Roseville district wins $296,000 MDE grant, names full-time MTSS coordinator to expand multi‑tiered supports

Sheila McCormick, the district’s new multi‑tiered systems of support (MTSS) coordinator, told the Roseville Public School District board on Jan. 14 that the district received a $296,000 grant from the Minnesota Department of Education to support MTSS implementation through the 2024–2026 school year.

The grant pays for a full‑time MTSS coordinator position, funds for substitute teachers so staff can meet as a district team, and continued collaboration with MDE, McCormick said. She described MTSS as a “systemic, continuous improvement framework” that addresses academics, social‑emotional and behavioral supports and relies on data to guide decisions.

McCormick said the district will center work on three priority areas identified in a recent district self‑assessment: infrastructure to support continuous improvement; multilayered practices and supports; and data‑driven decision making. The district plans to use a mix of leading indicators (universal screeners such as FastBridge) and lagging indicators (the Minnesota Comprehensive Assessments) to guide interventions.

“This funding provides us capacity to have a full‑time coordinator and to meet regularly as a district team,” McCormick said. She reviewed the MN MTSS framework’s five components—effective infrastructure, family and community engagement, multilayered supports, assessment, and data‑driven decision making—and summarized the district’s MTSS history and next steps.

Board members pressed for specifics. Director Kitty Goggins asked what parents or students would notice after two years; McCormick and Director Jake Bondalindi said families should expect clearer communication about screening and supports, and students at the middle grades will see more regular screening and better‑defined interventions. The district currently gives the FastBridge universal screener three times per year in kindergarten through eighth grade, McCormick said.

Director Goggins also asked whether the district is developing a leading indicator for math. McCormick said the district uses screeners for math (A‑Math) and reading (A‑Reading) in grades 2–8 and early reading measures in kindergarten and first grade, but added that the evidence base for quick, widely used math interventions lags behind literacy interventions and that identifying stacked, systemic math interventions remains a work in progress.

Board members asked about sustainability after the two‑year grant ends. Director Mannix Clark noted the grant funds a position for 2024–2026 and asked what happens afterward. McCormick said the district wrote the grant to produce changes that can be sustained if the position is not renewed, and the district leadership team will continue the work. She added that some districts that received earlier MTSS grants have been able to extend funding.

McCormick highlighted implementation challenges, including that systemic change is slow, that much current data work is performed manually in individual schools, and that the district seeks tools to centralize data and save staff time. The district also plans to align student assistance team practices across buildings to ensure consistent problem‑solving for students who are struggling.

The board did not take action on the presentation; McCormick and staff said they will return with regular updates on progress and next steps.

Why it matters: MTSS aims to standardize how Roseville identifies and supports students with academic, social or behavioral needs and to make intervention decisions using frequent screening data. The district’s investment in a full‑time coordinator and data‑collection tools could change how interventions are delivered and tracked, particularly at the middle school level where staff said more alignment is needed.