Members of the Kentucky Department of Education’s Family Partnership Council discussed how families can help support all students in Kentucky’s Multi-Tiered System of Supports (KyMTSS) during the Family Partnership Council meeting on March 18.
KyMTSS is a comprehensive framework designed to maximize student achievement and social and behavioral competencies. It integrates differentiated core instruction, assessment and intervention to create positive learning experiences for all students.
Melissa Wainwright, KyMTSS coordinator for the Kentucky Department of Education (KDE), highlighted the importance of families and schools working together.
“Over the years, I’ve learned the value of positive two-way communication; I learned it as a parent of now-adult children of the importance of speaking with the classroom teacher and the school,” Wainright said. “I would guess that all of us (in the meeting) have had opportunities with positive relationships and they are stronger when we connect, collaborate and communicate.”
KyMTSS is organized into three tiers of support: Tier 1, Tier 2 and Tier 3, with each tier offering increasing levels of intervention and support. The system is designed to maximize student achievement and social and behavioral competencies through an integration of universal instruction, assessment and intervention:
- Tier 1: Universal instruction – Instruction provided to all students based on the Kentucky Academic Standards.
- Tier 2: Targeted intervention – Supplemental evidence-based intervention in addition to and in alignment with Tier 1 universal instruction for students identified by universal screening and diagnostic assessment data as being at-risk for not meeting grade-level academic or behavioral benchmarks.
- Tier 3: Intensive intervention – In addition to Tier 1 universal instruction and Tier 2 targeted intervention, evidence-based intervention services are provided to a student based on diagnostic assessment and progress monitoring data, with the intensity and duration matched to the student’s individualized academic and behavioral needs.
KyMTSS reflects a shift from a primarily reactive Response to Intervention (RTI) model to a proactive, prevention‑oriented, K-12 multi-tiered system. Rather than waiting for students to struggle before intervening, KyMTSS prioritizes early access and opportunity to high‑quality instruction and supports that promotes and maximizes grade‑level learning for all students.
“We’ve now moved to a more proactive stance which is a multi-tiered system of support where we provide just-in-time, just-right instruction,” Wainwright said.
Wainwright said that in Tier 1, families can help with early intervention and support through participating in parent-teacher conferences, family nights, family guides, report cards and progress reports and other opportunities to engage with the school.
In Tier 2, schools provide targeted, layered instruction, intervention and supports. Families can participate by being a member of problem-solving teams, using read-at-home plans (K-3), and helping with written reports of student progress on intervention.
In Tier 3, the highly individualized intervention and support have increased intensity, time and duration. Families can help in the same ways as in Tier 2, but could monitor progress more frequently.
Wainwright said all the resources KDE offers for the KyMTSS are available on the KyMTSS website. In addition to general information and resources, the website has a webpage with resources for family, school and community partnerships.
Council member Rhonda Logsdon, representing the Kentucky Special Parents Involvement Network, said she believed parents being involved in intervention is critical for students to be successful.
“Thank you for this because I think this is going to help bridge that gap and build that partnership for families, but then also it sets the stage of expectations, because we are a critical part of this,” Logsdon said. “Many families are not being involved at all the different levels, and so how do we bridge that and open the door in a positive way?”
She suggested making the KyMTSS website and resources more available and well known to families all around the state.
Council member Autumn Neagle, representing the Kentucky Parent Teacher Association, said she didn’t know much about the KyMTSS before the meeting, and believes that other parents might not know much about the system either. She also was not aware that Tier 1 focused on all students rather than only students who need intervention and suggested raising awareness for parents.
“I kind of struggle with this because it has the little acronyms and then this is tier one, this is tier two. … I didn’t realize this was something for every student,” Neagle said.
Neagle suggested framing the resources in a way that parents can better understand that KyMTSS supports every student.
Wainwright thanked the council for their input and feedback. She plans to take these considerations and continue to develop resources and supports to further develop the family, school and community partnership of KyMTSS.
Leave A Comment