Advanced Tiers Academy:

This academy is designed for participants who are looking to strengthen and deepen their implementation of Tier 2 and Tier 3 social, emotional, and behavioral interventions. Participants will select two targeted interventions to explore in depth through focused morning and afternoon learning sessions. Throughout the day, attendees will enhance their intervention menus, strengthen progress-monitoring systems, and ensure alignment with existing PBIS and MTSS frameworks. Whether you are developing new interventions or refining current practices, this academy provides a practical, step-by-step roadmap for implementing effective and sustainable intervention supports.

Target Audience: General education teachers, special education teachers, interventionists & coaches, school counselors, school psychologists, school social workers, building principals, other building level administrators, and special education liaisons

Act 48 Hours:

• 2.5 Act 48 hours will be awarded per session for a total of 5 Act 48 hours
• Participants are HIGHLY RECOMMENDED to attend both the morning and afternoon sessions, partial Act 48 hours offered

Registration Priority: Educators who work for LEAs in the AIU3 region will have priority registration

Date: October 14, 2026

Time: 8:30 AM - 3:30 PM

Location: Allegheny Intermediate Unit, 475 East Waterfront Drive, Homestead, PA 15120

• Participants should report to the McGuffey Room. After the welcome, participants will be directed to McGuffey, Sullivan, Flexible Instruction or IMS Room based on their session elections.

Schedule of the Day:

• 8:30-9:00 Welcome & Check-In
• 9:00-11:30 AM Session
• 11:30-1:00 Lunch on Your Own
• 1:00-3:30 PM Session

Participants will select one morning session to attend.

Social-Emotional-Behavioral Small Groups

Ready to strengthen your Tier 2 small group supports? This session will guide participants in developing effective, systematized Tier 2 small groups within a PBIS framework by focusing on the key features that lead to positive student outcomes, including the use of data, systems, and instructional practices. Participants will learn how to identify students for targeted support, select appropriate group topics based on student need, design and deliver engaging instruction, and use data to monitor progress and evaluate effectiveness. The session will also provide guidance on selecting and implementing evidence-based social-emotional learning (SEL) programs that align with Tier 2 supports.

Initial Line of Inquiry (ILI): How to Problem Solve as a Team

This session will introduce participants to the Initial Line of Inquiry (ILI) process—a structured, team-based approach to problem-solving around students' social, emotional, and behavioral support needs. Using the ILI process, teams collaboratively examine slow and fast triggers, target behaviors, maintaining consequences, the function of behavior, and student strengths and needs. This process helps teams build a clearer understanding of student behavior and lays the foundation for effective, individualized supports.

Recognize. Relax. Record.

Join this session to learn about an evidence-based tier 2 intervention that supports regulation of internalizing behaviors. Recognize. Relax. Record. is a structured, K-8 intervention that teaches students how to recognize their emotions, regulate themselves, and track their use of strategies for self-regulation. Participants will learn how to identify students for the RRR intervention and explore the prepared lessons and tracking tools.

Prevent, Teach, Reinforce (PTR): Tier 3 Behavior Plan Model

This session introduces participants to Prevent-Teach-Reinforce (PTR)—an evidence-based, team-driven approach for addressing challenging behavior through individualized support plans. Participants will learn how to collaboratively identify the function of behavior, design effective prevention strategies, teach replacement skills, and reinforce positive behavior. The training will walk teams through each step of the PTR process, providing tools and templates to support implementation within existing PBIS/MTSS systems.

Participants will select one afternoon session to attend.

Check-In/Check-Out (CICO)

Check-In/Check-Out is a Tier 2, evidence-based behavioral intervention designed to support students by providing frequent instruction on expected behaviors, increasing structured interactions between students and school staff, establishing a formal system for performance feedback, and creating additional opportunities for reinforcement when students demonstrate expected behaviors. This session will provide PBIS teams with the knowledge and skills needed to implement and sustain CICO within their schools.

Behavior Response Plans: Tier 3 Behavior Plan Model

This session will guide participants in developing Behavior Response Plans grounded in the crisis model. Educators will learn how to proactively recognize stages of a behavioral crisis and respond with appropriate, trauma-informed strategies that prioritize safety and de-escalation. The session will cover key components of effective response plans, including early intervention, staff roles, supportive communication, de-escalation, and recovery. Participants will leave with practical tools to create individualized plans aligned with student needs.

Attendance-Based Assessments and Interventions

Problem-solving around student absenteeism is a key challenge that schools face. Participants will leave this session with assessment tools that will help identify the root cause of attendance concerns and interventions that are aligned to the root cause of the student’s absenteeism.

Self-Monitoring: Moving Students to Independence

This session will explore ways to establish a Tier 2 self-monitoring intervention. Self-monitoring is a highly effective Tier 2 intervention that helps students self-assess and keep track of their behavior. By monitoring their own actions, students naturally increase their focus to achieve desired outcomes. Participants will be guided through structuring a self-monitoring intervention that can be used in a digital or paper format.

Registration Questions:

Karen Duncan, Administrative Support

karen.duncan@aiu3.net

Training Content Questions:

Shanna Bradfield, Training and Consultation Coordinator

shanna.bradfield@aiu3.net

Reasonable efforts will be made to accommodate individuals who have special needs as addressed by the Americans with Disabilities Act and who need assistance at this event.