MTSS Pasco is a term used to describe an evidence-based model of schooling that uses data‐based problem‐solving to integrate academic and behavioral instruction and intervention. The integrated instruction and intervention is delivered to students in varying intensities (multiple tiers) based on student need. “Need‐driven” decision‐making seeks to ensure that district resources reach the appropriate students at the appropriate levels to accelerate the performance of ALL students to achieve and/or exceed proficiency. 

Tier 1 universal core and prevention is support that is provided to all students. This includes academic, social-emotional, and behavioral instruction, assessments, and associated instructional materials. The focus of Tier 1 instruction is the grade-level and/or course-level standards, as well as the appropriate grade bands, behavior, and resiliency benchmarks. 

Tier 2 intervention is defined as supplemental time, instruction, practice, feedback, and monitoring with essential grade level learning, standards and behavioral benchmarks after initial instruction. The focus of academic and behavioral Tier 2 intervention is essential grade level learning, benchmarks and standards as defined by district office and the teacher teams at the school level. 

Tier 3 intervention and remediation are defined as intensive systematic instruction in universal academic, social-emotional, and behavioral skills. The focus of Tier 3 supports is the universal skills of Decoding, Reading Comprehension, Number Sense, Behavior, Health and Home, and Language Skills. Students who receive Tier 3 supports are targeted because of a significant skill gap in one of these areas. 

School Intervention Teams (SITs) in Pasco County schools design and lead Tier 3 interventions and remediation for academic and behavioral needs. In Pasco County schools, Tier 3 remediation is not contingent on Tier 2 supports. Students who are identified as needing Tier 3 supports are provided with remediation.  

Collaborative Teacher Teams in Pasco County Schools focus on answering four PLC guiding questions: 1. What do we want all students to learn? 2. How will we know if and when they have learned it?, 3. What will we do when some students have not learned? 4. What will we do when some students have already learned? Collaborative Teacher Teams ensure that all students have access to grade-level instruction and use a process to identify academic standards and behavior skills. These essential standards then set the focus of curriculum-based assessments that teacher teams use to gather evidence of student learning. Teacher teams identify and provide extra time and support (Tier 2) to students based on the results of common formative assessments. Students who need extensions are also identified and enrichment plans are created. Student progress is monitored by giving students additional opportunities to demonstrate mastery of the essential standards.  PLC work on the guiding questions is a process in which teams work to improve instructional practices and student outcomes.  

School Leadership Teams (SLTs) act as a school’s guiding coalition. The SLT works to build a culture of collective responsibility, Tier 1 academic and behavioral systems, and Tier 2 academic and behavioral systems. The SLT also monitors and supports the work of Professional Learning Communities and the School Intervention Team. Schools may decide to utilize a specific subset of the SLT to lead Tier 1 and Tier 2 behavior efforts. 

Diagnostic measures are formal or informal assessment tools that measure skill strengths and weaknesses, identify skills in need of improvement, and assist in determining why the problem is occurring.  

Differentiated Instruction is the process of ensuring that what a student is taught, how he/she is taught it, and how the student demonstrates what he/she has learned is matched to specific student needs. Instruction can be differentiated through product, process, and/or content. Differentiation goes beyond a traditional centers rotation approach and provides recurring regrouping (flexible grouping) of students based on academic needs and issues.  

Direct instruction is a general term for the explicit teaching of a skill set using lectures or teacher-led demonstrations of the material, rather than exploratory models such as inquiry-based learning. Direct instruction is a teacher-dominated process where students tend to be passive rather than active learners. This method is often contrasted with active learning. Generally, direct instruction needs to be balanced with active learning experiences. Direct instruction introduces material, followed by active learning to engage students in understanding the material.

Formative assessments are ongoing assessments embedded within effective teaching to guide instructional decisions. 

A positive response to instruction is when a student’s rate of progress data reveals that the gap between expected performance and observed performance is closing. Ideally, the point at which the target student will “come in range” of grade-level expectations (even if it is long-range) can be extrapolated.  

The problem-solving model is a recursive, self-correcting, systematic process of finding solutions by accurately identifying problems, analyzing relevant data to understand why the problem is occurring, designing and implementing probable solutions, and measuring the effectiveness of the solutions that were implemented.  

Progress-monitoring measures are ongoing assessments conducted for the purposes of guiding instruction, monitoring student progress, and evaluating instruction/intervention effectiveness.  

A PMP is a written plan for individual students or groups of students that reflects the interventions provided and the students’ response to those interventions with student-centered data. Progress monitoring measures at a frequency appropriate to the level of intervention.