SUPPORTIVE POSITIVE LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS

ESTABLISHING SUPPORTIVE POSITIVE LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS

Suppor ve environments are “safe” environments for students and staff . Suppor ve environments require the commitment from all staff and a belief that all students can learn and succeed with the right rela onships within the school and the appropriate supports in place. Developing suppor ve environments requires all staff to be part of a proac ve system that considers the unique needs of all students. To this end, the Brandywine School District u lizes an approach known as MTSS or Mul -Tiered System of Support as the guiding framework to support students academically and behaviorally. The MTSS Framework aligns perfectly with the core principles of the District’s longstanding and award-winning Posi ve Behavior Support (PBS/PBIS) Program centered on social behaviors. Together, these two frameworks will provide essen al supports to all students, with targeted supports based on need.

Mul -Tiered System of Supports

Mul -Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) is a framework that provides targeted support to struggling students. It focuses on the “whole child.” MTSS supports academic growth and achievement, but it also supports behavioral, social, and emo onal needs of students. A system of support includes three ers to categorize students. Using these ers and student behavioral data, students can be grouped in order to receive the appropriate support.

MTSS Tier 1

A primary responsibility of the classroom teacher is establishing and maintaining a posi ve learning environment in which all students can learn and thrive academically, socially, and emo onally. Eff ec ve classroom management requires an Educator to teach, model, reinforce, and affi rm desired behaviors. Eff ec ve classroom management requires the strategic, proac ve deliberate re-teaching and reinforcement of expecta ons embedded in teaching and learning of course content throughout the en re school year. Essen al components of classroom management also include the establishment of clear classroom rules and expecta ons, consistent enforcement of expecta ons, adult-driven development of posi ve student-to student and student-to-teacher rela onships, crea on of a student-focused classroom, clear communica on, and strong teaching prac ces that engage students in learning.

MTSS Tier 2

Occasionally, students are disrup ve and do not respond to Tier 1 interven ons and require addi onal strategies to be devised by the teacher. These interven ons are plans that are designed to systema cally understand the nature of the misbehavior and proac vely provide supports to the student. This is a deliberate process that examines rela onships, classroom rou nes, the student’s environmental stressors, trauma, miscommunica ons, or interac ons with other staff members or students to be er support the student. Teachers will consult with colleagues to be er understand the student needs and iden fy strategies that are eff ec ve with this student.

MTSS Tier 3

There are a small number of students that need intensive, individualized interven ons. These students present challenging behaviors that impede other students’ ability