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Overview

Supporting the Needs of High School Students

P.K. Yonge's Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) is the framework used to meet the needs of every student, from elementary school through high school.

At the secondary level, MTSS is a relatively new framework that is still being worked out by schools across the country. P.K. Yonge began with implementing the framework successfully at the primary grade levels, and since 2009, have developed a "work-in-progress" model at the secondary level. MTSS looks different at the secondary level, because the focus for students is on content and a wide variety of classes.

The grade-level Student Success Team (SST) is a cross-functional team that plans for, monitors, and evaluates both the academic and behavioral needs of each student. Together, the teachers and support staff collaborate to analyze student data and make action plans. Those in need of additional academic or behavioral support are identified, and interventions are planned and monitored.

Within the MTSS framework, every student receives core instruction, known as Tier One. Some students need supplemental instruction, which is referred to as Tier Two, and a small cohort of students receive the most intensive intervention and supports, known as Tier Three. This tiered system is used for both academic and social and emotional supports.

MTSS is a school-wide practice at this K-12 school. See how P.K. Yonge uses MTSS at the elementary school level.

How It's Done

The Student Success Team

At the high school level, P.K. Yonge continues to use Student Success Teams (SST) to make all decisions about tiered instruction. The team is made up of the K-12 MTSS Support Specialist, the Learning Community leader, all of the core teachers, administrators, guidance counselors, speech and language pathologists and sometimes occupational therapists. Additional people are brought in on an as-needed basis, and parents are consulted on all decisions. The SST meets every four and a half weeks across K-12.

Learning Community Leader's Role

The Learning Community (LC) leader is a role created by P.K. Yonge, usually someone with an expertise in education, school psychology, or special education. At the secondary level, there are 3 LC leaders, one each for 6-7th, 8-9th, and 10-12th grades. Once data is collected and analyzed, the LC leader identifies classes where there is a cohort of students needing support and interventions.

Because at the secondary level students are focused on a large variety of content, the LC Leader essentially "goes back to school" and immerses him/herself in specific content areas, whether that is 10th grade English, Biology, or Geometry. The LC Leader then works closely with the students and teachers in those classes by either pushing into those classes or meeting with students in afterschool help sessions.

Pushing into the Classroom

At the high school level, Tier 1 is universal, core instruction for all students, is delivered by the classroom teachers. For Tiers 2 and 3, students are not pulled out of the classroom to form small groups like at the elementary level, since they would be missing crucial content in their classes. Instead, teachers and the LC leader push-in to the classroom to work with students after the core lesson is delivered. Much of the work is around helping students with organizational, study and life skills, as well as strategies to help them understand the subject material.

Afterschool Help Sessions

In addition to pushing-in for Tier 2 and 3 support, P.K. Yonge has established afterschool help sessions for all high school students. Students who need the extra support sign a help session commitment letter and are required to go to help sessions on specific days and times. In addition, any student who would like some additional support from their core teacher, are also welcome to attend. These help sessions have become a comfortable place for all students to complete homework, ask questions, and collaborate with classmates and friends.

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Using a Multi-Tiered System of Supports | Edutopia

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P.K. Yonge's Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) is the framework used to meet the needs of every student, from elementary school through high school. At the secondary level, MTSS is a relatively new framework that is still being worked out by schools across the country. P.K.

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Since 2006, P.K. Yonge has used a tiered system, where every student receives core instruction, known as Tier One. Some students need supplemental instruction, which is referred to as Tier Two, and a small cohort of students receive the most intensive intervention and supports, known as Tier Three.

Academic supports are integrated with behavioral supports in the MTSS framework. See how this school provides behavioral support for every student.

How It's Done

Using Data to Personalize Instruction

The Student Success Team (SST) makes all decisions about tiered instruction. The team is made up of the K-12 MTSS Support Specialist, the Learning Community Leader, all of the core teachers, administrators, guidance counselors, speech and language pathologists and sometimes occupational therapists. Additional people are brought in on an as-needed basis, and parents are consulted on all decisions.The SST meets every four and a half weeks across K-12.

Determining Tiers

For academic instruction, the majority of students get their needs met through core, or Tier One instruction. P.K. Yonge uses a standard measure of 80 percent effectiveness for students hitting targets in core instruction. Tiers Two and Three are seen as deep, meaningful support for students, not as band-aids for what's not working in Tier One. If less than 80 percent of students are succeeding in Tier One, then Tier One instruction needs to be strengthened. Typically, Tier Two has about 15 percent of students, and Tier Three about 3 to 5 percent.

Each tier builds upon what's happening in the tier before it. For example, in reading, core instruction could be centered on comprehension strategies and specifically inferring, and then Tier Two, would be supplemental instruction on inferring.

For Tier One, the student-teacher ratio is approximately 22-to-1; for Tier Two, approximately 6-to-1; and for Tier Three, between approximately 3-to-1, and occasionally 1-to-1.

Collecting Data

The SST collects a variety of data that helps determine how students are doing, and what specific supports they need. At the elementary level, the school uses different measures like DIEBELS progress monitoring, Fox in a Box diagnostic measures, and a Gates-MacGinitie reading test. They also analyze the outcomes of the annual state reading test for the third grade on up. For math, they have used different standardized measures including AIMS and GMADE. It is important that measures are valid and reliable and generate some kind of norming or statistical information that will help faculty know how students are doing as compared to students across the classroom, district, or nation.

In the 6-12th grades, the faculty spend a lot more time looking at students' grades, attendance and discipline records. They may also look at some district measures or class-made assessments to determine students' progress in their skill development. All of the conversations in the upper grades include an analysis of state and national testing as appropriate.

Questions Used to Monitor Progress

The SST team looks at all the data for every student in the school. They then determine an action plan based on the following questions:

What percentage of students are getting their needs met through core (Tier One) instruction?

Which students need supplemental instruction in a Tier Two configuration?

How is the supplemental instruction defined? There can be multiple Tier Two defined support - some students may need to work on a certain set of skills, while other students have a different set of needs.

What about students already in a Tier Two - how are they progressing? Are there students in Tier Two who may need to move to Tier Three supports?

How are students already in Tier Three doing?

The SST works diligently to have a sustained period of time that students receive the intervention to see if it's effective. Students are typically in Tier Two for at least four and a half weeks, and in Tier Three from nine to twenty-seven weeks, with progress being monitored on a regular basis.

Students who need Tier Three support for significant periods of time beyond the 27 weeks, may then receive possible placement into exceptional student education, to receive an IEP or an EP or a 504.

Using Individual Strengths

Teachers organize themselves around tiered instruction in a variety of different ways and it depends on teacher strengths and student needs. When Tiers Two and Three are defined, teachers determine who leads particular instruction based on their individual strengths, or students in that tier that respond well to them.

During instruction time, all teachers teach core instruction to their 22 students for about 30 minutes. Then everyone moves into Tier Two, Tier Three or autonomous time for another 30 minutes. Another rotation then occurs, and teachers and students reorganize themselves again. At all times, teachers are either leading a tiered group or supervising autonomous time.

Teacher Collaboration

At P.K. Yonge, all core teachers in each grade level have a common daily planning time. While they may quickly check in during this time, it is really during the weekly learning community meetings where they have time to talk about instruction and students. Collaboration continues in the SST meeting, where the focus is on data assessment and problem solving.

A lot of trust and communication is developed between teachers within the learning community to talk about the students they share, and the work they are doing across the tiers.

Reducing Stigma

One of the things P.K. Yonge has worked hard on is to reduce the labeling and stigmatism that can go with being identified as a student who needs more support. Some of that normalizing and making it safe comes from the ways in which they have organized their personnel, the ways in which faculty try to balance "pushing in" and "pulling out." The staff strive to ensure that there is never a certain cohort of students that are always in the particular tier in all subjects. As Director Lynda Hayes, says, "It can be quite an orchestration. We don't always accomplish that, but that's always our goal. How do we make this seamless and as normal for all of our students as possible?"

Resources

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Developing a Multi-Tiered System of Supports | Edutopia

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Since 2006, P.K. Yonge has used a tiered system, where every student receives core instruction, known as Tier One. Some students need supplemental instruction, which is referred to as Tier Two, and a small cohort of students receive the most intensive intervention and supports, known as Tier Three.

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Relationships are the hub of advisory. Students stay with the same peer group of about 15 students -- as well as the same advisor -- throughout all four years. "Advisory gave me a place in school that I looked forward to," recalls Harley. "In middle school, I would dread every day having to be with those kids again, but at Big Picture, I looked forward to seeing not only the group of people I considered friends, but the group I considered family."

Students at Nashville Big Picture attend advisory Monday, Wednesday, and Friday (their on-campus days) for 15 minutes in the morning before classes and two hours at the end of the day. ( They're off-site at internships on Tuesday and Thursday.) During advisory, they have individualized learning time where they work on projects and assignments for their classes; ten-minute one-on-one meetings with their advisor weekly (the frequency and time can change depending on their students' needs); and relationship-building activities, like family meals, problem-solving discussions, and games of Uno.

Nashville Big Picture has a 95 percent attendance rate and a 98 percent graduation rate. "They want to be here because they feel welcomed," says Chaerea Snorten, Nashville Big Picture's principal. "They feel like they matter. They feel loved and appreciated."

If you want to create a culture where your students feel supported, appreciated, and safe to open up to you, here's how you can adapt Big Picture's philosophy of building intentional relationships, both inside and outside of advisory.

How It's Done

22 Ways to Build Intentional Relationships With Your Students, Even If You're at a Big School

If you can't fit advisory into the master schedule, you can implement a lot of what Big Picture does during homeroom, in your classroom, or during lunch and break periods. At the heart of advisory is building intentional relationships with your students. Here are 22 ways to do that.

1. Know your students' names, suggests Snorten. When you use someone's name, you're recognizing their identity. It's simple, but it helps your students know that they're being seen.

2. Recognize something that your students like. "Even something as simple as, 'I know your favorite color is green,'" recommends Snorten. "Or, 'I know your favorite football team is the Washington Redskins' -- anything like that. It's a talking point."

3. Notice something about your students. "'Hey, I love your blouse. It's really pretty.' That extends itself for a conversation," explains Snorten.

4. Ask your students about their experience in after-school activities. You can say something like, "'Hey, I know that you were able to go speak in front of the mayor. Tell me what that experience was like for you,'" suggests Snorten. "Or, 'You all had a softball game the other day. I understand it was pretty tough. Share some fun things about it.' These kinds of conversations are quick, and they don't take hours and hours to build."

5. If a student is late (or acting up), check in with them. "Instead of saying, 'Go to class,'" suggests Courtney Ivy Davis, Nashville Big Picture's school counselor and internship coordinator, "start a conversation, and say something like, 'Hey, I've seen that you've been late for the past couple days. What's going on? Do you need some help with anything?'"

6. When you're having conflict with a student, use that as an opportunity. As a teacher, you're positioned to help students problem solve and work out their issues. The language that you use in these situations is key, and Snorten advises asking the following questions:

What happened with this situation?

Was there something that you could have done differently? What would the outcome have been?

What are resources that you can use to help you work through issues or concerns that you have?

Related Resource: 13 Common Sayings to Avoid

7. Have your students address you by your first name, offers Snorten. This helps humanize you to your students. You're not just their teacher or principal, but you become Miss Courtney or Mr. Gary who has two cats and loves to freestyle rap.

8. Know that it takes time to build relationships. Whether the role of advisor is new to you, or your advisory group just graduated and you'll be starting over with freshmen again next year, remember that building relationships takes time. "It takes time to get through your students' walls," says Derick Richardson, a math teacher and advisor. "I have an awesome young lady in my advisory. It took a few years for her not to blow up on me whenever we had conversations revolving around conflict. Now I know how to present things to her so she can receive it."

9. Be open, honest, and vulnerable with your students. "There's nothing off limits," says Gary Hook, a Big Picture history teacher and advisor. "I'm honest with them, I'll say, 'Hey, I had an argument with my wife this morning. I'm sorry if I'm in a bad mood. We're going to get through it.' I'll say that, and it disarms them, and they may say, 'I had an argument with my mom this morning, and I'm feeling ...' I like to take that approach because, at the end of the day, I know the real student versus a false personality. We get in touch with the human side of one another."

10. Bring your personality into your advisory. If you walk into four advisories at Big Picture, you'll notice that each one is different, and each one reflects the advisor's personality. In Hook's advisory, for example, they'll sometimes have freestyle Fridays. He has been a fan of hip-hop since he was ten, and now he uses hip-hop as an avenue to connect with and engage his students; they challenge him to freestyle rap battles. "I'm pretty much undefeated," he says. Another Big Picture advisor ends each advisory with a game of UNO, which has become an ongoing tournament.

11. Help your students learn that not knowing the answer is OK. "The number one thing that students think about is not wanting to appear as if they don't know something," says Laura Davis, a history teacher and advisor. "That's a big hurdle to get over, getting them comfortable with asking for help."

12. Guide your students to become resources for each other. "They learn who is good at computers, who is good at art, who's good at organizing, and who is good to practice their presentations with," says Davis, "and that is a life skill." Help your students recognize their strengths -- as well as the strengths of their classmates -- so that they can support each other and know who they can reach out to for help.

13. Make sure you take care of yourself. Staying balanced is necessary, says Hook. As a teacher, you're always thinking about your students. The same is true for being an advisor, and maybe even more so. When considering your students' needs, don't forget your own in the process. If you're burnt out, you won't be able to be fully present for your kids.

14. Create advisory expectations with your students on day one. "The most important thing in ninth grade advisory, from day one," emphasizes Davis, "is setting what the culture of the room will be like. What are the expectations for the students and for the adult?" Have your students create the classroom norms, but allow yourself veto power. Be clear on each expectation and what that looks like. If be respectful is an expectation, what would being respectful look like?

15. "Whatever happens in advisory stays in advisory," stresses Davis. It's important to include confidentiality in the advisory expectations so that your students are comfortable sharing their feelings, struggles, and successes in a safe space.

16. Focus on teaching your students skills with long-term benefits. "Teaching them how to manage their time, their projects, due dates, syllabuses, and multiple apparatuses of online tools -- that's extremely key," says Davis. "Reflecting, journaling, we do that every day. That happens at the very beginning. I want them to take these skills with them all four years. These are things I model every day."

17. Check in with each student for ten minutes. If you have an advisory or homeroom, use some of that time to check in with your students one-on-one. "We talk about school, internships, life, and things they want to let me know," explains Davis. "If you're in a school with 500 students," adds Hook, "and you don't have the ability to connect with a small group, start having conversations about how to do that. Could it work if you add 15 minutes to your day, or if you take ten minutes away from your lunch?"

18. Do something fun. "If you have a homeroom of 36 kids, what could you do tomorrow to build relationships?" asks Davis. "Do something fun to get your students to start slowly breaking down their walls."

19. Let your students do walk-and-talks when they're having a hard day. When Davis' students are having a difficult day, she lets them leave class momentarily to walk with her (while someone covers her class) or with a peer so that they can share what's on their mind. "I think that's really important for kids to know that they have a supportive group of peers -- and an adult -- that will listen," says Davis.

20. Use family meetings to resolve conflicts. If there's an issue, "we gather in a Quaker Circle and talk about what has happened and where we move from here," explains Davis. "It prevents the 'he said, she said,' dialogue. Anyone can call a family meeting. I can, or the students can."

21. Host family meals. "Every first Friday, we pick a menu, and every person has a responsibility," explains Hook. "They bring in their food, and we eat, hang, and laugh together. That's just my way of bringing them all back to this space, refocusing our energy, and hitting home the idea that we're a unit, and we're moving forward." Family meals initiated from a holiday brunch. Hook's students loved coming together to cook for each other, and they came up with the idea to have a family meal to celebrate all of the birthdays for each month. Hook begins each family meal with a lesson or philosophical question, like discussing what is wealth, or what traditions the modern American family no longer follows and what's the impact of that. "Sometimes they entertain my questions, and they want to talk about it," says Hook, "and other times, they're just like, 'Oh, gosh, here he goes again.'"

22. Reflect on your practice. At the beginning of each school year, as well as bi-monthly with their professional learning community, Nashville Big Picture's staff looks at how they can improve what they're doing. "We don't just sit in one place," says Ivy Davis, "and say, 'Hey, this works,' and leave it that way. No, we're always looking at, 'Is this still working? Do we need to keep it? How can we enhance this?'"

Building relationships is one of the most critical elements at Big Picture, says Snorten. "That's key because it's the catalyst. When a student can relate to you, and they know you care, that makes a big difference." Nashville Big Picture has cultivated a relationship-focused culture, and advisory allows them to deepen those relationships.

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Advisory: 22 Ways to Build Relationships for Educational Success | Edutopia

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Relationships are the hub of advisory. Students stay with the same peer group of about 15 students -- as well as the same advisor -- throughout all four years. "Advisory gave me a place in school that I looked forward to," recalls Harley.