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[Edition 1, Volume 1]

STILLWATER AREA PUBLIC

SCHOOLS SUMMARY AND MTSS
SYSTEMS

KEY POINTS ABOUT THE DISTRICT

What is the story of Stillwater Area School District?

Stillwater Area Schools is undergoing
a transformation. A district of 8700 students
spread across 14 schools, there have been
shifting student populations both in a decline
of students and a geographic/socio-economic
shift that have led to some major choices in
the past couple of years. Guided by the work
of the school board, the district has followed
the BOLD outlined strategy through a
Guiding Change document and the Great
Transitions framework that will seek to shut
down
3
schools,
change
attendance
boundaries, and switch from a junior high to
a middle school system.
Included in these great transitions are
the focus on the district instructional systems
and techniques in supporting students
through MTSS systems. One of the big ways
that school officials have focused on more
work within MTSS frameworks is the use of
ACT Aspire testing to more properly identify
students, a new software system to be able to
coordinate across multiple platforms, and

increased
coordination
and
alignment
between Student Support Services at the
district level and at the school level.
This transition hasnt been easy. There
have been significant changes in the school
board and the community, which for so long
has
identified
neighborhoods
and
communities
through
their
elementary
schools are feeling uprooted with the
potential closure of 3 elementary schools.
There are pending lawsuits to challenge the
change of attendance boundaries, school
board meetings have been filled with
parents, family members, and community
activists all fighting for the two main sides of
following the outlined policy of the past
couple of years versus the status quo. One
main piece of this debate is the role of class
and race in the closing of schools as the
district looks to close 3 more affluent, underpopulated northern schools to free up funds
for overflowing schools in the southern part
of the district that has had an influx of new
Americans, EL populations, and some lower
SES populations.

MTSS SYSTEMS WITHIN SJHS

With a new second year principal, the impending switch to a middle school model,
and coordination between different staff, the implementation of an MTSS system is
still ongoing with many successful pieces. Highlighted below are some pieces of
the MTSS system that are working within Stillwater Junior High School.

Tier 1 intervention examples:

Tier

An advisory schedule revamped to focus on the Tier 1 intervention of strong relationship

building.
Weekly Grade Level Meetings with assigned admin to each content team to be able to then
meet as admin about how to move teams and the school forward.
AVID Classes to reach out to different populations and infuse Tier 1 practices into the entire
school from Learning Targets, Cornell Notes, and WICOR Strategies.
Bullying curriculum within Advisory and classroom time

2
STILLWATER AREA SCHOOLS ARE UNDERGOING MAJOR

TRANSITIONS. NEIGHBORHOOD SCHOOLS ARE

CLOSING, ATTENDANCE BOUNDARIES ARE CHANGING,
AND THERE IS A SWITCH TO A MIDDLE SCHOOL MODEL.
WITHIN ALL OF THIS IS THE INCREASED ADOPTION OF
MTSS SYSTEMS AND INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES TO

BETTER SERVE ALL STUDENTS THROUGH INCREASED

COORDINATION.
through data and teacher referrals

intervention
examples:
ACT
Aspire
Test data to
help in Tier 2
and
Tier
3
intervention
analysis
and
team
coordination of
services.
Reading
intervention
class identified

Scheduling content classes together to allow for formative assessments to help in regrouping
classes at ability level.

Tier 3 Intervention examples:

Bridge teacher to cover students transitioning to special education courses.

Special education services
Child Study Team that meets with special education case managers and staff
ACE Curriculum for skill development modeled after the high school skill development
curriculum.

WHAT ARE OUR TAKEAWAYS?

THERE ARE SOME AREAS FOR GROWTH IN THE SCHOOL. RIGHT NOW
THERE ARE INTERVENTIONS AND AN OUTLINE OF MTSS SYSTEMS IN
PLACE, BUT IT IS NOT FULLY UNDERSTOOD BY THE SCHOOL, INLCUDING
PEOPLE WHO ARE IMPORTANT STAFF FOR IMPLEMENTATION OF
COORDINATED MTSS SERVICES. IN THE MIDST OF A MAJOR DISTRICT
TRANSITION, STILLWATER JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL IS WORKING TOWARDS
CREATING SYSTEMS THAT USE DATA, LINK UP WITH OTHER SCHOOLS IN
THE DISTRICT TO ALIGN SYSTEMS, AND CREATE OPPORTUNITIES FOR
STAFF TO COME TOGETHER TO COLLABORATE ABOUT INTERVENTIONS
AND INDIVUDUALIZED PLANS FOR STUDENTS.

Joe Kane
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