For the second year in a row, the San Benito County Office of Education is serving as the Region 5 lead for the California Scale Up MTSS Statewide (SUMS) Initiative designed to scale-up a sustainable Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS) in schools across the state.  Region 5 is one of eleven county office regions in California and consists of San Benito, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz and Monterey Counties.  As the Regional Lead, San Benito County Office of Education trains district personnel, provides technical assistance and acts as a liaison between the state of California and the Region 5 County Offices of Education and each district.

Currently, nine of the eleven districts in San Benito County are working with SBCOE to develop a strong Multi-Tiered System of Support in each of their schools.  Through the support of the SBCOE, nine of our districts applied for and received a grant of between $25,000 and $50,000 to train staff and develop MTSS at their sites.  One final round of grants will be offered to other districts next fall. The SBCOE is hopeful that all eleven school districts in San Benito County will receive grant monies to implement MTSS.

What is MTSS?

Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS) is a framework which organizes and systematizes existing supports for students and provides a system for schools to identify additional ways to help students.  The purpose of MTSS is to guarantee ALL students have access to an equitable inclusive education.  Because MTSS is designed to support the whole child, supports go beyond simple help with academics and include behavioral and socio-emotional strengths.  Students come to school with a variety of strengths and needs.  A multi-tiered system allows schools to provide students support, as they need it.  Every student is provided with general supports and students who need additional supports are given more help.

What makes MTSS different from other approaches?

Unlike other many other approaches in education, MTSS looks at the entire system, focusing on the strengths of each student and building upon what is already working in a school.  Schools do not do the work alone but work with families and community organizations to gather feedback and build partnerships.   As part of the work, districts refine and develop policies and procedures to support students, staff and administration with the goal that every student will become a successful, productive member of the community.

For more information about the SUMS Initiative, MTSS or how to be part of this initiative, please contact Jennifer Logue, SBCOE Assistant Superintendent, at jlogue@sbcoe.org.