Beaufort County academics committee reviews MTSS, adopted instructional materials and new teacher hubs

The Beaufort County Board of Education Academics Committee met March 18, 2026, to review the district's multi-tiered system of supports, recent adoptions of instructional materials, and a set of centralized "hubs" designed to streamline teacher access to pacing, assessments and intervention resources.

District presenters said the MTSS framework (also referred to as RTI) is anchored to three tiers of instruction: tier 1 for universal instruction, tier 2 for targeted supports, and tier 3 for intensive intervention. The committee was told the district expects roughly 5 to 10 percent of students to require tier 3 supports, 10 to 15 percent tier 2, and that the goal for tier 1 mastery is about 80 to 85 percent of students.

"These definitions are right out of the citation of the South Carolina instructional materials code," a director leading the presentation said, and presenters emphasized the use of high-quality instructional materials (HQIM) and common language across schools to reduce variation in practice.

Melissa Murray, the district's director for literacy, described a shift in the 2024 standards that aligns early-literacy indicators with the science of reading and increases emphasis on vocabulary, writing and research indicators. She said Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (HMH) is used for elementary ELA, and that the district supplements core materials with digital tools such as NoRedInk and iReady to support interventions and differentiated instruction.

Dr. Monalisa Dixon, the executive director for mathematics and science, reviewed the district math resource pyramids and diagnostics. She said the district has implemented common district unit assessments (pre- and post-) for grades 3'8 and for algebra and geometry through a platform called Progress Learning, uses iReady as a diagnostic at multiple grade spans, and deploys interventions such as Kickstart (K'2, 3'5) and iXL in certain grades.

Michelle Sackman, director of elementary and MTSS lead, explained Branching Minds, a platform the district transitioned to this year to document MTSS plans, record intervention minutes, consolidate attendance/behavior/academic information and generate progress reports for parents and teams. "Diagnostic data can be reviewed for gaps before instruction to allow for instructional adjustments and purposeful differentiation," Sackman said.

Board members asked detailed questions about mini-lesson structure, reteach triggers and how schools are monitored. Presenters described a process in which common-assessment results below a 50 percent marker prompt outreach to the school coach or principal and the creation of a targeted reteach plan. Coaches meet monthly with schools to review school renewal plans and interim goals aligned with the district's longer-term targets (referred to in the presentation as the "75, 75, 92" objectives).

Presenters said hubs were built after teacher feedback to replace scattered Google Classroom materials. The hubs include icons for multilingual learners, special education, literacy, assessment calendars, fine arts, science, virtual-program applications and textbook ordering. The virtual hub hosts the Lowcountry Virtual application and routes forms to staff who manage virtual program admissions.

The committee approved the meeting agenda and minutes by voice vote before the presentations.