendent for student services and support, told the board the district uses a tiered framework required in Illinois that combines universal instruction with targeted and intensive interventions. "We are required in Illinois to use a tiered process of school support that utilizes differentiated instructional strategies, that provides scientific research based intervention, that continuously monitor[s] student performance using scientifically research based progress monitoring tools," Assel said.

The presentation explained why MTSS matters and how District 59 implements it. The district screens academic progress three times per year using i-Ready math and reading diagnostics and screens social-emotional learning twice per year. Staff translate national percentile results into an initial tier recommendation and then review other classroom and language data in professional learning communities (PLCs) to confirm or adjust tier placement. "All students who are receiving intervention, we review those intervention plans at a minimum every 6 to 8 weeks and look at progress monitoring data," a presenter said.

School-level examples illustrated practice. Sarah Magnasicki, a first-grade teacher at Byrd Elementary, described a student at the 30th national percentile who receives a 30-minute "Win Time" math group four times a week; the groupings rotate across a four-teacher team so students receive targeted instruction even if they are not in the same homeroom. Amanda Hager, a literacy interventionist at Juliet Lowe Elementary, described a dual-language second grader who screened at the 16th percentile and was placed in a tier 2 Spanish-language intervention (Fugases) with support from a Spanish-speaking ESP and dual-language coaches. Dawn Suarez, a math interventionist at John Jay, described a third-grade ELL student who scored in the 4th percentile and is receiving a tier 3, 45-minute intensive program four times per week.

Junior-high examples showed how teams adjust initial recommendations. Mike Wheatley, principal of Friendship Junior High, described a student entering sixth grade with high i-Ready percentiles who was recommended for accelerated math and advanced ELA. Separately, a seventh-grade profile showed a student shifted from an initial tier 2 reading recommendation down to tier 3 after further analysis; that student receives tier 3 reading intervention (Read 180) daily in place of an elective and tier 2 math intervention four days per week.

Board members pressed staff on scheduling and equity issues: whether intervention removes students from electives, how midyear placement changes are handled, whether percentiles are local or national norms, what happens when teachers are "singletons" without teammates for group rotation, and how MTSS connects to special education evaluation. Staff answered that seminar time at junior highs will shift to the end of the day but interventions will still be offered, percentiles are national comparisons, teams review progress at least every 6'8 weeks and that response-to-intervention data is one component used in special education evaluations.

Nut graf: The presentation positioned MTSS as an operational priority in District 59, describing universal screening, teacher collaboration, and multiple local examples that show how students move between tiers based on progress monitoring. Staff said the district has increased intervention capacity and that the number of students needing intervention has declined as core instruction has been strengthened.

Practices and next steps District staff described several immediate priorities and changes under consideration: expanding WIN/seminar time at junior high to increase tier 1 supports; piloting an additional tier 3 elementary math intervention; adopting a reading intervention targeted to kindergarten; and identifying a reliable Spanish assessment to support a biliteracy trajectory for dual-language students. Staff said those items remain under study and will be brought back to the board when decisions are ready.

Clarifying details recorded during the presentation included: universal academic screening three times per year, SEL screening twice per year, Win Time math groups of roughly 30 minutes four times weekly for targeted students, typical intervention progress reviews every 6'8 weeks and cases where tier 3 interventions can replace an elective at junior high. Staff emphasized that classroom teachers continue to deliver tier 1 instruction and small-group differentiation even when students do not qualify for formal intervention.

Ending: Board members thanked staff and teachers for the presentation and requested ongoing updates, including follow-up material on how the district identifies students who are close to a threshold but not yet assigned to intervention and on the district's multilingual assessment work.