Dearborn schools expand MTSS behavior supports to tackle chronic absenteeism
Summary
District administrators presented a plan to strengthen multi-tiered support systems (MTSS) for behavior and attendance, citing 2023-24 chronic absenteeism data and outlining training, coaching and monthly data reviews to reduce absences and disciplinary incidents.
Dearborn Public Schools officials outlined Sept. 8 a districtwide plan to use multi-tiered system of supports (MTSS) and positive behavior interventions to reduce chronic absenteeism and disciplinary incidents, emphasizing training, coaching and monthly data-driven review by school teams.
Administrators presented attendance and discipline baselines and described a train-and-coach model for building staff capacity. Lead behavior specialist Carol Reynoso and district MTSS coordinator Micah Salie described initial findings and next steps.
Reynoso told the board that the district's publicly available 2023-24 attendance rate was 92.07 percent and that 5,410 students were chronically absent (about 26.7 percent), defined as missing 10 percent of the school year (roughly 18 days). She said kindergarten, first, seventh and eighth grades had the highest counts of chronically absent students, and that several subgroups also showed elevated absence rates.
District leaders said they conducted building visits between April and June to inventory existing behavioral systems and that some schools already have strong MTSS structures. Reynoso highlighted Woodworth as an exemplar school where coordinated positive-behavior and social-emotional programs contributed to a notable decline in out-of-school suspensions year over year.
Planned district actions include consistently convening MTSS teams at every school to review behavioral and attendance data monthly; providing tiered, evidence-based interventions; and deploying a train-and-coach model so specialists and social workers can coach building staff. Administrators said they will convene a district leadership team to analyze data across schools and report progress to stakeholders.
Trustees asked about staff workload and training time; administrators said the approach emphasizes embedding tier-1 practices into daily instruction while using specialists to deliver more intensive tier-2 and tier-3 supports. The district also plans focused professional development days (for example, a September 30 session) that will include autism-related behavioral training and other content for social workers and teachers.
No formal board vote was required; the presentation created a shared direction for implementation and further reporting to the board.
