White County School’s Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) process is a framework designed to meet the needs of ALL students. When implemented with fidelity, a tiered support system can actually reduce the number of inappropriate special education referrals and placements. It is not a “wait to fail” model, but instead, it is considered a “prevention” model that is designed to provide support for students in areas of specific need. This framework integrates instruction and intervention (RTI, Student Support Team, Student Mental Health, Wrap Around Services, etc.), delivered in levels of prevention, through interventions that vary in intensity based on individual student need.
The goal of MTSS is to quickly identify those students in need of help and provide research-based interventions to help improve academic success. Student progress will be closely monitored, and information gathered by this approach will be used to make decisions about the student’s educational program.
In MTSS, the needs of all learners are identified and supported early through increasing levels of instructional intensity and time. By using performance data and through monitoring learning rates and social- emotional-behavioral development of students, schools make important instructional decisions to meet the needs of all of our learners (e.g., students from different backgrounds, levels of language proficiency, and students who already know the content and need acceleration).
MTSS provides the structure to prioritize the academic and behavioral needs of all students, including our Students with Disabilities (SWDs), students with advanced learning needs, and English Language Learners (EL). Response to Intervention (RTI) is a process within the system of an MTSS framework. RTI is part of the data-based decision-making process within progress monitoring where team members review data to determine how students are responding to the interventions in place. It is a process to observe and adjust (intensify, select new, or continue) an intervention based on a student’s progress toward the targeted goal.