Duluth Public School District officials told the school board committee of the whole that the district is implementing the Minnesota Multi‑Tiered System of Supports (MN MTSS) model under guidance from the Minnesota Department of Education and has created a district MTSS leadership team to oversee the work.

Assistant Superintendent Bonds and Director Spartz described the MN MTSS framework as including five components: infrastructure for continuous improvement, family and community engagement, multilayered practices and supports, assessment, and data‑based decision making. Director Spartz said the district received a grant last spring and hired staff with time explicitly dedicated to Minnesota MTSS work: "we got the grant last spring, and then we were able to hire a couple people...40% of the job is dedicated to the Minnesota MTSS work," (Director Spartz).

Why it matters: district leaders said the MN MTSS model is intended to braid existing initiatives across the district and move attention upstream to the adult practices that produce student outcomes. Rather than only measuring student test scores, district staff said they will monitor teacher and leadership practices ("adult behaviors") and use a year‑long comprehensive needs assessment at each school before finalizing school improvement plans.

How the plan is organized: staff listed five 2025 focus areas for the district action card: (1) MTSS leadership team, (2) tier 1 instruction with an emphasis on teacher clarity and literacy, (3) PBIS and climate work, (4) collaboratively linked teams (continuous improvement teams and professional learning communities), and (5) assessment and data decision making. Dale Luzman, who said his role "is now overseeing MTSS within elementary and then curriculum and instruction within elementary," told the board the leadership team will meet monthly to set goals, collect data and analyze system‑level implementation.

School improvement planning: staff explained Minnesota now expects sites to complete a year‑long comprehensive needs assessment aligned to state questions; sites will analyze data throughout the year and create multi‑year improvement plans and select one evidence‑based practice to monitor sitewide. Julie Stauber, the district's secondary MTSS and curriculum coordinator, said the change means the district will not bring fully finished site improvement plans to the board in November but instead will support principals through a year of data analysis.

Assessments and goal setting: district leaders said elementary schools are using state‑approved, evidence‑based assessments such as FASTBridge and the Minnesota Comprehensive Assessments (MCA) to set literacy goals. The district has tiered its overall goal so teachers in different grade bands can identify how their work contributes to progress.

Family engagement and equity: board members asked how the plan addresses diverse learners and culturally relevant instruction. Staff pointed to recent updates in Minnesota ELA standards that include multiple perspectives, recent cultural competency professional development, and forthcoming district training to build systemwide family and community engagement. Director Spartz said family engagement scored lower on the district's self‑evaluation and that the district has scheduled Compass training and a February presentation to the board on family engagement strategies.

PBIS and climate work: Todd McGowan, the district's social‑emotional and behavioral coordinator, described the district's use of climate surveys and a tiered fidelity inventory to monitor universal and targeted behavioral supports. Staff said they are shifting from purely quantitative measures to adding qualitative data about how seen and heard students and families feel.

Board reaction and next steps: several board members praised the "lens change" toward measuring adult practice rather than only student outcomes. Staff told the board that the MTSS leadership team has already met twice and will report progress; the board requested an updated slideshow (staff said an ALC/AEO goal had been updated in materials) and a February presentation on family engagement.

Provenance:
The article is based on the district presentation and Q&A beginning with the MTSS overview and implementation remarks (first related transcript block excerpt below) and continuing through questions about culturally relevant instruction, family engagement and closing remarks. The meeting included multiple principals who described site‑level examples later in the meeting; those site examples are the basis of a separate article.