Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) Academies: SY2022-2023

Culturally Responsive Practice Leadership Academy (District Focus): BlackPrint Consulting will offer a multi-year academy targeted toward groups of influential and strategic district leaders. The CRPL Academy aims to support district leadership in building internal local capacity to weave culturally responsive practices and a racial equity lens throughout their pedagogy, policies, structures, and systems. To this end, we will support leaders as they learn the foundational content of equity and eventually create strategic goals to embed culturally responsive and equitable practices across their districts. We will examine content on the intersection of race, culture, class, and schooling, accompanied by personalized consulting and guidance towards the adoption of a districtwide framework and the construction of goals.

Goals:

• To guide participant districts in learning foundational content of culturally responsive practices and equity.
• To guide the adoption of a definition and framework for culturally responsive practices and support their norming in the local context.
• To use the district framework for culturally responsive practice and feedback from BlackPrint observations to guide the creation of goals focused on building capacity and creating a trajectory for continual growth.

During the 2022-2023 School year we will:

• Facilitate initial district introductory/ informational meetings: June – July 2022
• Conduct a one-day institute initiating the content and setting the stage for the 2022-2023 school year
• Facilitate a series of professional development in order to introduce the content of equity and share lessons, perspectives, and experiences: Every other month from October 2022 to April 2023
• Facilitate individual district meetings to introduce equity-based planning and use that process to explore a topic/issue in the district: December 2022 – May 2023
• Conduct individual district walkthroughs/school visits at representative samples of schools to inform district goal setting: One round per district from January – April 2023
• Organize individual district support hours depending on need and the scope of district work: Spring of 2023

To learn more about the district-focused CRPL Academy, please read this flyer or the Academy-At-A-Glance summary.

The Culturally Responsive Teaching Academy, led by AdaptiveX, is focused on building school-level leadership, knowledge, and expertise in culturally responsive teaching. Schools select teams of Culturally Responsive Teaching (CRT) Leaders to be trained in research-based "Promising Practices." These leaders support teachers on-site through a dynamic peer learning cycle consisting of six modules.

• Goal 1: CRT Leaders strengthen their knowledge and work in their schools to provide initial exposure of CRT to faculty/staff
• Goal 2: CRT Leaders engage in a 6 week cycle with a group of teachers at their school site.
• Goal 3: District and CRT leaders develop systems to sustain and replicate these practices (e.g., through the development of CRT-aligned rubrics, incorporating into evaluation tools, etc.)

During this 3-year Academy:

• Selected schools will need to dedicate time for CRT Leaders and participating teachers to meet weekly (60 min weekly)
• CRT Leaders and participating teachers in PLC will participate in Quarterly workshops in starting in September 2022 (3 Days)
• CRT Leaders attend an introductory workshop in June 2022 (1 Day)
• CRT Leaders and participating teachers in PLC will participate in workshops in August 2021 (3 Days)

To learn more about the school-focused CRT Academy, please read this flyer or the Academy-At-A-Glance summary.

Join internationally recognized leaders in the field, led by Novak Education Consulting, for a 3-year Inclusive Instruction Academy! Research shows that outcomes for students are improved when they are educated in inclusive environments that meet their needs. Our main goal is to provide customized support to effectively include students with diverse learning needs in their general education settings with a focus on universal design for learning. Below are the main Academy goals:

• Increase student outcomes on student-focused assessment measures.
• Integrate inclusive practice/UDL in all settings
• Develop robust in-class support models, with an emphasis on co-teaching, to support students with disabilities and English learners.
• Organize and utilize assessment data to inform decision making related to professional development activities, resource allocation, and coaching
• Build multi-tiered system of support utilizing evidence-based instructional practices and interventions
• Create consistent teacher knowledge base on Universal Design for Learning
• Identify the activities and routines of effective leaders that are most critical to leading successful change in the area of inclusive instruction
• Build in-house capacity with a robust train-the-trainer model for coaches

Each year during this 3 year Academy, participating teams will receive:

• Leadership Webinars and Newsletters
• Personalized Planning Support Sessions
• Data Coaching
• Site Specific Technical Assistance
• Coach Support Sessions and Graduate Course Seat
• PLC
• Book Group
• Book Group Facilitation Manuals

You can learn more about this by reviewing our overview flyer , reviewing our Academy-At-A Glance summary or by contacting Kristan Rodriguez, Academy Manager.

• Call her at 339-227-2155.
• Email her at kristan@cca-pr.com .
• Set up a video chat.

This three-year Tiered Literacy Academy is dedicated to evidence-based literacy and acceleration practices in tier 1. The Academy will also focus on targeted and intensive literacy support for students in tiers 2 and 3. In addition, the Academy will work with teams to design schools that have high quality instructional materials, evidence-based instructional and intervention practices, and robust assessments. Finally, the Academy also will provide support for staffing, scheduling, and data models designed for effective tiered systems.

The Tiered Literacy Academy goals include:

• Increase student literacy outcomes
• Provide literacy instruction that values and represents access and equity for all students, with a focus on culturally sustaining, linguistically supportive, and universally designed practices
• Use your existing school improvement plan, strengthen/craft your work around literacy instruction.
• Organize and utilize assessment data to inform decision making related to professional development activities, resource allocation, and coaching
• Build a multi-tiered system of support utilizing evidence-based literacy instructional practices
• Create consistent teacher knowledge base on the core components of comprehensive literacy and principles of effective instruction
• Create master schedules that support tiered literacy instruction
• Identify the activities and routines of effective leaders that are most critical to leading successful literacy change
• Build in-house capacity with a robust train-the-trainer model for coaches

Each year during this 3 year Academy, participants will receive:

• Leadership Webinars and Newsletters
• Personalized Planning Support Sessions
• Data Coaching
• Site-Specific Technical Assistance
• Monthly Coach Support Sessions and Graduate Course Seat
• PLC
• Study Group
• Webinars

You can learn more about this by reviewing our overview flyer , reviewing our Academy-At-A Glance summary or by contacting Kristan Rodriguez, Academy Manager.

• Call her at 339-227-2155.
• Email her at kristan@cca-pr.com .
• Set up a video chat.

DESE, in collaboration with US Math Recovery Council, is pleased to offer an intensive multi-year professional development and technical support experience designed to collaborate with school and district teams to develop and implement a tiered system of mathematics support.

The content of the Tiered Mathematics Academy coursework and meetings will focus on:

• Developing educators' math content and pedagogical knowledge through a series of professional development courses and follow-up support
• Increasing capacity at the school and district level by developing an in-district trainer/coach
• Supporting distributed leadership
• Establishing routines and structures that support continuous improvement in instructional practices
• Improving student outcomes by utilizing data and enhancing teacher practices

Massachusetts Tiered Math Academy Timeline:

• Participation in the Academy begins with the establishment of a math leadership team to strategically plan for success. The initial plan includes a series of courses and supports to begin to build a comprehensive and sustainable approach to tiered math instruction. Team members learn how to administer and analyze diagnostic assessments and plan instruction based on assessment results.
• Graduate level credit available for most courses.
• The 3–4 year rollout described below varies according to a school's/district's size, strengths, needs, and staffing.

To learn more, feel free to read this flyer or the Academy-At-A-Glance summary, or view this informational video.

A strong system of social, emotional, and behavioral supports—across all three MTSS tiers has been shown to lead to positive outcomes for students including academic success and positive mental health. The Social, Emotional, and Behavioral Academy, led by Education Development Center, will support districts in building evidence-based, data-driven, and culturally responsive systems of support using two research-based frameworks: Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) and Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS).

In year 1, participating district and school teams will select one of two tracks—SEL or PBIS, and receive focused professional development and coaching to build local capacity to implement programs, practices, and policies organized around either of these two frameworks. Throughout the three-year journey, teams will participate in academy-wide events directed at the integration of social, emotional, and behavioral supports.

Over the course of three years, teams will work closely with academy subject matter experts on the following:

• Effective social, emotional, and behavioral classroom-based programs and practices
• School-wide and classroom-based behavior expectations
• Strategies for responding to student behavior across all settings
• Small group supports for students with low to moderate social-emotional, behavior, or mental health struggles (e.g., support group for students with social-pragmatic challenges)
• Intensive, individualized mental health support services for students with high mental health needs, including through collaboration with community-based mental health providers
• Data-driven process for assessing students strengths and needs, matching students to interventions, and monitoring progress
• Centralized planning and decision-making including
• Schoolwide communication and coordination, including: integration of SEL into academic instruction, common SEL standards that are vertically aligned, and coordination of supports using a Whole Child lens
• Staff development and support, including: trauma-sensitive training for all adults, and clear roles and responsibilities for supporting students' social and emotional growth.
• School-based teams that use data and teacher referrals to identify students who need tier 2 and 3 supports.

To learn more, feel free to read this flyer or the Academy-At-A-Glance summary.

What is the Academy?

The Systemic Student Support (S3) Academy is co-facilitated by the Rennie Center for Education Research & Policy and Boston College Lynch School of Education's Center for Thriving Children. We partner with schools to reimagine student support to focus on the holistic development of every child. A strengths-based, preventative approach to student support will become part of the foundational structure of each participating school, ensuring that every child receives the support they need at the time they need it.

How do we do this?

• Examine and fortify your school's student support processes, shifting to a proactive model. Build upon existing structures to review student data, discuss strengths and needs for all students, and connect them with resources.
• Create an individual plan for each student's success based upon a holistic review of their strengths and needs.
• Place equity at the center of student support practices. Ensure teams make student support decisions that affirm each child's cultural and linguistic identity.
• Organize resources, interventions, and enrichments in order to connect students to the support they need at the time they need it.
• Rather than focusing on existing student support structures, some teams may choose to adopt the City Connects model of optimized student support. Academy providers will work with each team to assess if this option would be a good fit for their local context. (Please note that this option would require additional personnel and financial commitments on behalf of the school/district.)

Research from Boston College's Center for Thriving Children shows evidence that when schools address the individual and holistic needs of each and every child through an integrated student support model, student outcomes are positively affected. Research further shows that taking a whole child, every child approach to student support leads to:

• Increased grades and tests scores
• Increased student attendance
• Decreased dropout rate
• Improved school climate and culture
• Improved student-teachers-family relationships

To learn more, feel free to read this flyer or the Academy-At-A-Glance summary.