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Middle school details MTSS first-quarter progress, identifies students to step down from intervention
Summary
Mr. Lynch told the Policy & Curriculum Committee on Nov. 10 that the middle school’s MTSS program has identified students for Tier 2 interventions and has begun quarterly progress monitoring; several students met growth benchmarks and were stepped down to academic support.
Mr. Lynch, the middle-school presenter, gave the Policy & Curriculum Committee a first-quarter update on the school’s Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) on Nov. 10, describing how staff use classroom data, STAR benchmarks and PSSA/PBOS projections to place students in tiers of support.
"MTSS stands for multi tiered system of supports," Lynch said, explaining the program’s three tiers and a supplemental "tier 1 and a half" advisory that provides academic support during advisory time. He described Tier 1 as universal classroom instruction, Tier 2 as targeted small-group intervention and Tier 3 as more intensive, sometimes near-individual instruction.
Lynch listed the assessment tools and instructional programs the middle school uses to identify needs and track progress: STAR benchmark tests and progress monitoring, PSSA scores and PBOS three-year projections, and instructional programs including ALEKS for math and Lexia and Scholastic subscriptions for reading. He emphasized using multiple data points and teacher input to avoid overreacting to single-test outliers.
"We created a watch list" over the summer and held data meetings with teachers and previous-grade staff to review historical performance and determine supports, Lynch said. He described treating IEP replacement instruction and co-taught classes as interventions when appropriate and noted the importance of family conversations when making placement decisions.
On progress monitoring, Lynch reported the first-quarter outcomes and step-downs: "We identified 2 students in math and reading for sixth grade, 4 students in math in seventh grade, 2 students in reading in seventh grade, 3 students in math in eighth grade, [and] 2 students in reading in eighth grade" who were ready to step down from Tier 2 to academic support. He said the school uses roughly a quarter-length timeline for interventions and relies on STAR checks to judge readiness to move students between tiers.
Mrs. Herring, introduced by Lynch as the middle school’s MTSS interventionist, described how Tier 1 differentiation and advisory supports are individualized. "It would depend upon the student's need. So it would be individualized," she said, listing examples such as short conferencing, organizational checks in homeroom and targeted review of basic skills in math.
Staff said group sizes for the most intensive supports are kept around 12–15 students where possible, with math and reading lab sessions scheduled into encore blocks and advisory time used for academic-support work. The committee heard that about 354 library books had circulated so far this school year and that the school will continue monthly reading promotions and advisory reading activities to support ELA skills.
Lynch said the middle school will continue STAR benchmarking (including a winter administration) and repeat progress-monitoring cycles; the high school is scheduled to present its update next month.
Next steps: staff will continue quarterly progress checks and data meetings to adjust intervention placements as the school moves through the winter assessment cycle.
