Principals across the nation work hard to provide the best education and leadership possible. “Effective principals work relentlessly to improve achievement by focusing on the quality of instruction. They help define and promote high expectations; they tackle teacher isolation and fragmented effort; and they connect directly with teachers and the classroom.”*
When it comes to MTSS, the leadership team has the responsibility to facilitate decision-making regarding curriculum, instruction, assessments, and professional development. Within this team, the role of the principal is perhaps the most essential component of the success of MTSS implementation. For students to achieve success, the principal must participate in the school leadership team, allocate resources, and make sure the staff has all the data they need for the best data-based decision-making.
For the MTSS framework to be implemented successfully, principals must lead, communicate, and participate in many (if not all) areas of implementation. Principals also understand the importance of student-level work and systems-level problem-solving. Both are crucial in MTSS, but systems-level problem-solving provides a foundation for student-level work to take place and be effective.
We deeply appreciate principals and educational leaders for paving the way toward a brighter future—one where every student receives the support they need with greater efficiency, effectiveness, and objectivity.
In honor of National Principals Month, we’ve compiled a list of resources helpful to those implementing MTSS:
- Developing an MTSS Support Team
- Establishing a Common Language Around MTSS
- Introducing MTSS to Your Team (Slides)
- Setting the Stage for Change
- Demystifying MTSS
- Collaborative School Culture
- Leadership During Change and For Continuous Improvement
- Supporting Teacher SEL and Well-Being within an MTSS Framework
- Infrastructural Alignment for MTSS
- Leadership and the System-Level Work in MTSS
- MTSS Mobilization Framework
Let us help you build the right team!Branching Minds offers a variety of professional learning opportunities for states, districts, and schools to ensure instructional leaders, specialists, coaches, and teachers are able to implement RTI/MTSS as well as the BRM platform with fidelity and maximizes educators’ efforts to accelerate learning for all students. |
References
*The School Principal as Leader: Guiding Schools to Better Teaching and Learning

About the author
Branching Minds
Branching Minds is a highly respected K-12 services and technology company that leverages the learning sciences and technology to help districts effectively personalize learning through enhancements to their MTSS/RTI practice. Having worked with hundreds of districts across the country, we bring deep expertise in learning sciences, data management and analysis, software design, coaching, and collaboration. Combined with our extensive toolkit of resources, PD, and technology, we provide a system-level solution. We are more than a service or a software provider, we are partners who will deliver sustainable results for educators, and a path to success for every learner.

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