Canton Public Schools: December 2 School Committee Meeting Recap: Multi-Tiered Systems Of Support, CHS AP Testing Results, Senior Concer ...

Press release from Canton Public Schools:

Leah Comins

December 15, 2021

CANTON — Interim Superintendent Derek Folan would like to share with the school community several notable updates and information provided at the December 2 Canton School Committee meeting.

A recording of the full meeting can be viewed here.

Additional meeting materials, including the Interim Superintendent’s Report and all documents shared at the meeting are available here.

Interim Superintendent Folan shared the following message on Dec. 2:

On behalf of the Canton Public Schools, our hearts go out to the families and students impacted by the school shooting in Michigan. The incident serves as a stark reminder that school safety must remain paramount and a foundational element of our school culture. We can only imagine the recent events had an emotional impact on families, staff and students.

Despite all of the attention to COVID-19 Protocols and all measures made for the pandemic, I want to reassure our community that we have maintained an unwavering commitment to our school safety preparation, drills and protocols. Our incredible School Resource Officers have teamed up with the administration to present safety protocols with staff and students, and we have completed our Shelter in Place and Lockdown drills. This month, our principals will be walking the buildings with SROs and the head custodians to inspect the buildings and egresses.

The greatest school safety measures are the school culture, trusting relationships and communication. Constantly fostering a culture of respect, kindness, empathy, high expectations, and personal commitment is key. Building relationships so that everyone is welcome and has an authentic sense of belonging is key. And, finally, communication is key. If you see something or hear something, say something.

We are deeply thankful to the Canton Police Department and the School Resource Officers for their partnership in this work. If any member of the school community has a question about school safety, please call the building principal.

Director of Student Services Dianna Mullen and Director of Teaching and Learning Deb Rooney gave an overarching presentation on Canton’s Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS). According to the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, MTSS is a framework for how school districts can build the necessary systems to ensure that each student receives a quality educational experience. It is designed to support schools in proactively identifying and addressing the strengths and needs of all students by optimizing data-driven decision-making, progress monitoring, and the use of evidence-based supports and strategies with increasing intensity to sustain student growth.

The District’s MTSS components are based around the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) framework which recognizes that all learners are different and require different levels of support to achieve success. The district is beginning MTSS work to ensure that it is able to provide a continuum of supports that represent the level of support a student may need at any one point in their schooling. All tiers are designed using the principles of UDL and ensure equitable access for all students, meaning all students receive challenging, grade-appropriate Tier I instruction and have equitable access to high quality academic, behavioral, and social-emotional curriculum and instruction that is culturally responsive. The focus this year is on strengthening Tier 1 instruction, while working to identify approaches and resources that will help support all students. As part of this aspect, it is important to ensure equitable access to highly-qualified teachers along with comprehensive efforts to diversify the District’s workforce.

The District also has in place building-based Student Response Teams (SRTs) which aim to help students succeed in general education classrooms with interventions that are targeted to specific learning needs. Special attention is paid to monitoring and documenting progress, closely evaluating that progress and determining appropriate next steps. SRTs are led by educators who are trained and experienced facilitators of collaborative problem solving. When a general education classroom teacher sees that a student is struggling with academic, behavioral and/or social-emotional issues and the teacher’s strategies to support the student learning are not yielding the desired results, the teacher is encouraged to consult the SRT for feedback and support. The SRT and teacher collaboratively create a plan to support the student and document their progress. A meeting is then held six weeks after to review progress and the need for any further interventions.

MTSS provides a continuum of support for the general education classroom which is split into three tiers based on the needed support.

• Tier 1 support is available to all students through a general education program. It involves teaching practices that are culturally responsive and sustaining and is defined as “instructional and behavioral strategies that improve academic and social-emotional outcomes for all students, with and without disabilities, in general education settings.” Examples of this in practice may include providing students with options for how they learn, such as access to books, videos, or direct teacher instruction; what materials they need to learn; and how they can express what they have learned.
• Tier 2 provides additional support beyond Tier 1, is generally done in small groups and includes additional opportunities to practice the skills necessary for core instruction or strategies.
• Tier 3 provides more intensive support (not equivalent to special education), which is often explicit, intensive and focused interventions that occur individually or in very small groups.

The District is also continuing to evaluate and refresh the District Curriculum Accommodation Plan (DCAP) which provides a framework for each school to establish a process to ensure all efforts have been made to meet students’ needs in regular education. It provides an accounting of resources and accommodations available to students and classroom teachers.

Canton’s MTSS also connects to District-wide goals around educational excellence and equity through developing excellent educators and providing equitable access to high quality instruction, and school climate and culture through social-emotional learning opportunities and behavioral intervention.

See the full presentation here.

• Antoine Aoun – Voice, Tenor
• Adam Clyve – Voice, Tenor Atlas
• Curran-Barker – Voice, Tenor
• Rosalyn Grady – Flute
• Clara Lipson – Flute
• Derek Mar – Violin
• Azaliah McFarlane-Decordova – Voice, Soprano
• Amanda Pagel – Voice, Alto
• Christopher Pho – Violin
• Caleb Wolf – Voice, Tenor

• Antoine Aoun
• Atlas Curran-Barker
• Rosalyn Grady
• Clara Lipson
• Christopher Pho

• Grade 12: 74% students vaccinated
• Grade 11: 70% students vaccinated
• Grade 10: 69% students vaccinated
• Grade 9: 66% students vaccinated
• Grade 8: 67% students vaccinated
• Grade 7: 68% students vaccinated
• Grade 6: 23% students vaccinated

This press release was produced by Canton Public Schools. The views expressed here are the author’s own.