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District outlines MTSS framework, new diagnostics and unfunded test cost concerns
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Summary
MTSS coordinator Zach Erickson told the board the district screens all students three times a year, uses EduCLIMBER for placement, and will implement a new diagnostic (CAPTI) for grades 4–12 as required by state guidance; board members raised concerns that CAPTI appears unfunded (transcript reports $7–$8 per student).
Zach Erickson, the district—s MTSS and GATE coordinator, told the Grand Rapids Public School District board that universal screening and targeted intervention remain central to district plans and that several new diagnostic requirements and pilots are in progress.
Erickson said the district conducts universal screening three times a year: K–3 students through FastBridge and grades 4–12 via STAR. Students below a norm-referenced threshold receive a diagnostic—UFLY for early grades and a CAPTI diagnostic for grades 4–12 required by the Read Act—and then placement in six-week Tier 2 interventions with progress monitoring.
"If they're not screened, none of these services can be completed," Erickson said, describing the multi-step process of screening, diagnostic assessment, data review in EduCLIMBER and placement meetings that include administrators and interventionists. He emphasized family communication: notification letters accompanied by phone calls from interventionists and a one-page take-home handout for families with domain-specific activities.
Board members pressed on funding and implementation. A board member noted that the CAPTI/CAPTI-like test "is not funded by the state" and cited per-student testing costs in the discussion; the transcript records both $8 and $7 per student in succession. Erickson and others said the district will implement the required diagnostic by the winter screener and that staff are undergoing CAPTI training.
Erickson also described intervention resources: Title I (federal), ADSIS (state), 15 AmeriCorps members supporting reading and math, and a new SEL program, True North. He reported program participation numbers in the presentation but the transcript's numeric wording for one line is unclear (the presentation text reads "8 83" students for Title/ADSIS); he explicitly stated 241 students were served by AmeriCorps and True North in the materials. Erickson described GATE pull-out programs and pilots including a morphology phonics pilot for grades 3–5 (vendor training funded by the vendor, district pays training fees) and a Ready, Set, Go math pilot for Tier 2 math.
Erickson said Tier 2 caseloads are "a little over 1,000 students" and offered to provide more precise percentage breakdowns on request. He noted that districts are continuing training on data use and that several mandated CAPTI training sessions are underway for staff.
Board members asked for follow-up on the exact number and percentages of students in each tier, confirmation of the final per-student CAPTI testing cost, and a written summary of pilot timelines. Erickson offered to provide those details.
