FCPS presents MTSS intervention framework; board questions timeliness of escalation, parent communication and after‑school support

Frederick County Public Schools’ assessment and intervention staff reviewed the district’s multi‑tiered system of supports (MTSS) for reading and math and answered board questions about screening, escalation, parent notification and supplemental tutoring options.

Frank Feder, director of Assessment, Data Reporting and Strategic Improvement, said his office oversees tier 2 and tier 3 interventions while working closely with curriculum and special education staff. “The intervention for reading and math mostly falls under my particular office,” he told the committee.

Presenters described the district’s screening and intervention architecture. FCPS runs universal screeners three times a year; elementary reading screening uses DIBELS plus diagnostics, and math screening and diagnostics include I‑Ready and other grade‑specific measures. Schools use screening results to place students in tiered supports: tier 1 universal classroom instruction, tier 2 supplemental small‑group interventions, and tier 3 intensive, multi‑year programs or specially designed instruction when needed.

Math interventions at elementary level include Do the Math, Math Navigator, Number Worlds (kindergarten), and Connecting Math Concepts for the most intensive needs. Secondary options include on‑course “math readiness” classes and algebra readiness courses that compact prerequisite skills and provide targeted instruction. Jennifer Fleming, teacher specialist for math intervention, said schools choose the program and modules that best match a student’s root cause: “We can decide based on the students' need what we need to… if we need something more intensive.”

Reading interventions follow the science of reading and are matched to two strands: word recognition and language comprehension. Programs listed by presenters include NyeHuus Reading Readiness, Really Great Reading, Language Foundations, Orton‑Gillingham Plus, Read180, Achieve3000 and Visualizing and Verbalizing. District staff said Language Foundations and Orton‑Gillingham Plus are multi‑year, intensive structured literacy programs reserved for students with the most significant needs.

Progress monitoring: Schools are expected to progress‑monitor intervention students frequently; presenters said progress checks occur about every three to four weeks and that a lack of gains after multiple monitoring cycles prompts escalation to more intensive support. Bridal Garst, acting supervisor of intervention and local assessment, said, “All students in MCPS received tier 1 supports,” and described collaborative school teams (ALP, core teams, SST) that use screening and diagnostic data to make placement decisions.

Board members pressed district staff on several operational points. Multiple board members and audience commenters said parent communications about risk and screening outcomes are sometimes too technical or understated; staff acknowledged the concern and said the district is reviewing notification letters and outreach practices and that school counselors or literacy specialists will typically follow up with a call when placement is recommended. Presenters confirmed that schools should contact parents before placing a student in intervention and that parents may decline services.

Direct intervention capacity and after‑school supports were a recurring concern. District staff said many earlier supplemental tutoring initiatives were funded with ESSER/COVID relief dollars that have since expired; that funding lapse reduces centrally funded after‑school tutoring capacity. Staff and a committee member noted low‑cost options such as local high‑school math honor societies tutoring younger students as an underused resource.

On timing and escalation, speakers acknowledged the tradeoffs in intensity and fit: district staff said they will not force a long multi‑year intensive program on a student who only needs a targeted module, but they also said schools can and do move students directly to more intensive supports when screening data indicate that is appropriate. Feder and intervention specialists emphasized early identification: new kindergarten pilots (Kickstart) and number‑sets screening aim to detect needs earlier to avoid multi‑year deficits.

Committee members also raised accountability questions about building‑level monitoring when a large number of students are failing a single course. Presenters said principals are the school instructional leaders and the first line for monitoring class performance; the central office can intervene when it receives school or parent reports and through quarterly instructional director visits.

Votes at a glance: Committee registered consensus to approve the March meeting minutes; no other formal votes on interventions were recorded.

Follow up: District staff said they will refine parent communications, continue the kindergarten field tests and report progress on implementation and usage monitoring at a future meeting.