113. Integrated MTSS: Looking at Academics & Behavior Side by Side with Pam Radford and Dawn Miller, MTSS Innovations

What happens when schools treat academics and behavior as two completely separate systems?

Dr. Dawn Miller and Dr. Pamela Radford of MTSS Innovations help us explore what it really means to build an integrated Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS): one that recognizes that students’ academic, behavioral, social, and emotional needs don’t exist in isolation.

We unpack the powerful relationship between academic success and behavior, including what can happen when a student’s academic struggles show up as avoidance, disengagement, disruptive behavior, or missed instructional time. We also explore the reverse: how behavioral needs and time away from instruction can compound academic difficulties.

Dawn and Pam take us inside an integrated MTSS model, discussing how schools can move away from siloed academic and behavior teams and instead create systems in which educators examine multiple sources of data side by side. We talk about universal screening, attendance, office discipline referrals, behavioral screeners, and implementation data.

We also dig into what this means for Tier 1 instruction and evidence-based practices. Dawn and Pam explain why selecting an evidence-based practice isn’t simply about finding something that “works”; it’s about considering the student, the context, available resources, implementation, and the interaction between academic and behavioral needs.

For leaders wondering where to even begin? Dawn offers an important reminder: “don’t let perfect be the enemy of good”. You may begin by strengthening one part of your system, but the vision from the beginning should be one of integration.

Key Takeaways:

  • What an integrated MTSS model actually looks like & why academic and behavioral data should be examined together
  • The relationship between academic struggles, behavior, engagement, and access to instruction
  • Behavioral data sources including attendance, office discipline referrals, universal screeners, and daily progress reports
  • How engagement and opportunities to respond can influence both academic and behavioral outcomes
  • Selecting evidence-based practices based on student need, context, resources, and fit
  • The role of implementation fidelity, and why fidelity data should be used to support educators
  • How leaders can begin moving from siloed systems toward an integrated MTSS
  • Why continuous improvement really does have to be continuous

Resources Mentioned:

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