Tonganoxie director outlines district plan to raise achievement, expand MTSS and instructional coaching

Brandy Taylor, director of school improvement services for Tonganoxie USD 464, told the school board Monday night the district is focusing on standards alignment, a strengthened multi-tiered system of supports (MTSS) and expanded instructional-coach work to raise student achievement.

Taylor said the department’s work is organized around four KSDE-identified fundamentals — structured literacy, standards alignment, balanced assessment and quality instruction — and that curriculum design maps required by Kansas (the KISA process) are central to ensuring a “guaranteed viable curriculum.”

“We are a department that is very focused on increasing the rigor and achievement of all the students at USD 464,” Taylor said. She described vertical professional learning communities (K–12 groups by content area) where teachers review how standards build from kindergarten through advanced…