Hi, I am Dr. Katie Novak and I am here to talk about the importance of building a
Multi-Tiered System that is not just focused on location. To do that, we're
going to introduce a dental analogy. Now, I have to admit I am NOT a huge fan of the
dentist - never really have been! But, you know what? I have to go to the dentist.
Everybody has to go to the dentist. The dentist is like the Tier 1 of teeth
care, right? Because, you have a dentist who's going to be very proactive and
preventative and teach you how to brush your teeth and make you floss. And,
they're actually, it's very data-based decision making as well. Because, they use
a lot of universal screening and diagnostic tools to ensure that
if you need targeted intervention and support you can definitely get that.
So, their diagnostic tools are very evidence-based: one is the x-ray -
we're all familiar with the x-ray - and then the other is that
terrible thing; it's like a pic. It's a metal pick and they shove it in your
teeth and then they know if there are holes there. Okay, so think of all of us
as Tier 1 dentist patients and that's fantastic. And then, we get our x-rays
back, okay? Now my x-ray shows that I have a cavity. Now, here the thing is the
dentist, who in theory is a Tier 1 practitioner, is very, very skilled and
capable at filling that cavity him or herself. And so, what we want to talk
about is a Tier doesn't necessarily have to be a different place and it doesn't
have to be a different person. And, it has nothing to do with any sort of
label. I can receive that cavity whether I have a very healthy set of
teeth with just a little hole, whether I have a cleft palate, whether I have
braces. So a dentist really treats all dental patients and then provides, again,
very frequent progress monitoring to ensure that when there is intervention
and support needed, that support is given. Now, sometimes you end up going to the
dentist and you get the x-ray and the dentist says, "oh gosh, you are going to need
a cavity [filled] but, you're also going to need braces because it's really going to affect
your bite; it's gonna affect your breathing. Now, I have to send you to an
orthodontist." Okay, great. But guess what? You don't stop seeing the dentist! So, at
this point, I'm like a Tier 1 based dentist patient and then I'm also going
the orthodontist for Tier 2 targeted support. Now, here's the important thing
about that: that does happen to be a different place and it does happen to be
a different person but that is not a life sentence because what the
orthodontist is trying to do is to get the braces to come off. It's a
long-term plan, constantly looking at data, constantly taking x-rays, and then
deciding when it's more appropriate for me just to be back in Tier 1. Now, I never
stopped Tier 1, so all students are Tier 1 students first. We want general
education students to be Tier 1 students. We want to build a Multi-Tiered System
so that Tier 1 environment is the least restrictive environment to try to get
all students to learn together. Again, we focus on universally designing our
academics, our behavior, and our social-emotional learning in those
classrooms to eliminate the barriers that prevent all students from learning.
And then, when we have a robust system of screening and progress monitoring
students, we will have some students who are going to need some additional
support. And to do that, they may need Tier 2 services. Those Tier 2 services
may be done in the classroom by the classroom teacher in the form of
accommodations or modifications. They may be done in a different place but it's in
addition to and not instead of. And, it may be done by a different person. But,
really interestingly in this dental analogy, is the dentist and the
orthodontist are now collaborating. Now they're team members and they both have
these brilliant areas of expertise. So, when you're thinking about your speech
and language pathologists and your physical therapists and your special
educators, they're still working together and sharing data and
having conversations about students. Because all students are all of our
students. Now, let's say that I am a Tier One dentist patient and then I also am in
braces and then I get this terrible infection. You know, I need a root canal.
Now, I'm actually going to three different specialists, but here's the
thing, it doesn't make me a Tier 2 dentist patient. It doesn't make me a
Tier 3 dentist patient. At the time I need additional services so I get
them. And that's what we want to build in our school. We want to build a school and
a district so that all students can get what they need when they need it. And, it
might be in a different place and it might be in a different person but it
doesn't have to be. All that has to happen is
when I need that support I have to be able to get it and I should not have to
get it instead of. I should be able to get it in addition to. And, so, really
understanding that the Tiers are not a location, the Tiers are not a person, and
students do not belong to any Tier makes it so we understand what the vision is,
what we're trying to build, what we're trying to do, and the importance of
shared responsibility and working together in order to do that.