Brentwood officials outline expanded MTSS supports, pilot programs and staffing requests for elementary schools

Annie, a staff member of the Brentwood Union Free School District, told the Board of Education on Monday that the district is expanding a multi-tiered system of supports (MTSS) for elementary students, combining universal screening, targeted interventions and social-emotional strategies while requesting additional staff to sustain the changes.

The presentation outlined why the district is moving from prior, grade-specific approaches to a districtwide MTSS aligned with the Graduation Plus vision. Annie said MTSS “is for all students” and described three recurring requirements: regular team meetings to review data, diagnostic screening three times a year and frequent progress monitoring.

District staff are using i-Ready diagnostic and growth measures to set individualized goals. Annie said the district gives universal diagnostic assessments three times a year “because they are objective, because they are standardized,” and that staff plan interventions based on students’ trajectories. She described a tiered model in which approximately 70% of students are in core differentiated instruction, with the remainder needing strategic or intensive supports; Annie said the district currently has a slightly higher share of students receiving academic intervention services than the typical research profile.

Annie described classroom- and school-level practices the district…