Dodgeville School District Taking the Lead in MTSS Integration

Dodgeville School District Taking the Lead in MTSS Integration

Last August, all district staff packed into an overheated DHS Music Room, and heard about the “marriage of RtI and PBIS.” (See Dodgeville Progress #1, "District Initiatives" to learn about RtI and PBIS.) “MTSS” stands for a Multi-Tiered System of Supports, a way to merge academic and behavioral systems in the district. Since summer, we have worked to be as efficient as possible in using data to make decisions about student progress. And, as the district grows and develops along these lines, our efforts are being recognized across the state!

Along with other district representatives, I met for a second time today with technical assistance staff from the Wisconsin RtI Center, a statewide collaboration between the Cooperative Educational Service Agency (CESA) Statewide Network and the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI). Lynn Johnson and Heidi Erstad from the Center spent over 2 hours interviewing us about our MTSS Systems and the integration of RtI and PBIS in our schools.

The Center is creating long-term relationships with a small handful of districts around the state where high-quality MTSS practices are being implemented, and we have been chosen to be one of the first districts! The other districts currently being highlighted include Sun Prairie, Hudson, and Crandon. Franklin Elementary in West Allis-West Milwaukee has been chosen. Over time, other schools and districts that are also integrating high-quality MTSS practices into their systems will be brought into what amounts to an information campaign and technical assistance program.

The campaign and projects will include ongoing stories in the Center’s newsletter, training opportunities for other districts around the state reflecting on the models being used in Dodgeville and the other districts, and use of our district’s practices as examples in networking sessions for MTSS coaches and others interested in studying our practices. At the networking sessions, school and district leaders will receive technical assistance and opportunities to network with peers while planning for fidelity and sustainability. Conference presentations by Center staff will also use examples from these districts, including disaggregated student outcome data. These data will show how our students have grown and how we have closed achievement gaps for students of color, students with disabilities, and students who receive free and reduced lunch.

In talking about why Dodgeville was chosen to be among these select districts, Lynn Johnson said, “Efficient systems are sustainable, and districts become more efficient by integrating RtI and PBIS systems. Dodgeville has made enormous strides integrating RtI and PBIS into an MTSS system in a short period of time.” She continued, “Dodgeville School District recognizes the hard work that is involved when making a deep systems change. Careful planning at each level of implementation, along with strong communication is a priority for the district.”

The WI RtI Center was created to assist Wisconsin schools to build capacity, adopt and implement high quality practices, ensure sustainability of efforts and increase success for all students. The Wisconsin Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) Network operates within the Wisconsin RtI Center with a specific focus on behavior. The Center provides professional development and technical assistance to help schools implement culturally responsive MTSS. They offer statewide workshops on the components in order to establish consistent foundations upon which schools should build their systems. Considering the research that has linked academics and behavior achievement, the Center recommends the implementation of an integrated, culturally-responsive MTSS. The center’s vision, mission, values, preferred future, and goals were built around this recommendation. 

This post was updated 3/25/14 to avoid confusion with the RtI Center's School of Merit and School of Distinction awards, which includes alignment with research-based practices and validation of student outcomes.

For more information about "Dodgeville Progress" please contact:

John Humphries, Director of Pupil Services at jhumphries@dsd.k12.wi.us

Introduction to Dodgeville School District Initiatives

Introduction to Dodgeville School District Initiatives

The Dodgeville School District has a proud history of successfully educating our community’s children and youth. As we respond to new requirements from the state and federal levels, our main focus will always remain on providing excellent educational opportunities. At the same time, we recognize the need to raise achievement for all students, and to close gaps in achievement for students from low-income families and students with disabilities. These are also the main focus areas in the new state report cards by which all schools are rated.

For many years, the Dodgeville School District has been a regional leader in adopting research-based educational practices. We are excited to continue this process, using the most effective curricula, assessments, and interventions to better meet the needs of our students while we address the focus areas in the state report cards. With that in mind, we are implementing six initiatives, all of which are directly connected to student achievement and pro-social behaviors. Some of these have been developing for many years (i.e. Response to Intervention, Balanced Assessment Systems) and are in the latter stages of implementation. Others are entirely new (Educator Effectiveness Evaluation, Common Core State Standards, Smarter Balanced Assessments). The final initiative represents a new way of organizing our work on student behavior using strategies we have known about for many years (Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports or PBIS). Five of the six initiatives are required by the State, either through law or rule. The other initiative (PBIS), while not required, has been shown to raise student achievement while also improving school climate. This has been shown to be true in our schools. 

What are these initiatives?

·         Response to Intervention is the process of using assessments to identify skills that students have not learned and quickly providing them with interventions to teach those skills.

·         Balanced Assessment Systems use multiple types of data to inform decisions about student needs. Rather than waiting for the annual WKCE, we review data more frequently.

·         Educator Effectiveness Evaluation is the new state model for teacher evaluation involving short, frequent classroom observations, watching for critical teaching strategies.

·         Common Core State Standards are higher academic standards that focus teaching on complex skills requiring data analysis, teaming, and higher order thinking skills.

·         Smarter Balanced Assessments are the new WKCE statewide achievement tests given to all students in grades 3-8 and 11 beginning in 2015. Results are used for state report cards.

·         Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports include the ways we help students learn how to behave in school and maintain high levels of positive behaviors.

Our district leadership team has created a 3-year timeline for implementation that culminates with the advent of the new statewide assessments mentioned above. By that time, we expect to have modified many of our practices to better identify and meet the learning needs of our students. In summary, we are in the midst of significant changes, and we look forward to reporting on our progress to our community.