Why are Tiered Supports Helpful for All Students?

Tiered supports are helpful for all students because they provide a framework by which we can provide timely assistance to students, whether or not they have some other identification that might grant them services.

I started teaching in the late 80s and early 90s and one of my early frustrations was the fact that there were kids who were clearly struggling, but who did not necessarily have a disability. And therefore, everyone kept saying, “There’s nothing we can do, there’s nothing we can do.”  That didn’t make sense to me, particularly because I had kids in seventh through 11th grades who couldn’t read.

Kids are going to struggle in schools for many different reasons. For some kids, it’s because they do indeed have a disability, and we have a system to address the needs of those students. However, there are many other reasons kids struggle, including things like illness, parental job change, parental deployment in the military. That will affect school performance, but it’s not a disability.

By having tiered supports, schools make a commitment to having the resources needed for all students that are available in a timely manner, instead of waiting for a long time and then deciding to do something about it. Essentially it’s a prevention model. It’s a way of saying, “We’re here, we’re going to help you. We’ll take some data, we’ll find out what your needs are, and we’ll provide that help right away–you don’t have to wait and fail.”

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Illuminate Education equips educators to take a data-driven approach to serving the whole child. Our solution combines comprehensive assessment, MTSS management and collaboration, and real-time dashboard tools, and puts them in the hands of educators. As a result, educators can monitor learning and growth, identify academic and social-emotional behavioral needs, and align targeted supports in order to accelerate learning for each student. 

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