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District elementary MTSS team outlines new continuum approach to interventions
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Summary
District elementary MTSS leaders described a move from a diamond model to a continuum of Tier 1–3 supports, new benchmark and progress-monitoring practices, and adoption of intervention resources (AIMSwebPlus, MAP, Wilson Reading System, Bridges Intervention).
The Mount Lebanon School District’s elementary Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) team presented its K–5 approach to the board on April 13, describing how the district is standardizing assessments and interventions to identify and support students earlier.
"MTSS stands for Multi Tiered System of Supports," Nikki Gill, Hoover Elementary principal and MTSS lead, told the board, describing MTSS as a collaborative, data-driven framework that integrates instruction and intervention across three tiers.
Gill said the district is moving away from the classic ‘diamond’ graphic toward a continuum that brings extension and enrichment services under the same umbrella as interventions so that both students who need extra help and those who need advanced opportunities are identified and supported. She described the team's work with teachers, intervention specialists, school psychologists, and the Allegheny Intermediate Unit to align practices across the district’s seven elementary schools.
Reading specialist Lindsay Janoutsis outlined the assessment and progress-monitoring schedule: universal screeners (AIMSwebPlus) and Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) given in fall, winter and spring; oral reading fluency for grades 2–3 and targeted grades 4–5; and routine progress monitoring during the LIBO intervention block. Janoutsis described intervention pathways including double doses of Heggerty for phonemic awareness, a Foundations double-dose for remediation, and the Wilson Reading System for students with deeper decoding needs.
Math instructional-support teacher Diane Evangelista described the new Bridges Intervention for math fact fluency and number-sense development, combined with tier-1 supports like Extra Math for practice. Evangelista said the district added seven IST (instructional support teacher) positions to increase screening and in‑school support and has created a benchmark schedule to minimize classroom disruption.
Board members asked how trends after the pandemic are being tracked, what the district is doing for English-language learners, and how transitions back to Tier 1 are handled. Gill and Janoutsis said the team focuses on frequent progress monitoring (every two weeks for some students), uses exit criteria (three consecutive data points at or above the aim line), and involves ESL staff when appropriate to meet ELL students’ needs.
The MTSS team said they will continue collaborating with the Allegheny Intermediate Unit, review assessment tools for redundancies and gaps, and refine criteria for Tier 2 and Tier 3 referrals as the district implements new core curricula.
