This Month's Newsletter has the following information:

• 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
• Stop, Drop Everything, and Access These Two Resources
• R10 MTSS Upcoming Events
• 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

I usually am super excited about June as it is the official start of summer fun, Father's Day and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Month (PTS). Other than celebrating my dad, my step-dad, and my husband, I'm not feeling it this year. My heart is heavy and my mind is overwhelmed. I carry a lot of PTS on the daily without the current additional stressors of life right now. My PTS intensifies when I begin to feel as if there are too many things outside of my control. It pulls me back into my childhood experiences where I saw a lot of violence, drug use, spousal abuse, verbal abuse, and racism.

I have to practice mindfulness techniques to deescalate my PTS. I have to remember the resiliency skills taught to me by my father to overcome those situations that I saw and experienced while visiting my mother's home. I also found this quote on Good Reads from James Baldwin, "Not everything that is faced can be changed. But nothing can be changed until it is faced." I had no idea who this man was when I read it. I spent about five or six hours trying to learn everything I could about James Baldwin. I found him to be incredible. If you don't know who he is, please take a moment to watch the video below. Amazing video taken five years ago and yet very timely.

I have to remember this is not the theme song of my life: Please Click

The things I mentioned help me to remember that I am an adult and no longer the fearful child who had no way out of the situation. Mr. Baldwin reminds me that nothing can be changed unless I face it. A gentle reminder that I have a voice. The music reminds me that is no longer my life.

I am considered a specialist in my field and the work I do is an equity gamechanger because I help build MTSS Models for districts, campuses, and teachers in a way that creates strong systems of equity for ALL STUDENTS and ALL STAFF.

The most important thing I recognize is that I am no longer alone or helpless because I have an internal and external R10 MTSS Team that assists me in building those systems. Together we are better because we each bring our diverse background and perspectives to the table.

Please remember that as you continue to plan for the return to school. Who is at your table? Who is missing? What is the plan to bring them to the table as a meaningful member of your problem-solving team?

The resources in this month's newsletter are meant to challenge your perception; how you do business at your district, campus, or classroom; and give you tools to utilize.

Also, there are no PEIMS updates, but let's review a few things.

• You can code a child 504 and an intervention student. You can code a child special ed and an intervention student. How? These students can receive an intervention outside of their 504 or IEP Plan. You will receive a special warning. This special warning is saying, "Hey you, I see you have double coded these students. Is this something you really want to do?" Then you double-check your work and say back to the PEIMs system as you hit override or click okay to proceed, "Yes, I am double coding this student because all students should be able to receive what they need when they need it."

• You can not code a student 504, SPED, and Intervention because if a student is officially in SPED, they are no longer 504. You need to exit them from 504 in PEIMS.

• Exiting a student out of Intervention and it's place in PEIMS Coding. If a student receives an intervention even one time in a school year (August to June) and EXITS intervention, then you have to keep them on your PEIMS List of students to report through every submission for that school year. HOWEVER, remove them from your actual active list of students needing intervention or make a note (exited) because you don't want them on your list when you submit for the first time for the next school year.

• Beginning of the year: if you have not started intervention services by the time of the first PEIMS submission, you do not have any intervention students to submit because no one has started intervention. Your data analysis may indicate a few of those students may end up not even needing the Tier 2/Tier 3 intervention supports and services. This is okay because my dear frenemy COVID-19 requires you to analyze the data to determine appropriate supports and services before you start something that may no longer be accurate. If all students are receiving accelerated instruction at the beginning of the year, this is not an intervention for a targeted group of students. If you call that intervention versus reteach for all students, then you need to PEIMS code your entire school.

• Be confident in your work and in this advice. I have double-checked it multiple times with our R10 PEIMS Coordinator. I know it is scary, but I promise, if something changes, you will get an emergency R10 MTSS Newsflash and possibly a personal phone call from me.

I know everyone is busy, but I hope that you have time for yourself built into your summer. I miss you all and hope to see you soon. Without you and your feedback on the supports and services you need to be successful, I can't provide you with what you need, when you need it.

Remember, separate we are good, together we ALL stronger.

Kimmie

Communication. Collaboration. Collective Responsibility.

June is PTSD Awareness Month

For some, it is every month and with recent events, I wonder how many of us are going to “celebrate” PTSD every month too. First, let’s drop the “D” in PTSD; it isn’t a disorder but mental health condition caused by a traumatic event. This article is about understanding and getting rid of the stigma of mental health conditions. The stats of PTS are alarming. I won’t bore you with them; if you are interested you can look them up.

Often when we hear PTS, we think of veterans, very true, and with a brother who is a naval officer I do not undermine that opinion. But there is sub pop that I do not think we as educators and community members realize… it is our people of color. African-Americans and other people of color have dealt with historical trauma, race-based trauma, institutional racism, a constant threat of racial discrimination, and microaggressions. I do not pretend to understand how that feels, but I do know how my mom was treated coming from a “brown family”. I look at my son’s Godmother and Godchildren. I hear and see how they are treated as people of color. I also see how many of my friends who are people of color are treated as well.

Experiences that are rooted in racism (which are often repetitive and unresolved) can create severe emotional pain and distress that can overwhelm a person’s and community’s ability to cope. These factors can increase African-Americans and people of color susceptibility to develop PTS because many are experiencing actions that are not under their control and often result in behaviors that show up in the form of hypervigilance, apathy, and anxiety.

With that being said, how are educators, policymakers, and curriculum creators going to embed PTS into their educational literacy? Are we going to acknowledge PTS in our systems thinking? Are we going to look at the student who is “flipping out” in the classroom as a “problem student”, or a young person with an over-activated brain and nervous system? And what about our teachers? Are they experiencing vicarious trauma, the cost of working with someone who has experienced trauma? Are we creating compassionate classrooms? Are we truly being empathetic and “climbing down in the hole” with the student or are we giving our students the “sandwich” as Brené Brown shows in her video (found below) on Empathy vs. Sympathy.

PTS is real. It may not always be visible to the eye of educators and community members, but we need to shift our thinking in how we handle how the body responds to trauma or as Dr. Bessel van der Kolk explains, “How the body keeps the score.”

Social Emotional Learning (SEL) has been a buzz word this year before COVID-19 or the very real reaction to the equally real issue inequity in the world we live. There is a reason why SEL is an important component part of the MTSS Model and Framework. SEL provides true opportunities to create equitable systems to be built to grow a community on the foundation of equity. Please take the time to reach each SEL competencies as defined by CASEL.

Social-Awareness: Through an equity lens, self-awareness can help adults and students recognize biases, understand how race and ethnicity impact your sense of self and personal identity and reflect on what it means to be part of a group or community.

Self-Management: Through the equality lens, self-management helps adults and students manage the stress associated with adapting to a new school climate or culture, cope with discrimination and come up with individual and collective solutions in the face of challenges.

Social-Awareness: Through an equity lens, social awareness can help adults and students navigate norms in diverse social settings, recognize issues of race and class in different settings, understand power dynamics, and come up with ways to create a positive school climate that honors diversity.

Relationship Skills: Through the equity lens, relationship skills means that adults and students can navigate cultural differences, form relationships with people from different backgrounds in a way that honors their culture, and solve problems across race, culture, gender, and social lines.

Responsible-Decision Making: Through an equity lens, responsible decision-making skills can help adults and students make decisions that are inclusive and equitable, understand the systemic implications of different outcomes, and reflect on how actions and decisions can impact equity.

SEL is not a program, it is an action.

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.

The following two resources are amazing. One is a quick comic strip. It is deemed "clean"'; however, there might be two borderline words that I am sure we have all said as children. The other is a powerful keynote from Washington Department of Education's Virtual MTSS FEST April 2020. Dr. Sugai, PBIS Expert, speaks about the importance of MTSS.

You will need to click on the image of the comic to be taken to it. I feel this a gold nugget cartoon that can be used in training. I appreciate my R10 MTSS Team Member, Veronica Clack from the Bilingual/EL Department for always sharing unique and hard to find resources to share with us.

For the record, I reached out to Dr. Sugai and tried my southern charm to have him speak at our September 2020 R10 MTSS Institute. Below is a short excerpt from that exchange. Be aware that some of this, unless it is bolded and in quotes, is purely my fictitious interpretation of the reply.

"Dear Kimmie, Thank you so much for emailing me" and for finding my email address that I thought was hidden. I am honored that you are "reaching out to me about your institute; however, did you hear that I recently retired?" - sidebar - I am not going to say that I knew this or that I didn't know this when I wrote to him but if you were a betting man, you shouldn't go with the latter. - "I am so sorry, but I am only focused on retire type activities right now. Here is the name of a person to contact in your region. I am sure she would love to help at your conference." GS (I don't think that is how he signed his name, it is just the way I read it in my mind while I printed and framed his response. You know....because he is THE ROCK STAR in PBIS.

I am asking this crowd, did anyone else hear, "Kimmie, you should try again later?" I feel like I almost had him. No? It must just be me that heard it. :)

R10 Planning for the Transition Back using the MTSS Framework

In this nine-hour self-paced course (occurs over the course of a week), participants will explore the philosophy behind a Multi-Tiered Systems (MTSS) of Support Framework; examine the four components used in the MTSS Framework and apply the MTSS Framework from a District, Campus and Teacher perspective; and review a variety of resources to gain different perspectives of a MTSS Framework.

**This blended session requires participant to participate in a live introduction zoom session on one of the first three days of the course (Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday) from 9 AM to 10 AM to build background knowledge, they will have a week to complete the required modules found on CANVAS. There are multiple opportunities to schedule an individual or small group meeting during this time if the participant needs clarification or a thought partner for the final project."

Below are the remaining course session numbers and dates:

• #2639033 (June 30)
• #2639035 (July 14)
• #2639036 (July 28)

R10 MTSS Consortium

June 25, 2020: We will be focusing on the best practices of Remote Learning.

• Best Practices and Considerations: Lori Aiden, Pamela Baker, and many more R10 Special Guests.

July 9, 2020: We will be focusing on Data-Based Individualization and it's important as you plan for approaching academic, behavior and SEL supports and services from Prevention, Enrichment, and Intervention perspective. Topic and Guest Speaker:

• Data Based Individualization: Dr. Sarah Benz, National Center on Intensive Intervention

July 23, 2020: We will be focusing on T.I.E.R (Tiered Intervention using Evidence-Based Intervention. We are so excited that representatives from the T.I.E.R. Network will be with us.

• MTSS Intervention: T.I.E.R. Network: Bernette Blake, University of Texas
• SEL Implementation: Sharon Bradley, Director of Student Services (Plano ISD)

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.

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).

T.I.E.R. (Tiered Intervention using Evidence-Based Research) is the Technical Assistance Network for MTSS Intervention which is funded by the Texas Education Agency. Each week they have been sending out introduction videos. MTSS Intervention is one approach under MTSS which is the System. The foundational protocols found at T.I.E.R. can be generalized for other MTSS approaches such as the Supportive and Safe Schools Program.

If you want to learn those foundational protocols so you can apply them to other MTSS approaches, please spend time with this network. Below are a few webinars they are releasing weekly to help you navigate the website and the resources you will find there. So proud of this work and this team!

MTSS Webinar Topic (w/link if applicable) and Release Date

April 15, 2020 - Introduction

April 22, 2020 - Leadership

April 29, 2020 - Mental Health

May 6, 2020 - Behavior

May 13, 2020 - TIER Website Navigation

May 20, 2020 - Communities

May 27, 2020 - Culturally Responsive

June 3, 2020 - Decision Making

June 10, 2020 - Academics

June 17, 2020 - Screening

June 24, 2020 - Progress Monitoring

July 1, 2020 - TIER 2020-2021

Need Direct Services, Consultations or Specialized PD? Please click this link: bit.ly/R10PDRequestForm

Email: kimmie.conlon@region10.org
Website: www.region10.org
Phone: 972.348.1166
Twitter: @R10_MTSS