BARR (Building Assets, Reducing Risks):
- Small Block: Weekly gathering of same grade level teachers where they discuss and evaluate each student in their class (two-three per meeting). The goal of these meetings is to pool knowledge about students and help teachers better understand their strengths and areas for growth.
- Big Block: A bi-weekly/monthly meeting of teachers (multiple grade levels) and support staff (teachers, school-based interventionists, specialists, and administration) that focuses on students who may need more than one person's help. The goal is to pool knowledge about students' assets and identify ways to support and challenge them.
- Community Connect: A weekly meeting that involves more specialized staff, such as the school social worker, school psychologist, interventionists, special education teachers, and school nurse along with school administration. They consider the need for tapping community resources to assist with a range of issues that are not solved in the classroom or require additional intervention.
BILT (Building Instructional Leadership Team):
Grade level teachers, specialists, school psychologists, school social workers, interventionists, and building principals/administrators gather to develop, implement, and progress goals, and monitor goals for the school year. The BILT teams are responsible for ensuring an effective unified vision for MnMTSS in the school and for ensuring that resources, structures, and processes are in place to guide evidence-based decisions, effective actions, and system improvement across all teams. This team is responsible for the integration of academic and behavioral practices (SEL, BARR, school climate, restorative practices, mental health, and non-exclusionary discipline practices) efforts in the school. School teams should follow guidance on teaming infrastructure and processes provided by the school district and ensure all school staff should fully understand the roles and responsibility of teams at every level and how the work across all district and school teams is coordinated.
CAT (Collaborative Action Teams):
Professional learning community of educators to review student achievement/student data to make decisions about instruction and adjust instructional practices.
DWIM (District-Wide Intervention Meeting):
District Interventionists, teaching and learning coordinators, district school psychologists, and school leaders gather to review academic and social-emotional screening data to assess trends and support needs district-wide. The DWIM Team Process:
- Screening: Assist classroom teachers and administer universal screening
- DW SWIM: District-wide data analysis and decision making with Teaching and Learning department
- Local SWIM: Meet with grade level data analysis and decision making
- Intervention: Implement recommended interventions
- Monitoring: Regular progress monitoring with fast bridge
LETRS (Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling):
LETRS is a literacy training program. LETRS is comprehensive professional learning designed to provide early childhood and elementary educators and administrators with deep knowledge to be literacy and language experts in the science of reading.
Teachers gain essential knowledge and skills to master the fundamentals of literacy instruction required to apply and transform student learning.
MARSS Data (Minnesota Automated Reporting Student System)
The Minnesota Automated Reporting Student System (MARSS) is an individual student record system that serves as the Minnesota Department of Education's primary reporting system for student data. A variety of student data are collected that are used to compile student counts, including Oct. 1 enrollments, Dec. 1 child counts, and average daily membership (ADM).
MARSS data is used in schools primarily to calculate state aid funding, allocate federal grants, and determine student counts for various purposes like special education funding, all based on comprehensive student information collected through the system; essentially, it is a critical tool for managing school district finances and understanding student demographics to inform educational planning and decision-making within Minnesota schools.
This data is reported to the state weekly throughout the year to meet state requirements. The data is used to determine state and federal aid funding for each fiscal year.
MTSS (Multi-Tiered Systems of Support):
A framework that helps schools and districts support students' academic, social, emotional, and behavioral needs, as well as their academic success. MTSS uses data to identify students who need additional support, and provides them with the right level of instruction and intervention.
- Tier I Instruction: High-quality, research-based instruction provided to all students in the general education setting (if done well, meets the needs of 80-85%).
- Tier II Instruction: Targeted support for students who are not making adequate progress in Tier I. Intended for smaller groups of students (about 10-15%) who need more support in addition to core curriculum.
- Tier III Instruction: Intensive, individualized instruction for students who show minimal progress in Tier I and II. Provided to 1-5% of students who need the most support, often those with significant academic or behavior challenges.
SWIM (School-Wide Intervention Meeting):
Horizontal grade team, principal, school psychologists, and interventionists gather to review academic and social-emotional screening data to determine what students need additional interventions and in what interventions will best support each student. The SWIM Team Process:
- Screening: Assist classroom teachers administer universal screening
- Local SWIM: Meet with grade level data analysis and decision making
- Intervention: Implement recommended interventions
- Monitoring: Regular progress monitoring with fast bridge
