As the halfway point in the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) Fund time frame approaches and the remaining deadlines to leverage funds come into focus, district administrators should be asking two questions:
Wait a minute; you may be thinking. “Have the tools and programs we’ve purchased so far been used?!” We needed these supports! Shouldn’t wide adoption be a foregone conclusion? Well, if your district is in line with the average, studies show that:
Yikes.
In a well-implemented MTSS, teachers know how and when to use an intervention or resource effectively for Tier 2 or Tier 3 levels of support. But this may not be happening consistently. In a survey cited by a 2019 Edweek Report, researchers found that teachers were not implementing digital tools and systems as prescribed.
Reasons for poor adoption included:
One way to ensure teachers know how and when to use interventions and supports is to embed MTSS protocols and procedures with guidance around what resources are available, as well as best practice recommendations for the appropriateness of those programs as they relate to a student’s grade level performance, level of English proficiency, tier recommendation, and challenge area.
Mapping out district expectations for the approaches to be used with students who are demonstrating challenges in specific skills and with particular materials, as well as recommendations regarding dosage and frequency of interventions, gives teachers a map to leveraging the tools effectively. With all of the pressures and distractions teachers face on a daily basis, scaffolding their intervention work with best-practice guidance around the use of resources will help them—and their students—succeed. It also ensures the platforms the district has invested in are used well.
At Branching Minds, we believe that MTSS software is only as good as the MTSS practice it supports. We take a partnership approach to help schools and districts achieve an effective, efficient, and equitable MTSS practice. We believe sustainable growth happens when districts are supported not just by their technology adoptions, but by their system-level practices, protocols, and resources. The BRM Professional Services Team is able to provide professional development and coaching that is custom-designed to your needs. |
Administrators, both at the school and district level, should also routinely monitor the fidelity of intervention delivery and the supports being leveraged to support student needs. Overcoming the challenge of fragmented data is necessary in order to comprehensively review the interventions being implemented in the MTSS, and so consolidating documentation of support plans for all tiers and grade levels and across all subjects (academic, behavioral, attendance, and SEL) creates an opportunity for administrators to see how the system is being implemented from a bird’s eye view.
In a 2022 Op-Ed published in The Hill, Marguerite Roza and Chad Aldeman of Edunomics Lab put the magnifying glass to what they called “[a] dearth of data in education [that] is reaching four-alarm status.” Roza and Alderman challenged public school administrators to capture and critically review data illustrating how interventions are being used, and whether they’re working. “Making decisions without data means that we invest in programs but don’t change course if they’re not working,” they said. “It means we have no idea if the fleet of newly hired counselors has any effect on mental health. It means instead of targeting remedial fractions to students who need it, we either re-teach fractions to everyone or to no one.”
Given the profound impact of the pandemic on student outcomes and student wellness, it’s no surprise that so much of ESSER funding has gone to purchase programs and tools that help teachers intervene with students who need additional support. Student need is great, and when a differentiated and appropriate core curriculum fails to meet so many students where they are, it’s a natural act to invest in intervention resources. But no intervention is a magic bullet; no platform is a magic bullet. Student outcomes don't improve at the point of purchase. It's the fidelity of practice, and the solidity of implementation, with the right training and the right infrastructure, that make the difference.
Looking ahead to the September 30th, 2023, ESSER II allocation deadline, a challenge each public school administrator can rise to is one of leadership and accountability. With each product purchased, have a scaffolded plan to guide adoption that will set teachers up for success and save them mental space. And proactively implement those intervention resources within a larger framework of MTSS that consolidates reporting so you can review usage and ensure they’re being implemented with fidelity.
👉 Request a demo of the Branching Minds platform and implementation support options.
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Citations:
https://about.burbio.com/school-budget-tracker
https://www.edweek.org/technology/districts-often-out-of-touch-with-teachers-biggest-tech-needs-survey-finds/2019/04https://thehill.com/opinion/education/3666023-public-education-missed-the-data-revolution-its-time-to-catch-up/