The development of infrastructure involves creating the structures required to facilitate and support implementation of the MTSS framework model. A district must examine its current goals, policies, resources and personnel responsibilities with regard to their alignment with a MTSS model of service delivery.

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Leadership

Successful implementation of a Multi-Tiered System of Supports model relies on support beginning at the district and building administrator levels. The development of district and building leadership teams is paramount for a successful MTSS system. The leadership team is critical in providing the parameters and structure within which everyone works.  The leadership team ensures that resources are provided, decision making takes place, and staff performance is maintained.

Leadership refers to activities of leaders and includes:

• Creating a clear vision and commitment to a multi-tiered system of supports

• Inspiring, facilitating, and monitoring growth and improvement, along with holding high standards for everyone

• Promoting the essential components of a MTSS and the significant systemic changes needed to implement those components with fidelity

• Committing resources, time, and energy to building capacity and sustaining the momentum needed for change

• Supporting collaborative problem-solving approaches with all stakeholders (e.g. school leadership, staff members, families, learners, and community members) to build partnerships

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Professional Learning

Ongoing data-driven professional development activities that align to core student goals and staff needs. This creates a common language amongst school personnel and stakeholders, with the goal of establishing buy-in from these individuals.

Professional Learning is the building of capacity and infrastructure to sustain an ongoing culture of continuous improvement. Professional learning includes the following essential elements:

• Differentiation based on staff roles/responsibilities and needs

• Job-embedded coaching

• Modeling of, practice of, and collaborative feedback on, problem solving steps

• Support for collaboration and teaming skills

Professional learning is in-service of the critical elements of a MTSS:

• Standards based instruction

• Assessments used to inform instruction

• Multiple tiers of instruction and intervention

• Data-based problem solving used to make decisions

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Data & Assessment

Comprehensive, efficient, and user-friendly data-systems for supporting decision-making at all levels from the individual student level up to the aggregate district level.

Data and Assessment refers to utilizing age-appropriate assessments for monitoring student growth and effectiveness of instructional practices across grade levels, and providing early intervention to support struggling students. Assessment is the ongoing process of gathering information about the full range of student ability.

A complete assessment system enables educators to:

• Analyze data and screen students to identify who is at risk

• Use diagnostic assessments to determine why students are at-risk

• Use formative assessments to monitor growth and make adjustments to instruction

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Communication & Collaboration

Strong, positive, and ongoing collaborative partnerships with all stakeholders who provide education services or who otherwise would benefit from increases in student outcomes. Also, it is key to communicate outcomes with stakeholders and celebrate successes.

Communication and collaboration includes the effective partnering of all stakeholders and assumes shared responsibility for learners’ success by:

• Establishing and sustaining trusting relationships

• Understanding and integrating family and school culture

• Maintaining reciprocal communication

• Engaging in collaborative problem solving

• Coordination of learning at home, school, and in the community

• Acknowledging and celebrating progress