How To Speak With Families and Communities About MTSS

I came across this great article from Branching Minds on how to describe MTSS and Tiers of Support to families and communities. MTSS has become very popular among international schools over the last few years and it is now widely applied. However, the level of understanding among families and communities is limited. As Brittany Shurley, the author of the article, writes: “MTSS, and all the jargon that goes with it, is very specialized. Over the years, I have heard from families that they feel discouraged or left out of meetings because they are unclear what is happening to their child or what their child needs. To ensure that all parties understand our process, it’s essential to communicate what MTSS is with our parents/guardians (families) and communities regarding their child.” In the very comprehensive entry, she describes many aspects of MTSS and how to explain it, from what is a Multi-Tiered System of Supports and what exactly does the acronym “MTSS” mean, through the need of sharing students’ tiered needs with Families and Communities, discussing curriculum and academics, communicating about data down to very concrete strategies for communicating. Communicating clearly and consistently is always important in school - parent relationships that’s even more important when it comes to MTSS and child wellbeing.

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From Mission to Metrics

Last week a new LAC school presented me with an interesting question: “ How do we know we’re meeting our mission? ”. It’s the kind of question that we often ask ourselves at accreditation season, but how many schools can truly answer with confidence and evidence? The more I thought about it, the more I realised that unpacking this question is no different to any other data dive we might do. It requires us to understand what we’re measuring, to find a range of data to analyse, and then to use all that evidence to gain a deeper and more holistic understanding of our current situation and future goals. Step 1: Translating values into visible behaviours What does our mission look like in action? When we are living our mission, our values align with our actions. Let’s take “lifelong learning” as an example phrase we often see in mission statements. Schools that value lifelong learning will likely have administrators that promote and encourage staff professional development...

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The End of Year Data Handover

“And then she went to the porridge of the Little Wee Bear, and tasted it, and that was neither too hot nor too cold, but just right, and she liked it so well that she ate it all up, every bit!” — Goldilocks and the Three Bears For many of us, the sun is shining and we are in the mad dash of wrapping things up before escaping for a well deserved summer. I suspect it would be an easy task if wrapping up was all we had to do, but of course it’s never that simple in a school. We don’t just pack up our class, we need to hand them over to next year’s division and teachers, and get ready to receive our next batch. The data handover is enormous, and figuring out the what and how requires a “Goldilocks” attitude - we’ve got to get it just right. Quantity: Sharing enough to inform, but not so much that it will overwhelm next year’s teachers. Ingredients: Not sharing just numbers, but also anecdotal records and holistic data that will help teachers know students better and so...

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