One Student at a Time. Personalized & Targeted Instruction
Amy Bode
Our multi-tiered system of support, or MTSS (also known as RtI – Response to Intervention), provides small group instruction and individualized attention, allowing students to flourish academically, socially, and emotionally. Building on a clear curriculum base, students have opportunities for small group instruction. MTSS supports students on the continuum of learning from academic support to enrichment and extension. We assess student progress in regular, short intervals that provide a consistent feedback loop for teachers, impacting student learning throughout the year. Everyone is working on what they need next.
Did you know? Timothy regularly has inquiries from other schools about our MTSS model!
How MTSS Works in the Elementary School
Core Instruction: Our classroom teachers routinely monitor students’ responses to instruction and respond by providing opportunities during class for differentiated instruction and activities. This process is built into the way we instruct across subjects every day. This is the heart of support at our first “tier,” but to increase the power of our instruction, we offer other customized opportunities beyond the core.
Screening: We screen every student three times a year, and we provide individual monitoring monthly, bi-weekly, or even weekly, depending on the student’s needs.
Data Review: After each student is screened, teachers, educational support teachers, the Director of Educational Support, and the Director of Teaching and Learning meet to review each student’s performance on the screening as well as a variety of classroom assessments. These teams of teachers make data-driven decisions about each student’s learning needs. Then we place each student in a small group to provide just-right instruction, whether that is intervention, additional practice, enrichment, or extension.
Tier Time: Every student receives targeted instruction in flexible groups without missing any core instruction three times a week. In these targeted groups, students respond to a personalized level of challenge with high engagement and lots of success. Tier Time groups for reading are provided to all our students in kindergarten through 8th grade, and for math in 1st through 6th grades.
Acceleration: In addition to opportunities for extension during Tier Time groups and challenging instruction through a differentiated classroom approach, for advanced learners there is the possibility of subject-specific or whole grade-level acceleration. Students who would benefit are identified using a research-based approach.
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