District outlines MTSS rollout and phases out county-run wellness centers

Kelly Young, the district's director of student support, and members of her team gave the board a detailed update on the multi-tiered system of supports (MTSS) the district plans to implement across sites.

"Our objective for this evening is to provide an update on MTSS process development this school year in 2526 for implementation in '26 and '27," Young said, laying out flowcharts for tier 1 (all students), tier 2 (some students) and tier 3 (few students). The presentation described data-decision rules that will guide when students move between tiers, the roles of instructional coaches and behavior specialists, and the district’s plan to replace the current wellness referral with a consolidated request for assistance (RFA) form.

Staff said the RFA will be trialed in April, wellness-center staff will shift to consultative roles in March–May, and district teams will be the primary recipients of new referrals by April; the overall goal is to have district-led MTSS meetings in place by June. Young and other staff emphasized parent consent for pullout small-group interventions and explained how classroom-level supports — including "calming corners" and "zones of regulation" — will be taught and monitored.

Board members and staff discussed fidelity checks and data checkpoints to monitor progress. One board member asked how teachers will track corner use and whether repeated excursions would trigger a request for assistance; staff replied that pattern data and instructional impact would be used as triggers for escalation. The presentation closed with an invitation for more in-depth future training and PD for TK–5 teachers.