Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Mtss Intervention topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
District reports declines in office discipline referrals and expanded MTSS supports at secondary schools
Summary
Administrators and interventionists reported district multi‑tiered system of supports (MTSS) highlights at the secondary level, including reductions in office discipline referrals, cohort‑level decreases in "in danger of failing" letters and expanded transition and mentorship efforts.
District leaders and secondary interventionists presented three years of MTSS (Multi‑Tiered System of Supports) implementation and highlighted measurable improvements in behavior and academic supports at middle and high school levels.
Dr. Hoffman introduced the secondary MTSS team and noted the initiative’s focus on data‑driven, layered supports. She said the framework combines universal, targeted and intensive tiers and emphasized alignment across grade bands to smooth transitions from middle to high school.
Steph Cucinada, intervention specialist based at Strayer, detailed building‑level results: she said 112 sixth‑grade students received Tier‑1 math supports and 20 received Tier‑2 reading supports this year. Cucinada also reported a decrease in students receiving "in danger of failing" letters at the sixth‑grade center (from 13 students last year to 6 this year) and described interventions that included check‑in/check‑out, counseling groups and staff mentorship programs.
Cucinada said Strayer reported 176 students who received one or more academic or behavioral interventions during the year. She also noted a cohort reduction in office discipline referrals: Strayer recorded about 3,204 ODRs in 2023–24 compared with 2,365 in 2024–25, a decrease of 839 referrals.
Sandy Frisch, a high‑school interventionist, told the committee the high school had seen a 46% reduction in ODRs between 2022–23 and 2023–24 and an additional 16% reduction the following year. Frisch also said the school has increased academic and behavioral interventions, improved benchmark scores from fall to spring, decreased student absences in three of four grades and expanded supports to help seniors meet graduation requirements.
Administrators said the district has aligned intervention protocols across grade levels, expanded data teams to include teachers and built mentorship programs that pair staff mentors with students as part of individualized support. Board members thanked staff for the reductions in referrals and noted the outcomes free teachers to focus on instruction.
District staff said plans for next steps include broader teacher involvement in data teams, expansion of intervention options, greater family engagement, continued 6–12 alignment and continued coordination between MTSS and PBIS frameworks.
