MTSS (Developing Page)
Lynbrook Public Schools
Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS)
Helping Every Student Achieve the Profile of the Owl
Every student deserves to be known, supported, challenged, and encouraged.
A public-facing framework for student growth, family partnership, and continuous improvement.
Introduction
At Lynbrook Public Schools, we believe that every child can learn, grow, and succeed.
Students come to school with different strengths, interests, talents, experiences, and needs. Some may need additional support with academics. Others may need help with organization, attendance, social-emotional development, or challenges that affect learning. Some students benefit from acceleration and opportunities to extend their learning even further.
Our responsibility is to support every student’s growth.
The Lynbrook Multi-Tiered System of Supports, or MTSS, is the framework we use to make that happen. MTSS helps us identify student needs early, coordinate support, work with families, and provide the right level of assistance at the right time. The goal is simple: every student should have the opportunity to succeed and develop the knowledge, skills, and dispositions reflected in the Profile of the Owl.
The Profile of the Owl
The Profile of the Owl represents our community’s vision for student success. It describes the qualities we hope every Lynbrook student develops throughout their educational journey.
Creative & Critical Thinking
Students learn to communicate effectively, solve problems, ask thoughtful questions, persevere through challenges, and think independently.
Real-Life Skills
Students develop responsibility, organization, self-management, goal-setting, decision-making, and the habits necessary for future success.
Social & Emotional Learning
Students build self-awareness, self-management, relationship skills, empathy, resilience, and responsible decision-making.
Global Citizenship
Students learn to respect different perspectives, contribute positively to their communities, collaborate with others, and engage thoughtfully in an interconnected world.
The MTSS Framework supports these outcomes. Our instruction, intervention, counseling, attendance work, and student supports should help students grow toward the Profile of the Owl.
What Student Success Means in Lynbrook
Student success is about more than grades alone. A successful student is learning and growing academically, attending school regularly, building positive relationships, developing confidence and resilience, feeling connected to school, participating in school life, and preparing for future opportunities. For this reason, Lynbrook’s MTSS Framework focuses on four connected areas of student growth:
Academic Growth
Supporting achievement, literacy, communication, problem-solving, and learning.
Social-Emotional Wellness
Supporting emotional well-being, resilience, belonging, and healthy relationships.
Positive Behavior
Supporting respectful, responsible, and productive participation in school.
Attendance & Engagement
Supporting regular attendance, participation, connectedness, and involvement in school life.
These areas are closely connected and are considered together when determining how best to support a student.
How Lynbrook Supports Students
Every student is different, and student needs change over time. Most students are successful through the learning experiences, relationships, activities, and opportunities available every day in Lynbrook schools. At times, some students may benefit from additional support for a period of time, while a smaller number may require more individualized assistance. For this reason, the Lynbrook MTSS Framework organizes support into three levels. The tiers are not labels for students—they describe the level of support a student may need at a particular point in time. Supports may increase, decrease, or change as students grow and make progress.
Tier I includes the experiences and opportunities available to every student in Lynbrook. It is the foundation of student success and reflects our belief that every student deserves access to a strong educational experience.
- High-quality classroom instruction
- Social-emotional learning experiences
- School counseling services
- Attendance monitoring and outreach
- Positive school climate initiatives
- Family communication and partnership
- Academic extension and advanced learning opportunities
- Clubs, athletics, activities, and student leadership opportunities
Some students may benefit from additional support beyond what is available through Tier I. These supports address a specific need and are reviewed regularly to determine whether they are helping the student make progress.
- Small-group academic assistance
- Counseling groups
- Mentoring
- Attendance support
- Organizational support
- Social-emotional skill development
- Targeted behavioral support
A smaller number of students may require more individualized support. These supports are developed with families and school staff and are adjusted over time as the student grows and progresses.
- Individual academic support plans
- Intensive counseling supports
- Individual attendance plans
- Comprehensive behavioral supports
- Collaboration with community agencies
- Coordinated services tailored to the student's needs
The Instructional Support Team (IST)
One of the most important parts of the Lynbrook MTSS Framework is the Instructional Support Team, often called the IST. The IST is the school-based team that brings educators and support staff together to identify student strengths, discuss concerns, solve problems, and coordinate support.
Depending on the student’s needs, the team may include administrators, teachers, school counselors, school psychologists, social workers, and other support staff. Families are important partners and are included in conversations when additional support is planned or reviewed.
What Does the IST Do?
Reviews
Reviews student strengths and concerns
Looks At Data
Looks at academic, attendance, behavioral, and wellness information
Plans
Develops a clear support plan and identifies who will provide each support
Monitors
Monitors progress and adjusts the plan when needed
Communicates
Communicates with the student and family
Reviews Outcomes
Reviews outcomes and determines next steps
The Lynbrook Problem-Solving Process
Step 1
Review available information.
Step 2
Identify strengths and concerns.
Step 3
Consider factors that may be affecting success.
Step 4
Develop a support plan with a clear goal.
Step 5
Assign responsibilities and timelines.
Step 6
Monitor progress and implementation.
Step 7
Review outcomes and determine next steps.
Supporting Students in Middle School and High School
As students grow older, success depends on more than report cards and test scores alone. At the secondary level, schools review academic performance, attendance, wellness, engagement, and future planning to help students remain connected, successful, and on track toward graduation.
Information Secondary Schools Review
Academic Progress
Course performance, classroom learning, credit accumulation, Regents readiness, graduation progress, and teacher input.
Wellness & School Connectedness
Student well-being, access to counseling and support, relationships, belonging, and transition concerns.
Attendance & Engagement
Attendance patterns, chronic absenteeism, tardiness, participation in school life, and connection to school.
Future Readiness
Graduation planning, college and career exploration, goal-setting, leadership, service, extended learning opportunities, and preparation for life after graduation.
Secondary IST Roles
The secondary IST coordinates support across courses, departments, counseling services, attendance work, and future planning. The team’s membership may change depending on the concern.
Administrator or IST Facilitator
Guides the meeting, keeps the team focused on the student’s needs, confirms responsibilities, and ensures follow-up.
School Counselor
Brings information about academic planning, student wellness, family communication, graduation progress, and future planning.
Teachers
Share classroom strengths, concerns, work habits, current supports, and evidence of student progress.
School Psychologist or Social Worker
Contributes expertise related to learning, behavior, social-emotional development, family needs, and available supports.
Attendance or Support Staff
Provides relevant attendance, engagement, health, or service information when it relates to the concern.
Student and Family
Share strengths, concerns, goals, and information that can help the team understand what will support success.
Secondary IST Meeting Process
The meeting follows the same Lynbrook problem-solving process, with attention to the realities of middle school and high school:
- Before the meeting, relevant academic, attendance, behavioral, wellness, and support information is gathered.
- The meeting begins with the student's strengths and the reason for the review.
- The team identifies the concern clearly and considers factors that may be affecting success.
- The team develops a manageable plan with a goal, specific supports, responsible staff members, and a review date.
- The student and family are informed and included as appropriate.
- At the follow-up meeting, the team reviews progress and decides whether supports should continue, change, increase, decrease, or conclude.
Partnering With Families
Families know their children best. Parents and guardians provide valuable insight about student strengths, interests, challenges, and goals. For that reason, family partnership is one of the most important parts of the Lynbrook MTSS Framework.
Schools and families work together to identify supports, monitor progress, celebrate growth, and address concerns when they arise. Lynbrook is committed to:
- Maintaining open and timely communication
- Sharing understandable information about student progress
- Listening to family concerns and perspectives
- Encouraging participation in problem-solving
- Working together to support student success
How We Know It Is Working
The purpose of MTSS is not to move students between tiers. The purpose is to help students succeed. Each year, the District reviews student outcomes and the effectiveness of its support systems. Select an area below to see what Lynbrook reviews each year.
Academic Growth
What We Review
Student achievement, learning growth, course success, credit accumulation, Regents performance, and graduation progress.
Suggested Annual Direction
Increase the percentage of students demonstrating expected growth or successful course progress.
Possible Data Sources
FastBridge and classroom measures at the elementary level; report cards, course grades, Regents results, credit records, and graduation data at the secondary level.
Student Wellness & Belonging
What We Review
Students' sense of belonging, connection, and access to support.
Suggested Annual Direction
Improve district or school survey results and reduce persistent areas of concern identified through wellness information.
Possible Data Sources
Student climate or wellness surveys, RULER-related information, counseling and support records, and student feedback.
Attendance & Engagement
What We Review
Daily attendance, chronic absenteeism, tardiness, and participation in school.
Suggested Annual Direction
Reduce chronic absenteeism from the prior year and improve attendance for students receiving targeted support.
Possible Data Sources
PowerSchool attendance records, intervention records, and participation information.
Positive Behavior
What We Review
Behavior patterns, repeated concerns, and positive school climate.
Suggested Annual Direction
Reduce repeated disciplinary concerns and improve outcomes for students receiving behavioral support.
Possible Data Sources
Discipline records, office referrals, support plans, and school climate information.
Future Readiness
What We Review
Progress toward graduation, postsecondary planning, career exploration, leadership, service, and extended learning.
Suggested Annual Direction
Increase completion of age-appropriate planning milestones and participation in future-ready experiences.
Possible Data Sources
SchooLinks, counseling records, graduation pathway records, and participation records.
Family Partnership
What We Review
Family communication and participation in support planning.
Suggested Annual Direction
Document timely family communication and increase meaningful participation in support-plan reviews.
Possible Data Sources
IST records, communication logs, meeting participation, and family feedback.
Our Guiding Principles
- Every student can learn and succeed when provided appropriate levels of support.
- High-quality Tier I instruction and universal supports are the foundation of MTSS.
- Early identification and intervention improve student outcomes.
- Academic, behavioral, attendance, and social-emotional information should be considered together.
- Families are essential partners.
- Equity requires different levels of support based on student need.
- Decisions should be grounded in reliable information and professional judgment.
- Supports should be reviewed to determine whether they are being provided as planned and helping the student.
Plain-Language Glossary
Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS)
Lynbrook's framework for organizing academic, social-emotional, behavioral, and attendance support for students. It helps schools identify strengths, respond to concerns, provide support, and review progress.
Profile of the Owl
Lynbrook's community-developed vision for student success: Creative & Critical Thinking, Real-Life Skills, Social & Emotional Learning, and Global Citizenship.
Instructional Support Team (IST)
The school-based problem-solving team that reviews student strengths and concerns, develops support plans, coordinates services, and monitors progress.
Tier I: Universal Supports
The instruction, services, relationships, activities, and opportunities available to every student.
Tier II: Targeted Supports
Additional support for a specific need beyond what is available to all students.
Tier III: Intensive Supports
More individualized and frequent support for a student with a significant or persistent need.
Social-Emotional Learning (SEL)
Learning that helps students understand and manage emotions, build relationships, demonstrate resilience, and make responsible decisions.
RULER
Lynbrook's approach to social-emotional learning. The name refers to recognizing, understanding, labeling, expressing, and regulating emotions.
Positive Behavior Supports
Clear expectations, instruction, encouragement, and assistance that help students participate safely, respectfully, and responsibly in school.
Universal Screening
A brief review or assessment used with all students to identify strengths and possible needs. It is one source of information and is not used alone to make an important student decision.
Progress Monitoring
Reviewing student growth over time to determine whether support is helping and whether the plan should change.
Student Support Plan
A written plan that identifies a student's goal, the support to be provided, who is responsible, how progress will be reviewed, and when the team will meet again.
Whole Child
An approach that considers academic learning, social-emotional wellness, behavior, attendance, relationships, engagement, and future readiness together.
Family Partnership
Ongoing communication and problem-solving between families and schools to support student success.
Chronic Absenteeism
Missing a significant amount of school for any reason. Schools review attendance patterns early so they can work with families to address barriers and reconnect students to school.
Evidence-Based Support
A teaching practice, intervention, or support backed by credible research or a strong record of effectiveness for the identified need.
What MTSS Is Not
- MTSS is not a special education program.
- MTSS is not a label for students.
- MTSS is not a single test or screening tool.
- MTSS is not about requiring students to move through tiers before receiving needed support.
- MTSS does not replace a family's right to request an evaluation when a disability is suspected.
- MTSS is about providing appropriate support, reviewing progress, and helping every student grow toward the Profile of the Owl.