MTSS Requires Capacity Building

Why Is Capacity Building So Critical For RTI/MTSS?

It’s fun to be a leader. You were chosen because you are a “solutions and get it done” kind of an educator!  It’s also very challenging, as it requires you to keep yourself fit – physically, mentally and emotionally! It requires that we relinquish the superhero cape and share the real work of leadership. The work district and school level leaders must accomplish is weighty and we must admit that building positive capacity in others is the only way to accomplish our goals and sustain them over time. You could have the greatest initiative ever, and spend an entire year working for all hours every day to get it going, only to be moved to another campus or another position for the following year. What happens to your initiative then? It slowly disappears, as staff and leadership changes. Moreover, doing everything on your own just takes longer! To solidify the foundation of a great initiative in an organization, it is crucial to build capacity in others. 

Beyond preservation of the initiative, educators grow their instructional skills when they are included in the “science  of improvement,” which is a big part of MTSS. Their observation and diagnostic skills are sharpened as they evaluate the impact of applying focused strategies to specific student needs. The experience gained from analyzing MTSS data with colleagues translates back to the classroom where those educators can then recognize skill and knowledge gaps more quickly and apply support within core instruction - in real time. The more we study through the MTSS process, the smarter we become!  

Who Are the Key influencers for Capacity Building Work?

An important first step is to identify the key influencers in your staff.  It may seem like you would want to surround yourself with the first folks who volunteer, those early adopters, but you may actually want to avoid surrounding yourself with only the ‘agreeables.’ Many good ideas are missed because we were reluctant to be uncomfortable raising them up, and sometimes strengths are hidden under various forms of status and hierarchy. It can be tricky to find those right key influencers, so here are a few things to consider. Select educators/staff members who are:

• Eager to learn and willing to share.
• Already seeking ways to support specific students/challenges.  
• Respected across the community and could generate a network of adopters.
• The most outspoken critic -- this may seem counterintuitive, but you need to hear them along the way. While challenging and perhaps conflict producing, it is better to be open minded up front and get a better outcome. 

How to Plan For Capacity Building Work

Achieving an effective MTSS is a lofty and important goal, but a goal without a plan is just a dream. When planning for capacity building work it's important to engage your key players in outlining the initiative with goals, action steps, the responsible parties, tools and timelines. Together with your team determine the 3 or so most critical aspects of MTSS that you want everyone to be proficient with by the end of the semester or year. (X, Y, Z) Scaffold your plan. Your first draft of ideas may be as simple as this:

• The building MTSS team is able to do X, Y, and Z prior to the teacher roll out next month. 
• One teacher per grade level or content area will work with a member of the building MTSS team to become proficient with X, Y and Z prior to the first MTSS grade/content level meeting.
• That teacher then works with their team to make sure they are proficient with X, Y, Z prior to the 2nd MTSS content/grade level meeting. 
• This will all happen by the end of the semester/year.

Let these ideas develop into an action plan, perhaps the district or school improvement plan. Each idea or goal should have metrics for success, actions to take to accomplish it, and someone who is responsible for monitoring and reporting progress.  This is where your team can grow in their capacity. Many members may not have worked with such a plan before, but will recognize that it looks very similar to a student/group intervention plan -- I actually love how this MTSS Implementation Plan mirrors that for the staff.  

A Few More Tips:

• Let the team share the plan with the whole staff -- most people like to be a part of the solution and in the loop. 
• Be crystal clear with expectations and how the work will move forward -- transparency is critical, including discussing both growth and setbacks. 
• Ask staff to commit to growing and doing things they may not have done before. Assure them they will be supported and how that will occur. 
• Let them know how they can communicate their opinions and need for support.
• Model everything you want others to do. 
• Let everyone know through your words and actions what is important to you, the team and the campus.
• Keep the plan at the forefront of your interactions with your team. 
• Honestly knowing where your team really is in the process can make or break any plan -- so, check in with the team often.

A final thought to consider during your implementation process is to be in it for the long game.  Let your plan live its life.  There will be hiccups and folks might even complain! Listen and ask questions, but don’t quit because there are steps forward and backward. Problem solve, adjust and move forward with an even better plan. Seems pretty simple, right? And yet...

But, What Prevents Us From Building Capacity? 

Educators often talk about promoting a “growth mindset” with our students, but get stuck in a “fixed mindset” when it comes to thinking about our teachers and our teams’ needs. We forget that teachers really want all of their students to be successful, and they want to be successful, themselves! We often approach our staff as if they have already mastered it all (or should have), rather than approaching them as learners, in need of support from us, their leaders.

We can also shy away from staff members that are reluctant or resistant. They usually resist because they are learners, with fears of failure, and both physical and initiative fatigue. Those struggling educators are precisely the ones that need our support to coach them through their overwhelming feelings. Leaders must remind them of (or show them) management tools like Branching Minds; and talk them through their planning process, asking probing questions and helping them look for efficiency - perhaps they've forgotten to prioritize what is important. We have to help them free their brains by lessening their fear and finding simpler solutions.  As learners, teachers will get just as excited about their own "lightbulb moments," as they do when their students have them.  

We also can’t forget the tug of our own egos. As the LEADER, we have become the "solution" person and sometimes think we have the best ideas or easiest solutions… and it's all feeding our own needs. That's ok, because we are learners, too. We are learning how to lead and share responsibility through building capacity in our team. We are learning how to recalibrate when our primary goal of being a learning organization is usurped by my need to be in charge, to be the best (fill in the blank) in everyone's minds. We are all human. We don't always have our best day, best hour, or best conversation. We can restart, take a deep breath and recommit to our purpose – to use all of the talent and energy available to the work of building a culture of support around all of our students and staff.