Coming up with action steps can be daunting. To support you, we have drafted a bank of sample action steps aligned with essential planning components of an inclusive and equitable MTSS.
Components | Sample Action Steps |
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Shared Vision: The learning community has a shared understanding of high‐quality instruction, which promotes deeper learning for all students. |
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Grounded in Equity: The instructional vision is grounded in equity, communicates high expectations, and advances equitable outcomes for all learners. |
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Student Experience: The vision centers around the student experience and creates conditions for student engagement and agency in their own learning. |
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Components | Sample Action Steps |
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High‐Quality Instructional Materials: Materials are bias‐free, have empirical evidence of efficacy (high‐quality instructional materials/HQIM), engaging content, and are inclusive in design. |
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Coherence: Materials used across all three tiers exhibit a coherent sequence of target skills and knowledge that advances deeper learning (i.e., vertically and horizontally aligned). |
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Vision Alignment: The learning community has a system for reviewing curricular materials and adjusting as needed to align to the instructional vision. |
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Components | Sample Action Steps |
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Equitable Access: All students receive challenging, grade‐appropriate instruction and have equitable access to effective instructional practices. |
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ESL: All English learners have access to appropriate ESL services as part of their Tier 1 instruction. |
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EL Support: English learners, at all proficiency levels, are provided equitable access to grade‐level curriculum and have opportunities to develop and practice discipline‐specific language. |
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SWD/504 Support: Instructional practices outlined in the 504 or IEP and used with students with disabilities must be research‐based, provide equitable access to Tier 1 instruction, and be implemented with fidelity. |
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Components | Sample Action Steps |
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Effective Instructional Practices: The learning community implements effective instructional practices (rooted in deeper learning, universally designed, culturally sustaining, linguistically supportive, and trauma‐informed). |
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Implementation: The organization has identified measures and resources (e.g., observation tools or an instructional guide) to ensure organization‐wide fidelity. |
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High Expectations: There are high expectations for all students across all classrooms, including multilingual learners and students with disabilities, such that students are engaging with grade‐level work that advances deeper learning. |
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Components | Sample Action Steps |
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Data‐Informed Practice: Standards‐based and universally designed formative and summative assessments are used to monitor student progress toward learning goals and to inform effective instructional support. |
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Data‐Based Decisions: There is a process for collecting and analyzing student work throughout units to monitor student performance that increases equitable outcomes. |
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Engagement: Each student's strengths, progress, and next steps are shared with students and families such that students and families know and can track their progress. |
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Components | Sample Action Steps |
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Safety: The learning environment is physically and psychologically safe, supportive, and accessible. |
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Belonging: Students experience an inclusive learning environment that recognizes the value of all educators and students. |
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Feedback: The organization utilizes ongoing feedback cycles from students, families/caregivers, community partners, and educators to build an inclusive, positive school community. |
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Components | Sample Action Steps |
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Domains: There is a systemic approach to developing a comprehensive set of tiered supports for all learners across all three domains (academic, social/emotional, and behavioral). |
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Tiered Interventions: The organization creates conditions and systems to provide universal (Tier 1), targeted (Tier 2), and intensive (Tier 3) support to students. |
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EL: All English learners receive appropriate ESL services, access to Tier 1 instruction, and can access a tiered system of support, as needed. |
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SWD: IEPs are designed and implemented to ensure that all SWDs can access scientifically based tiered support as appropriate in the least restrictive environment. |
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Engagement in Student Support: Families/Caregivers and students are actively engaged in student support processes/decisions and regularly informed about progress. Families/caregivers receive the information they need to advocate for their children and are informed of their rights to request a special education evaluation at any time during the tiered support process. |
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Components | Sample Action Steps |
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Data Systems: All schools have a clear system and process of collecting and distributing universal screening, diagnostic, and progress monitoring to inform placement and progress within their tiered system of support. |
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Assessment Plans: All schools have an assessment plan that defines the purpose, type, and timing of all schoolwide and district‐wide assessments, inclusive of universal screeners, diagnostic assessments, language development, and progress monitoring tools (across all three domains). The map is reviewed regularly to ensure that it is accessible to all and is culturally and linguistically appropriate. |
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Data‐Driven Culture: Leaders and educators create/embrace a culture that centers on the use of triangulated data to assess and address current systems that create barriers for students. |
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Student Needs: Administrators, teachers, students, and families/caregivers engage in strategic problem‐solving processes that identify student needs and determine progress monitoring protocols for short‐ and long‐term goals. This includes students with diverse needs such as those with IEPs and 504 plans and English learners. |
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Components | Sample Action Steps |
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Reviews: A regular review of student needs is conducted at least annually to ensure that student needs drive staffing and service structures, as opposed to retrofitting student needs into existing models or assessing positions and/or roles that no longer meet the needs of current students or models that may be contributing to inequity. |
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Tiered Staffing: The staffing selection, models, and positions are designed to support the implementation of MTSS based on students' needs. Consideration is given to staff titles and duties to foster a positive approach to meeting the needs of all students. Staff is (re)allocated based on student needs annually and during the year. |
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Tiered Scheduling: The schedule articulates when tiered supports will occur, ensures that intervention services are supplemental and not supplanting core instruction, priorities direct student supports in staff schedules, and provides time to administer and review data to identify and monitor students. |
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Community Partnerships: Community partners are actively engaged to better support students and families/caregivers and to connect them to social services related to health, social, recreational, and supplemental educational services. |
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Technology: Educational and assistive technology is available for all students and used in alignment with the instructional vision and to increase access to appropriate tiered supports. |
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Components | Sample Action Steps |
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Professional Learning Plan: The organization has a sustainable professional learning plan that offers coherent, high‐quality, universally designed professional development informed by and results in movement toward the instructional vision. |
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High‐Quality Professional Learning: Educators engage in data‐based and relevant ongoing, job‐embedded professional learning opportunities including frequent observations and feedback that advance skillful use of high‐quality curricular materials and associated educational technology. Professional learning results in effective instructional practices that advance deeper learning and include tiered coaching models. |
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Collaborative Planning: There is time in the schedule for educators (including interventionists, ESL instructors, and special educators) with designated opportunities to collaborate, analyze data and student work, assess the effectiveness of instruction, plan, and engage in learning experiences that deepen their understanding and implementation of effective instructional practices and provide access to grade‐appropriate content for all students. |
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Observation and Feedback: All schools and/or teams have routines and systems for frequent observation and feedback that focus on clearly defined and communicated expectations for effective instructional practices in order to advance deeper learning. |
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Evaluation: There are strategic, unbiased, and transparent systems for evaluation, using student feedback, observation data, and review of artifacts along to make informed decisions about opportunities for educator support and leadership development. |
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Components | Sample Action Steps |
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Alignment to Vision: Resources are strategically aligned for impact and informed by data, and allocations are vetted with a lens toward access and equity and the alignment between resources and the instructional vision is well articulated. |
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Fiscal Support: The budget provides appropriate levels of funding for high‐quality instructional and intervention materials and assessments, key positions, professional development, and so on. |
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Structural Review: Policies, practices, and procedures are analyzed with an equity lens, such as a review for disproportionality for students of color or accessing the language accessibility of the assessment for ELs. |
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Technology: There is a clear and consistent process for selecting and evaluating technology products that is aligned to the instructional vision and responsive to student and staff needs. |
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Components | Sample Action Steps |
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Leadership Commitment: There is an active leadership team that takes responsibility for ensuring that systems meet the needs of all learners. The team has the authority to make resource, scheduling, programmatic, and staffing decisions and has representation from a range of leaders (e.g., academics, student support, special education, and English learner). |
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Continuous Improvement: The organization engages in ongoing and inclusive long‐term (multiyear and annual) and short‐term (quarterly and monthly) goal setting and monitoring toward realizing the instructional vision and ensuring each student is making progress, which results in adjustments to the school's structures, programs, and resources (e.g., time, staff, schedules) throughout the year. |
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Representation: Voices from all students, families, and communities are used to drive improvement efforts and obtain perception data on the plan's progress. Representation is assessed to ensure participation and engagement represent the community at large, with a specific lens to remove barriers to participation (e.g., transportation or language barriers). |
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Equity Focused: Improvement efforts are grounded in concepts of equity and identify clear goals to close the opportunity gap for all students (including ELs, SWDs, newcomers, SLIFE, ELSWDs, etc.). |
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Multiyear Planning: A multiyear district strategy process is established and results in a multiyear plan rooted in implementation science. The district plan informs annual district action plans, school improvement plans, and educator goals. Annual action plans include the use of benchmarks to assess progress toward the improvement goals. |
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Midcourse Corrections and Continuous Improvement: Based on the data collected through fidelity measures and feedback loops, decisions are made about how to enhance the effectiveness of the work. |
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Components | Sample Action Steps |
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Distributive Leadership: The organization has instructional leadership teams or equivalent structures to collaboratively develop and reflect on the effectiveness of professional development, planning, and implementation efforts. Across the organization, team and collaboration structures create shared responsibility and ownership and have an impact on school improvement. |
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Hiring: Hiring processes and procedures are bias‐free and ensure that all candidates have the relevant expertise to meet each student's needs and have a mindset and belief that all students can learn at high levels. The organization systematically reviews staff hiring processes and policies to ensure that they are non‐discriminatory, inclusive, and focused on meeting the needs of all learners. |
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Retention: Hiring and retention policies and procedures include strategies to recruit, mentor, train, and support a diverse educator and administrator workforce that is well‐prepared to teach culturally and linguistically diverse students. |
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