Running head: MTSS PLAN AND JUSTIFICATION 1

MTSS Plan and Justification

Jeanne Lee

California State University Dominguez Hills

MTSS Plan and Justification

MTSS, Multi-tiered System of Support, is a way to support all students in a classroom

and fulfill every students’ needs to create a positive learning environment. MTSS allows teachers

to define the various needs of students and use research-based data to adjust teaching instruction

to deliver effective learning outcome. According to Prater (2018), the framework of MTSS

provides high-quality core instruction and the necessary supports when students are not

succeeding.

As MTSS is a big idea for the system of support for students, there are different sub-

elements in MTSS, such as RTI and PBIS. Each one of them has a different characteristic, and

each element has a different focus, academic instruction, behavior instruction, and social-

emotional instruction. RTI and PBIS both involve three tiers which concentrate on supporting

students by giving interventions that are based on research and data. RTI, Response to

Intervention, focuses on academic supports by giving high-quality instructions for students and

providing intervention to fulfill various educational needs. PBIS, Positive Behavior Intervention

and Supports, focuses on teaching positive behaviors using the problem-solving model and aims

to prevent inappropriate behavior (Sandomierski, Kincaid, Algozzine, 2007). The first tier for

RTI and PBIS support all students in a classroom. The second tier focuses on a small group of

students who are identified by data and research and does not respond to tier 1. A research-based

individualized intervention is given to students in tier 2. The third tier focuses on couple students

who don’t respond to tier 2 and students receive an intense and individualized intervention.

The SEL, Social Emotional Learning aspect of MTSS focuses on 5 core competencies

which include self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and

responsible decision-making. SEL allows students to improve intrapersonal and interpersonal

skills and enhance attitudes and behaviors to deal effectively and ethically with daily tasks and

challenges (CASEL, 2019).

MTSS plays a critical role in the student’s growth in school. As MTSS focuses on

defining struggling students and finding the right support to meet their needs, it could be a great

way to provide a positive learning environment. Students can have a chance to catch up

academically when the support is provided. Students who struggle with social behaviors and

emotional behaviors could receive proper help and support to improve. MTSS is one of the most

important aspects that contribute to a student’s learning outcome. Continuous screening for help

and assistance prevent delays on receiving the right support that students need. The classroom

teachers will give high-quality instruction that is backed up by research and its data. The high-

quality instruction will then be individualized and personalized to suit students with a diverse

background. MTSS allows adjustments on teaching instruction based on individual needs of

students (Prater, 2018). A general education classroom that practices MTSS will show significant

improvement in learning and creating a positive school culture.

School and Focus Student

186th Street Elementary School is located in Gardena, California. The school serves high-quality

education to 817 students from various culture and ethnicity. It is a Title 1 school, 81.8% of the

students receive free breakfast and lunch. A big portion of students resides in Harbor Gateway, a

neighborhood close to the school. Every school day, two school buses transit students from

Harbor Gateway. The focus student is a male kindergartener who also resides in Harbor

Gateway. He is one of the 7 siblings, and due to his family home situation, his current legal

guardian is his grandmother. He is 5 years old. He is partial African American and partial

Hispanic. He has an attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, as known as ADHD. He usually

takes medication before he comes to school in the morning. He is impulsive and often talks

before his sentences are fully formed in his head. He also repeats phrases as he talks. He has a

fun personality and loves to talk about natural disasters. He is a great reader, and he can read

better than his classmates. His current favorites are Minecraft, zombies, and his glow-in-the-dark

bicycle.

Academic Support/Needs – Whole Class. The importance of giving high-quality

universal support for all students is one of the key ideas of education. UDL and RTI offer

academic support. UDL, Universal Design for Learning, is student-centered framework that

supports an equal educational opportunity to succeed. UDL gives a variety of teaching methods

to provide equitable learning for students. There are three instructional design and delivery

models: providing options for perception, providing opportunities for language, mathematical

expressions, and symbols, and providing options for comprehension (Prater, 2018). The three

principles represent what the students are learning, how they are learning, and why they are

learning. According to Prater (2018), the three instructional designs could be interpreted as tier 1

of RTI. As it is mentioned above, RTI is a research-based intervention that offers support to

struggling students. Tier 1 is about universal instruction, to ensure none of the students suffer

from poorly designed instruction. Tier 2 is for the targeted group of students who don’t respond

to tier 1 intervention. The small group of students will be identified using research-based data

and differentiated supports will be given. Tier 3 is for a couple of students who don’t respond to

tier 2 intervention. Students will receive more intense, frequent, and individualized supports. If

students still struggle after tier 3 intervention, they will be referred to special education to seek

better assistance.
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The Kindergarten class students struggle with reading fluency. As an educator, providing

effective learning strategies is an important aspect of daily lesson plans. First, I would identify

students’ struggle in language arts. Based on assessments and observation, I could conclude that

students have a good idea of phonemic awareness and letter sound but struggle with putting the

sounds together. Simple consonant-vowel-consonant words such as “cat” or “sit” were difficult

to pronounce, since they couldn’t put the sounds together. Then, using multi-media like YouTube

can create a positive and fun learning environment. There are many videos with short chants and

songs and breaks down each letter. Students could get familiar with pronouncing words by

following the song and simple motions. Kinesthetic learning is another great way to learn how to

pronounce. The students learned the “chopping method”. They put their hands together and chop

up each letter and its corresponding sounds. After chopping the letters, then they will do a slicing

motion and pronounce the whole word. This strategy is cost-efficient and all students enjoy

doing the motion. Some students could learn how to say a word by singing songs. Some students

who are kinesthetic learners could use “chopping method” to help themselves how to pronounce.

Then, for students who are still struggling, they could seek one to one help with the teacher or

use different methods such as arm tapping methods or finger methods. Even if other techniques

and strategies don’t work, the teacher could help the student by placing he or her right next to the

teacher during the lesson or sit with the student during recess to help them. If none of the

techniques work, then the teacher could seek for diagnostics for learning disability and refer the

student to special education specialist. Giving the whole class high-quality instruction and

interventions is essential to remove barriers that might hinder their learning outcome. Identifying

students with different needs must be done early on, so the teacher knows how to modify lessons

for students with various needs.

Academic Support/Needs – Focus Student. The focus student struggle with forming a

complete sentence and writing letters too big. First, he will receive tier 1 support, just like his

classmates. If he does not respond to tier 1, then he will receive tier 2 intervention. Tier 2

intervention will consist of more individualized, modified teaching style to meet with his

learning needs. He would receive sentence structures and practice speaking slowly, so he could

form complete sentences before he speaks. He will also use pencil gripper, so he could have

better control of his writing. He could practice writing in a lined paper, to practice how to write

within the lines. If he does not react to tier 2 support, then he will move on to receiving tier 3

support. Tier 3 will focus on one-to-one help and more frequent, intense learning strategies. He

will receive more support with speaking and writing. For the focus student, receiving

individualized help and support is important for his academic growth. It is critical to identify his

area of needs early on and give him proper interventions, so he could thrive in later grades.

Behavior – Whole Class. The tier 1 intervention of PBIS is a good way to support

positive classroom behavior. It is important to set up which kind of behaviors are acceptable, and

which are not acceptable. Teaching positive behavior is the single most crucial part of creating a

positive school climate. Having a poster with classroom rules could help students to have a good

attitude in the classroom. Also, as an educator, it is important to set up classroom management

style based on students’ background and their behavior data. Tier 2 intervention occurs for

students who don’t react to tier 1 strategies. Tier 2 intervention should be a data-based and solely

focused on a small group of students. Providing reminders of good behaviors and acknowledging

their good behaviors could be a main part of the intervention. Having a reward system to keep

track of positive behaviors could be beneficial for students. Tier 3 students are a small number of

students who need further support and guidance. The teacher could sample good behaviors for
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students and record a well-constructed journal of how frequent and how severe the problematic

behavior occurs.

Creating a positive learning environment is important for all students. In order to have an

effective learning environment, teaching students about acceptable behavior is needed. Also,

providing proper and beneficial intervention for students to achieve their behavioral goal is

necessary. As students have a different personality and come from various background and

culture, finding support that will be valuable for each student will influence them to be a better

person.

Behavior – Focus Student. The focus student has behavioral problems that require more

support and guidelines. The focus student does not react to tier 1 mediation. He is aware of

classroom rules and he does not abide by it. He is currently seeking tier 2 intervention. The

teacher verbally reminds him what his expected behaviors are throughout the school day. For

example, when he is about to get in line and walk out to recess, the teacher will go next to him to

say what she expects to see. A friendly reminder for him seems to work and he showed

improvement in his behavior. Another troubling behavior of the focus student was sharing out

loud even when it was not his turn. He is now better at it and learned to raise his hand when he

wants to share something. When the teacher sees him raising his hand, the teacher will simply

say, “thank you for raising your hand.” A simple acknowledgment works well with him to have

positive behavior during class time.

The focus student expresses himself in a different way than the rest of the classmates.

Knowing his personality and having a good understanding of the student allows creating a good

guideline to teach him what behaviors are acceptable and which are not. Monitoring students

who may be different than most of the students will give a good idea of who he is as a person.
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The data-based monitoring could yield effective intervention strategies. Teaching students good

behaviors are will give them a chance to experience positive learning environment. Also, it is

critical to assess students who need extra and more intensive help and grant more support.

Social-emotional – Whole Class. The kindergarteners are trying their best to learn how

to manage themselves in various situations. Self-management is one of the five competencies in

social-emotional learning. It is the ability to successfully regulate one’s emotions, thoughts, and

behaviors (CASEL, 2019). Due to the young age, kindergarteners lack self-discipline and

organizational skills. The teacher models how to control oneself. The class sings a song to clean

their table. Often times, the teacher gives them extra time to organize their cubby and model how

to keep worksheets in their own folders.

As most of the students come from a low-income family background, they often get upset

over snacks. Teaching them how to self-control is an essential part of their daily routine. Students

have an impulse to eat other people’s snack. It is important to teach students early so they could

be a good citizen who is competent to be an asset in the community.

Social-emotional – Focus Student. The focus students needs lots of guideline on

relationship skills. It is the ability to establish and maintain healthy and rewarding relationships

with diverse individuals and groups (CASEL, 2019). He usually plays by himself during recess

because he won’t be able to listen to other people when it is their turn to speak. The focus student

usually talks about what he wants to talk about, even if it is not his turn. His friends cannot

understand this behavior and often choose not to play with him. Reminding him of how to talk

when it is his turn and listen when it is other people’s turn is a key point on teaching him

relationship skills. He is currently working on how to be a good friend. This is important for him
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as he comes from a family of 9. His family structure might not give him a good idea of how to be

a good friend so it is important for him to learn and see how to be a good friend.
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References

CASEL. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://casel.org/

Prater, M. A. (2018). Teaching students with high incidence disabilities: Strategies for diverse

classrooms. Los Angeles: SAGE.

Sandomierski, T., Kincaid, D., & Algozzine, B. (2007, June). Response to Intervention and

Positive Behavior Support: Brothers from Different Mothers or Sisters with Different

Misters? https://www.pbis.org/common/cms/files/Newsletter/Volume4 Issue2.pdf