Status of MTSS

Here is the status report on MTSS from the Friday Memo to the Board on August 17, 2012:




Multi-Tier System of Supports (MTSS)
Seattle Public Schools is committed to implementing a comprehensive Multi-Tier System of
Supports (MTSS) district wide by the 2014-2015 academic school year. MTSS is a framework
designed to accelerate academic and social/emotional learning behaviors for all students through
high quality instruction and intervention, curriculum aligned to standards and collaborative
decision making using student achievement data. The framework integrates many of the
initiatives within Seattle Public Schools including transition to Common Core State Standards,
Professional Growth & Evaluation and Professional Learning Communities.  In June 2012, a
district team including representatives from Curriculum & Instruction, Special Education,
Bilingual/ELL, School Climate and building principals attended an MTSS conference in Tucson,
AZ and identified focus areas for the 2012-2013 school year. These include building common
language and understanding of the MTSS framework, building awareness of the instructional
shifts with the Common Core State Standards, identifying evidenced-based intervention supports
in literacy and math and developing an assessment framework for collaborative decision making.

The MTSS team kicked off this work on August 8, 2012 at the School Leadership Institute.
Principals and Assistant Principals received introductory training on the MTSS framework that
included completing a self-assessment to identify what is in place and next steps toward
implementation. Additional trainings will be provided to principals and assistant principals on
DLT days. The MTSS team has also identified 10 cohort schools that will begin implementing
targeted and intensive intervention supports in literacy and math at the elementary grade levels.
ST Math, Imagine Learning literacy intervention (K-2) and System 44 literacy intervention (3-5)
were selected through a rigorous RFP process completed in June 2012. The 10 initial cohort
schools include: Jane Addams K-8, Thurgood Marshall Elementary, Daniel Bagley Elementary,
Arbor Heights Elementary, Orca K-8, BF Day Elementary, Sacajawea Elementary, Madrona K-
8, Broadview-Thompson K-8 and Beacon Hill Elementary. The Curriculum & Instruction
Department will provide ongoing support to these schools in developing systems and structures
to support collaborative data-driven decision making and implementation of the interventions. A
program evaluation plan for the project is being developed.