Wood River High tells trustees PBIS/MTSS data are reducing referrals and improving reading gains
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Summary
Wood River High School assistant principals outlined the school's PBIS and MTSS frameworks, describing tiered supports (Tier 1~80–85%, Tier 2~15%, Tier 3~5%), mentoring interventions like Check and Connect, and data tracking that the presenters said yielded strong gains for students in targeted IXL interventions.
Samantha Johnson, one of the vice principals at Wood River High School, and colleague Madeline told the district board on Nov. 10 that the school's multi‑tiered system of supports (MTSS) and Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) are reducing serious behavior referrals, improving attendance interventions and producing measurable academic gains.
"Within education, we have a framework to provide both behavior and academic supports called MTSS for multi tiered systems of support," Johnson said, describing how the school applies universal Tier 1 supports, targeted Tier 2 interventions and intensive Tier 3 services. She said the school aims for roughly 80–85% of students to respond to Tier 1 universal supports, with about 15% needing targeted supports and about 5% requiring intensive interventions.
Johnson and Madeline described specific practices used at Wood River High, including a behavior‑response guide for classroom and administrative actions, a Check and Connect mentoring model (mentors meet two to four times weekly), and a check‑in/check‑out system for students who need daily monitoring. The presenters said staff track interventions with charts and data to watch whether students improve; the presenters cited IXL (reading) interventions and a 12‑week monitoring cycle where students commonly showed substantial gains. Johnson said the IXL program typically yielded about 30 points of growth over a 12‑week intervention for students in targeted classes.
The presenters credited partnerships (including work with Boise State and consultant Nate Anderson) and emphasized that the district’s ability to create intervention classes and devote staff time made the difference. Trustees praised the presenters and asked whether the program can scale to other campuses; presenters said other schools in the district are borrowing materials and starting small to replicate the approach.
What’s next: the presentation was informational; trustees asked no action items and expressed appreciation for the school's approach to preventing students from "falling through the cracks."