Tri-States Visit Focuses on Strengthening Student Support

During the last week of January, school leaders from high performing districts across the region came to Pelham to offer constructive feedback on our district’s Multi-Tiered Systems of Support program. This consultancy is an important element of the Pelham Public Schools’ participation in the Tri-States Consortium, an alliance of public school districts committed to systems thinking and collaborative inquiry as pathways toward continuous improvement. 

Multi-Tiered Systems of Support, referred to as MTSS, is a framework used to identify and direct targeted social-emotional and educational support and/or enrichment to students. The model uses a variety of data to determine how best to deploy district resources to meet unique student needs and aims to ensure the right interventions are provided in real time. 

Visits by the Tri-States team occur every few years and focus on a specific topic. Refining and systematizing the district’s approach to MTSS has been one of Pelham’s core focus areas over the past several years – leading to it being the topic of this Tri-States Consultancy. Specifically, the District has sought to align its approach with New York State Guidance, develop consistent structures and protocols at each tier of support and create a culture of shared ownership for student success. As part of this year’s visit to Pelham, representatives, including Tri-States leadership and volunteers from other component districts, focused on two guiding questions:

• To what extent do faculty and staff understand their roles in MTSS, feel equipped to implement supports, and share responsibility for meeting all students’ needs?
• To what extent is data being used across schools to ensure that all students have equitable access to academic and social-emotional supports within MTSS and other school programs?

Over the course of three days, the team engaged in thoughtful discussions with teachers, administrators, Board of Education trustees and families from across the district. They also reviewed data and other materials to provide a complete picture of the MTSS efforts and allowed them to assess Pelham’s strengths and opportunities for growth.  

“As a founding member of the Tri-States Consortium, the Pelham Public Schools was thrilled to welcome a talented team of educators to provide critical friends feedback on our MTSS program,” said Dr. Cheryl H. Champ, Superintendent of Schools. “Tri-States is a valued partner, facilitating opportunities for peer districts to bring their expertise and offer a third-party look at one of our most important support systems. 

“Participating in Tri-States is a perfect example of how we model our mission of Inspiring a Standard of Excellence for All Students. I want to thank the Tri-States team, Dr. Claire Comerford, Assistant Superintendent for Teaching and Learning, the entire Pelham administrative team for organizing and leading this effort, and the talented faculty who opened their doors to welcome regional colleagues so positively and professionally.” 

At the conclusion of the visit, Tri-States members joined district personnel to review their findings and also offer an opportunity for Pelham’s educational leaders to reflect on the visit. 

In general, they praised the District’s openness and transparency throughout the process, as well as the highly talented teachers and staff they encountered throughout the visit. They also spoke positively about the overall commitment to the MTSS process, noting that there were critical structures in place across our schools to support this work. 

Some feedback included working to make the MTSS process more of a universally aligned system across the schools, ensuring broader access to key district data points and more clearly defining entrance/exit criteria for students who may need additional support. 

“I’m truly grateful to everyone who participated in this consultancy,” Dr. Comerford said. “This visit underscored the outstanding progress that we’ve made in our MTSS program as well as some clear areas for us to focus on for future growth. This feedback is extremely valuable for us as a learning organization and will prove instrumental in helping us better align our practices and meet the needs of all of our students.”