R10 MTSS Newsletter: July 2020

Prevention, Enrichment, and Intervention for All Students

“Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world.” -Harriet Tubman

Kimmie's MTSS Reflection (It is personal and lengthy. Feel free to pass by it.)
Compassionate Classroom with Dr. Caryn Sawlis
Counseling Corner with Susan Delarosa and Brandi Fennell
McKinney-Ventor and Foster Care with Deon Quinn
MTSS Overview
Have You Seen... (Updates from TEA and Resources/Training Outside of R10 as well as T.I.E.R. Network Information)
Did You Know...(Resources/Training from R10 and R10 MTSS Transition Back Guiding Questions)
Other R10 Newsletters
Contact Information for the R10 MTSS Team

Kimmie's MTSS Reflection

Happy July...almost August! I hope this newsletter finds you safe, healthy, and rejuvenated from at least a few days off this summer. I'm not sure about you, but for me, it has been a whirlwind summer and it seems like we are headed into some potentially rough unchartered waters.

Now more than ever, we need to have one voice as we work together to bring our students, families, and colleagues back to school. One voice requires communication, collaboration, and collective responsibility. It also requires the ability to provide equity to our students, family, and colleagues through the systems we build.

One voice is truly about aligning systems, but it is also about aligning beliefs. If we really believe that SEL is a component of meeting the needs of the whole child, then we should embed SEL questions during the universal, targeted, and intensive problem-solving meetings.

CASEL has a wonderful tool to assist you in this process. You can find it here. They also have

Equity Connections to SEL Competencies that should be reviewed. You can find the resource here.

Please know that as you continue to build your MTSS framework and team, we are also continuously growing Region 10's MTSS team and systems in order to share one voice and one belief. We do this by continuously aligning our systems to become stronger together. As we move into the 20-21 school year, this monthly newsletter will have more contributors and resources available to meet your needs.

We hope that you have a wonderful start to the 20-21 school year.

Kimmie

Communication. Collaboration. Collective Responsibility

The Compassionate Classroom with Dr. Caryn Sawlis

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Dr. Sawlis is on hiatus this month due to a jampacked training schedule; however, I thought I would share this quote she sent me just the other day. Profound. ~ Kimmie

TraumaInformedPBS

@ti_pbs

"Trauma informed support does not start with having all the correct strategies. It begins with questions about the student that have been neglected. Conversations about the child’s needs that we have been forgotten tipbs.com #traumainformed #teacher"

Counseling Conversations with Susan Delarosa & Brandi Fennell

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As we have mentioned in prior newsletters, Social Emotional Learning is an action that requires practice, but having strong SEL skills is long-lasting. A 2017 meta-analysis from CASEL involving students from kindergarten to high school showed that students exposed to SEL programs performed better academically (13 percentile points higher) than their non-SEL peers. In addition, SEL can have a positive impact on school climate and reduce mental health issues and drug use among students.

Resiliency goes hand in hand with SEL. Engage, a non-profit agency in Collin County is offering three different webinar series about trauma and resiliency. Free for all counties, but registration for each interested webinar is required. Please register here: https://www.engagecollin.com/webinars.html

Please take a moment to review the resources on SEL and Self-Care below.

SEL and Self-Care Resources for Educators, Schools, and Parents Related to Distance Learning and COVID-19

A compilation of social-emotional learning (SEL) and self-care resources for educators, parents, and school communities during COVID-19.

nam02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com

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Amazing Training Opportunity

COVID-19 has pushed a lot of issues out into the forefront. Poverty is one of them. As you begin refining your MTSS Model or even developing one for the first time, this webinar will provide you with more insight into poverty that could help you think through the supports and services you create for students, families, and staff members.

Region 10 is providing an exclusive invite to participate in the popular, A Framework for Understanding Poverty webinar training for FREE!! The webinar will take place on Thursday, July 30th from 8:30 am – 3:30 pm. There are limited seats, so be sure to secure yours before registration closes on July 28th.

Registered participants will receive a follow-up email at a later date with access information needed to participate in the webinar. Region 10 will not be allowed to record this webinar event. If you are unable to participate, stay tuned for this opportunity in the future. To register and learn more about what you can expect on July 30th, please see the attached flyer. For additional questions, feel free to contact Deon Quinn at deon.quinn@region10.org.

We need to bring clarity to the systems of support needed and potential roadblocks that stop us so we can truly see the Systems needed for a sustainable MTSS Model.

MTSS is made up of different Systems of Support working together, such as MTSS Intervention, MTSS School Safety, and Security, MTSS Mental Health, etc.. Together these pieces create the layers needed to ensure students are ready for life beyond school. Below are all the parts, pieces, and layers that need to work together.

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Texas Education Agency's CCMR Goal for ALL Students

Have we prepared students with the academic, behavior, social-emotional, and resiliency skills to be successful in life?

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ALL Means ALL

Every student regardless of labels or instructional setting should receive enrichment, prevention, and intervention opportunities.

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It's Systems Based

Are all of your District Systems Aligned? For example,

Does the district communication system take into consideration the system of enrollment?

Does the system of enrollment include surveys, placement assessments, and communication to the appropriate support services so that students receive immediate preventative support?

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Strong Leadership is Required

Without the belief and support from your district, campus and teacher leaders, it is hard to create stakeholder engagement from staff, students, parents and the community. It is also harder to create the intrinsic need for personal growth in staff members.

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Nothing Works Without the Hidden Four

Culture and Climate are everything. Who are your influencers? Yes, they don't just exist on YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram. Do they have stakeholder engagement?

Evidence-Based Decisions should be the norm but include hidden evidence that is often overlooked. Think attendance, tardies, referrals, etc.

Assessments are vital to the MTSS framework. What are they? How are you using them? Are you looking for other areas of need besides intervention? How about enrichment?

Effective Teaching Practices are vital. How are you coaching your staff?

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Holistic Approach

SEL, Academic, and Behavior bleed into one another. One area can positively or negatively affect another area. If you are only looking at one, you miss the others.

Creating the MTSS Umbrella

More than ever the MTSS Umbrella requires Communication, Collaboration, and Collective Responsibility. The pandemic will not last forever.

We need, more than ever, to work together to help our students see there is a way through this.

We do this by providing supports and services to their parents, all staff members, and them.

We provide opportunities for mindfulness, positive feedback on the work they are doing, flexibility, grace, and space.

We also keep them focused on their goals, dreams, hopes, and wishes for their future.

We work together through Communication, Collaboration, and Collective Responsibility.

The image below includes just a few graphics on what is required to implement and hold the MTSS Umbrella in place during a pandemic (and the regular year).

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Together we are better!

It takes all of our supports and systems working as one. Ensuring fidelity at each layer is instrumental in working as an MTSS organization.

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Communication. Collaboration. Collective Responsibility.

A true MTSS organization takes into consideration and protects the following components needed to build a sustainable, intentionally designed MTSS framework.

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ALL Means ALL!

When you operate as an MTSS organization, then you are able to build systems of support to build the umbrella needed to provide the protection of unified multi-tiered systems of the support framework for diverse educators, students, and parents as represented by the graphics in this image.

Have You Seen....

TEA: SY 20-21 School Reopening Brief

This button will take you to the July 21, 2020 brief on School Reopening Guidance.

TEA: SY 20-21 Public Health Gudiance

This button will take you to the July 17, 2020 brief on Public Health Guidance for Schools.

TEA: Letter of Interest for Resilient School Support

The Resilient Schools Support Program will select up to 40 Local Education Agencies
(LEAs) to support during school year 20-21. Selected LEAs will be matched with a highly qualified district support organization.

TEA: Webinar Series Adapting/Adopting Remote Curriculum

Topics covered: Designing for Instructional Quality, Coherence, & Continuity; Adapting/Adopting Pre-K curriculum, Math curriculum, Reading Language Arts curriculum, and Science & Social Studies curriculum; and Implementing Texas Home Learning 3.0

TEA: BOY Assessments FAQ

Using released State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR®) test questions that measure the TEKS, the TEA has provided recommended, but not required, beginning of the year assessments as a tool for districts to access their students.

TEA: Progress Monitoring Checklist

This gem created by the Texas Education Agency is hidden under the Special Education Section. It a resource for ALL educators. Replace the word IEPs with ALL STUDENTS, & you have a wonderful resource to generalize/ adapt for ALL tiers in any setting.

What Works Clearinghouse: ESSA TIERS of Evidence

"The What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) has valuable tools for locating studies that meet the ESSA evidence requirements" on programs, practices, products, and policies that work across various populations.

NCII: Progress Monitoring Virtually

The National Center on Intensive Intervention provides a FAQ on considerations to consider when collecting progress monitoring data virtually.

CASEL: Reunite, Renew and Thrive - SEL Roadmap

CASEL has worked with collaborative partners to develop an SEL Roadmap to reopening schools. This is a must see.

T.I.E.R. Webinar Series

Did You Know....

Updated R10 MTSS Transition Back Plan Guiding Questions

This document is meant to provide some general guidance for LEAs to consider with regard to planning considerations as LEAs begin to develop a plan to bring students back to campuses from remote learning. This is not a directive from TEA, OSEP, etc.