Encinitas Union School District (EUSD) in California is committed to ensuring every single student receives the personalized attention they need to thrive. With a team of dedicated educators, the district has always worked toward a vision where no child slips through the cracks.
To bring this vision to life, EUSD leaned into the Multi-Tiered System of Supports framework (MTSS). They believed deeply in the potential of MTSS to improve outcomes for their students. However, even with their incredible energy and expertise, the district began hitting familiar roadblocks. They found themselves facing challenges that threatened to slow their progress, reminding us that even the most inspired missions require the right tools and support to succeed.
The EUSD team was doing everything they could with the tools they had. EUSD’s teachers were tracking student supports across endless Google Docs and spreadsheets. “It was very, very difficult to pull all the information together to see a snapshot of a school or from a district-wide lens,” recalls Leslie Wright, Coordinator of Instructional Supports and Enrichment.
With important student information kept in separate platforms for reading, math, and SEL, it was nearly impossible to see each student’s true journey. Leslie shares, “In order to look at data, we had to look in all separate locations for each assessment… because of the time it takes, it really wasn’t happening. What ended up happening is we were really just looking at the area of deficit for that student versus the whole child.” This lack of data also led to inefficient meetings, ultimately preventing students from receiving the support they needed.
Without a unifying system, support plans were often vague: “The documentation in Google Docs was often anecdotal and lacked specificity. Phrases like ‘reading intervention’ were common, but critical details—such as the targeted skill, the progress monitoring tool, the frequency of support, and the specific goal—were not consistently captured,” Leslie explains. “We longed for depth and intentionality, but our tools just couldn’t keep up.”
After piloting and fully adopting Branching Minds, teams are now prompted to dig deeper and plan smarter. With more efficient meetings and easily accessible data, “Our support plans have gotten a lot stronger. The whole process has helped us think so much deeper about the supports we have in place, including choosing a specific focus skill, measuring progress, and really looking at incremental progress,” Leslie shares. “Being this intentional can only continue to grow our MTSS practices.” Now, every intervention starts with a clear goal, a specific focus, and a step-by-step plan for measuring progress.
By centralizing all data in one place, EUSD’s MTSS quarterly data meetings have evolved from tedious information searches into streamlined sessions focused on collaboration and problem-solving. Teachers on special assignment can now effortlessly lead discussions about student progress, both at the group and individual levels, ensuring more effective monitoring and support.
EUSD can now: “This is the difference we’re making.” Leslie shares, “I can run so many different reports in Branching Minds and drill down as deep as I want to go—by school, by grade level, by gender, race, or English proficiency. It’s really allowed us, as a district, to ensure that our support is equitable.”
Sharing progress with the board, with colleagues, and with families is as simple as sharing reports on the progress of MTSS. “Now we have the right tool to document and track what we're doing, and tell the whole story of the child in a much better way,” she says.
As the district continues its journey, its story stands as a testament to what can be achieved when teams have the data insights needed to support students. “Don’t wait. Branching Minds is so intuitive and so user-friendly. I strongly feel that it’s a tool that every district should have,” Leslie advises others. With Branching Minds by their side, EUSD is lighting the path to a future where every child, every day, is given the chance to shine.