Courtesy of San Benito High School:
San Benito High School District does not want a student to miss a moment of opportunity to learn and grow optimally in order to reach their full potential, so the implementation of MTSS (Multi-Tiered Systems of Support) provides a structure of escalating interventions to ensure equity, consistency and appropriate service for all students.
“At San Benito High School, we are analyzing the MTSS system to identify the supports currently in place for students in the areas of academics, behavior, and social emotional learning,” said Dr. Paulette Cobb, the director of special education. “The important focus for our District is how we efficiently and quickly we identify the students who need these supports and make sure they are accessing them as soon as possible.”
The MTSS approach considers individual students’ challenges, and provides services or intervention as soon as a student demonstrates a need. For example, if a student’s grades are dropping in math, are they attending Academic Focus Time (AFT) sessions provided to re-learn or make up quizzes?
“Another example is a student who might be making unhealthy choices and missing school because of it,” Cobb said. “Are we providing ‘healthy living’ education so the student – and ultimately their family – are being supported? If not, how can we meet the identified student needs? The idea is to intervene early and quickly.”
Providing multiple systems of support is not new to SBHS, but MTSS provides a new framework that thoughtfully organizes the resources and supports already in place so students benefit.
“It also helps identify areas of student need so we can continue to improve our interventions for students,” Cobb said.
San Benito High School has a large variety of people providing interventions for students, including teachers, club advisors, counselors, support managers and outside agencies such as GUIAS, Community Solutions, and many more. Next steps for the school related to MTSS include developing a user-friendly platform for documenting interventions that students are accessing and identifying areas in which additional interventions are needed. Student support teams will be refined to provide a more comprehensive and systematic process if a student is not making anticipated growth and the school will provide MTSS professional development opportunities for staff.
“MTSS is not something you do,” Cobb said. “It is a way to systemize student intervention. We are organizing and creating a system for all that we do.”
For more information about the San Benito High School Strategic Plan, go here.
