Danville Area SD outlines districtwide MTSS rollout and expands school-based mental health services

Danville Area School District staff on Wednesday briefed the board of directors on the district’s implementation of a multi-tiered system of supports (MTSS) and gave an update on newly expanded school-based mental-health services.

The presentation, led by district staff members Mrs. Delgado and Ms. Wenrick, described MTSS as a districtwide framework that uses a consistent assessment calendar, aligned curriculum, mental-health providers and regular data analysis to match supports to individual students’ academic, behavioral, social-emotional and mental-health needs.

The MTSS manual provided to board members explains the three tiers of intervention: Tier 1 (universal instruction, roughly 80% of students), Tier 2 (targeted small-group interventions, about 5–15%) and Tier 3 (intensive individualized supports, roughly 5%). Mrs. Delgado said the district will “use diagnostic, curriculum-based and classroom assessments, work samples, strategies used, interventions provided” and teacher input to determine student needs and progress.

Director of Mental Health Mr. Kissinger told the board the district now has a full-time mental-health employee in each building and that staff meet biweekly for case consultation and training. “We’re meeting approximately a 120 students weekly,” Kissinger said, adding the number is fluid and varies with crises and group work.

Kissinger described intake procedures tied to MTSS: if a student’s primary concern is mental health, staff complete a general mental-health form that the director routes to the building’s mental-health specialist, who then conducts assessments and develops a plan.

To offset program costs, the district has started steps to bill Medicaid and other payors. Kissinger said all four licensed providers have signed contracts with GHP and that applications to CCBH, identified in the meeting as the behavioral-health arm of medical assistance, have been submitted for provider enrollment. “We are starting this billing process. It is designed to offset the cost of some of these positions that we have,” he said, adding that billing will not change clinical priority: “No student with CCBH or GHP will take precedence over any other student. We will see all students as needed, as clinically appropriate.”

The mental-health team is also piloting an electronic medical record (EMR), MediSprout, described by Kissinger as HIPAA-compliant, web-based and customizable. Kissinger said contract details were being finalized and that the district planned to present the MediSprout agreement for board approval at the next regular meeting; he added the vendor had agreed to provide the service to the district at no cost.

Board members thanked the mental-health staff and emphasized parental engagement. Kissinger said the district plans parent training and education sessions and regular communication with families as part of treatment planning.

No formal policy votes were taken during the update; board members asked follow-up questions and directed staff to continue implementation and bring contractual items (for example, the MediSprout agreement) back for board approval as required.

The MTSS presentation and the mental-health update are part of the district’s continuing implementation work; the board acknowledged the effort is ongoing and described further public and staff engagement and reporting as next steps.