District presents MTSS rollout; leaders stress it is a general-education framework

Dr. Deaka Smith presented the Stanwood-Camano School District’s Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) framework, explaining how the district intends to organize instructional, behavioral and student-support strategies across Tier 1 (core instruction), Tier 2 (targeted small-group interventions) and Tier 3 (intensive supports).

"It is not special education. It is fully general education," Smith said, stressing that the approach is intended to reduce premature special-education identification by ensuring strong classroom instruction and early interventions before referral. Smith said the work tightens systems already in place and that district teams are aligning tools and assessments to monitor progress.

Smith described practical Tier 2 examples—frequent checks for understanding, small-group instruction, brief pre-teaching or behavior check-ins—and said the district will add tools to make data collection more consistent across schools so the board can see where the system is "soaring" and where it needs support. The presentation noted Flashlight 360 as a new progress-monitoring tool for multilingual learners and referenced the WIDA exam as the annual language assessment for MLL students.

Board members asked whether MTSS represents a cultural shift. Smith replied it is largely an intentional tightening of practices already underway; the district will focus on consistent standards, shared tools and regular progress monitoring. Smith said examples from classroom teachers show MTSS practices already being used and that the district expects to be ready by the cited implementation timeframe.

No action was taken; the item was presented for information and discussion.