Wethersfield schools outline districtwide MTSS plan for social-emotional learning

The Wethersfield Board of Education heard a presentation on Tuesday about expanding a districtwide Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) approach to social-emotional learning (SEL), with supervisors and social workers saying the framework is intended to standardize interventions across the district’s five elementary schools.

Superintendent Michael Emmett introduced the presentation and noted the district’s request for additional social workers as part of the current budget process. "Our social workers do an amazing job across the district making sure that our students and our families are safe, healthy and taken care of," Emmett said.

The nut graf: Special services staff said they have aligned MTSS with the district’s SRBI (Scientific Research-Based Interventions) procedures and are logging behavior and SEL data in the district’s EduCLIMBER system, with the goal of giving every student equitable access to interventions regardless of which elementary school they attend.

Liz Frieda, identified in the presentation as the supervisor of special education, summarized the district rationale: "MTSS emphasizes the central values that we have here at Wethersfield Public Schools. It highlights our equity, our inclusion, our emphasis on collaboration, and family partnership partnerships." Frieda said the work began over the summer with staff and a State Department of Education consultant to create common definitions for behaviors of concern and consistent documentation across buildings.

Misty Perry, a social worker at Webb School, and Kim Cheever, a social worker at Hamner School, described how the SRBI teams implement concurrent plans for academic and behavioral needs. Perry recounted a first-grade case: the student began the year "significantly below grade level in reading" and taking five to six breaks per day; after targeted reading interventions and social skills supports, Perry said the student now takes breaks outside the classroom "1 to 2 times." Perry quoted the student’s teacher: "This is the way it's supposed to be." The presenters said the shared data platform helps receiving schools see students' interventions when they move between elementary buildings.

Staff described operational details: SRBI progress-monitoring cycles run on six- to eight-week intervals, and behavior incidents and tier assignments are entered in EduCLIMBER alongside literacy and math goals. Presenters said the district plans to build more robust Tier 2 and Tier 3 interventions while continuing to strengthen Tier 1 classroom practices.

Board members and attendees asked about the process of developing consistent behavior definitions and how the system will align with middle and high school practices. Frieda said the work required compromise and many conversations to reach common descriptions that drive interventions; Emmett said secondary schools already track behavior data differently (PowerSchool log entries) and that the district will work to align systems as the elementary rollout matures.

Presenters framed the work as part of the District Improvement Plan’s goals for equity, achievement and empathy and said the MTSS-for-SEL work is ongoing. "It's really a community effort," Frieda said as the presentation closed.

Ending: Board members thanked the special services staff and discussed budget implications; presenters noted the MTSS approach will continue to be refined and integrated into upcoming school-level SRBI meetings and district improvement work.