Thank You for Listening! This has been an episode from The FowardED Network—Where we are Advancing Voices and Shaping Education. We are dedicated to supporting everyone invested in K-12 success: teachers, leaders, parents, and community advocates.
Want to keep the conversation going?
- Subscribe: Never miss an insight. Hit the subscribe or follow button on your podcast app to automatically receive our next episode.
- Share the Knowledge: If this episode provided value, please take a moment to rate and review us! Your five-star reviews help new teachers, parents, and leaders find our network.
- Explore the Network: This show is just one part of the ForwardEd Network family. Head over to our network page to explore our full roster of interconnected podcasts, including CTRL Shift Lead, Vice Principal UnOfficed, From Carpool to College, and Your Morning Boost.
- Connect with Us: Have a question or an idea for a future episode? Reach out to us at pillars.forwarded@gmail.com or find us on social media using the tag #theForwardEDnetwork.
00:00:00 --> 00:00:05 Welcome to Your Morning Boost, your daily leadership advice to help you lead your school community.
00:00:05 --> 00:00:09 Brought to you by AWB Education and sponsored by Grundmeyer Leader Services,
00:00:10 --> 00:00:14 where together we are transforming education, one leader at a time.
00:00:14 --> 00:00:16 Now here's your host, Adam Bush.
00:00:17 --> 00:00:22 Good morning, leaders. Happy Thursday. Welcome back to Your Morning Boost from AWB Education.
00:00:23 --> 00:00:27 Today, I'm going to tackle a challenge many of us face, and this is this murky
00:00:27 --> 00:00:31 area between Tier 2 and Tier 3 in our MTSS process.
00:00:32 --> 00:00:37 I like to call this Tier 2.5. Now, if you happen to be one of the people that
00:00:37 --> 00:00:40 work directly for me, you're probably already rolling your eyes like,
00:00:40 --> 00:00:43 oh, here we go, Adam with his Tier 2.5 piece again.
00:00:44 --> 00:00:50 But to be honest, the path from Tier 2 to Tier 3, it just isn't always a clear straight line.
00:00:50 --> 00:00:55 We have a lot of students who need more than just a typical Tier 2 intervention,
00:00:55 --> 00:00:59 but they don't quite fit that criteria for full Tier 3 placement.
00:00:59 --> 00:01:04 They're in this gray area. They have this need for a blend of targeted individualized
00:01:04 --> 00:01:09 support, and then they also need the broader collective work that's coming within Tier 2.
00:01:09 --> 00:01:12 Hence the reason I call this Tier 2.5.
00:01:13 --> 00:01:18 So think of a student who's showing significant struggles, but doesn't necessarily
00:01:18 --> 00:01:23 have a formal diagnosis, or they may need more frequent individualized progress monitoring,
00:01:24 --> 00:01:28 they need more intensive small group work and maybe more of a tailored behavioral
00:01:28 --> 00:01:32 intervention plan, but they just don't really meet the criteria that would be
00:01:32 --> 00:01:35 needed for that full-fledged Tier 3 intervention.
00:01:35 --> 00:01:40 However, they are also benefiting from the Tier 2 supports they are receiving.
00:01:40 --> 00:01:45 Now, of course, quick disclaimer, don't forget that a student receiving Tier
00:01:45 --> 00:01:50 3 supports is also and should also still be receiving Tier 2 supports and still
00:01:50 --> 00:01:53 also obviously receiving strong tier one instruction.
00:01:53 --> 00:01:57 But a lot of times students like this, they kind of get lost in the shuffle.
00:01:57 --> 00:02:00 They don't necessarily fit neatly into our existing system.
00:02:00 --> 00:02:04 And frankly, they risk falling further behind.
00:02:04 --> 00:02:08 So we want to try to keep track of these students and ensure their success.
00:02:08 --> 00:02:12 And to do so, we must first need to recognize that this gray area exists.
00:02:12 --> 00:02:16 It's not a failure of our system. It's just a reality of student learning.
00:02:17 --> 00:02:20 So it's important that we create a system for tracking these students.
00:02:20 --> 00:02:25 This could involve, honestly, you could have a dedicated Tier 2.5 tracking list.
00:02:25 --> 00:02:29 This is a separate list or maybe a category within our MTSS data system where
00:02:29 --> 00:02:32 we flag these students, these students that are kind of hopping back and forth,
00:02:33 --> 00:02:36 especially if they've done this repeatedly over the years.
00:02:36 --> 00:02:40 These students are probably going to need a little bit more frequent progress monitoring.
00:02:40 --> 00:02:43 You want to increase the frequency of data collection and analysis to track
00:02:43 --> 00:02:47 their progress closely. They may be telling us where they should be going or
00:02:47 --> 00:02:49 where that intervention is truly needed.
00:02:49 --> 00:02:53 I realize we think Tier 3 is that individualized intervention plan.
00:02:54 --> 00:02:59 Our 2.5 kiddos might need that too. We might need to develop some specific intervention
00:02:59 --> 00:03:03 plans that address their unique needs, even if they aren't formally in Tier 3.
00:03:04 --> 00:03:07 It's also probably going to take a little bit more collaboration around these kids.
00:03:07 --> 00:03:10 We want to increase some communication and collaboration between our gen ed
00:03:10 --> 00:03:13 teachers, our intervention specialists, support staff that we have available.
00:03:14 --> 00:03:17 Anybody that's going to be involved in the education of this child.
00:03:17 --> 00:03:21 Let's try to enhance that collaboration a little bit. Let's get that going a little bit more.
00:03:21 --> 00:03:24 And then also, we probably should have some regular review meetings.
00:03:25 --> 00:03:28 Schedule some regular meetings that are going to review the progress of students
00:03:28 --> 00:03:31 in this 2.5 land and make some adjustments as needed.
00:03:31 --> 00:03:34 Again, if they're sitting there and they're there for quite a while,
00:03:34 --> 00:03:38 that's data that's telling us something, that our intervention plans aren't
00:03:38 --> 00:03:39 quite working right for this kiddo.
00:03:40 --> 00:03:45 Maybe consider creating a watch list, even a designated team or maybe an individual
00:03:45 --> 00:03:49 that monitors the progress of these specific students. It allows for a proactive
00:03:49 --> 00:03:52 approach, and it helps to avoid students falling through the cracks.
00:03:53 --> 00:03:57 Just understand you're going to have to be flexible and responsive to the needs of these students.
00:03:57 --> 00:04:01 They're going to continue to need a combination of these Tier 2 and Tier 3 supports,
00:04:01 --> 00:04:03 and we need to be willing to provide that.
00:04:04 --> 00:04:08 A common misstep here is when people that are working primarily in Tier 2 or
00:04:08 --> 00:04:12 Tier 3 just think that the other group is taking care of these kids.
00:04:13 --> 00:04:15 That's the hard part, which is why they fall through the cracks.
00:04:15 --> 00:04:18 That collaborative approach is extremely important.
00:04:18 --> 00:04:23 As the Council for Exceptional Children, the CEC emphasizes every student with
00:04:23 --> 00:04:25 a disability has the right to
00:04:25 --> 00:04:29 access the general education curriculum and receive appropriate supports.
00:04:29 --> 00:04:34 Our goal is to ensure that our MTSS systems are truly inclusive and they provide
00:04:34 --> 00:04:36 every student with the supports they need to survive.
00:04:36 --> 00:04:40 I truly believe that acknowledging and addressing this Tier 2.5 challenge,
00:04:41 --> 00:04:45 this can help ensure that all of our students receive the support they need to succeed.
00:04:45 --> 00:04:49 Thanks for listening today. Again, have a great Thursday. I hope you're having a great week.
00:04:49 --> 00:04:53 Tomorrow, we will finish up our deep dive into MTSS for this week.
00:04:53 --> 00:04:55 Again, thanks for listening all week. Thanks for listening.
00:04:55 --> 00:04:58 We will talk with you again tomorrow. You have been listening to your Morning
00:04:58 --> 00:05:03 Boost by AWB Education in partnership with Grundmeyer Leader Services.
00:05:03 --> 00:05:07 You can find out more about our services by clicking on the links in the description.
00:05:08 --> 00:05:13 Remember, you are doing this vital job that only a few can do.
00:05:13 --> 00:05:17 So until next time, thank you for your service to your community.