All Means All Newsletter
January 2024
Strengthening Our Multi-Level Systems of Support
In alignment with our motto, "ALL staff believe in ALL students," staff across the District have been working to strengthen our Multi-Level Systems of Support (MLSS) process and refine our approach to support the diverse needs of learners in our classrooms. Our District innovations of Universal Design for Learning (UDL), Professional Learning Communities (PLC), and Responsive Classroom (RC) are supporting implementation of best instructional practices for strong universal programming. For those students who require additional support outside of universal programming, we are working to ensure that they receive the right support at the right time in their education to prepare them for life.
At the elementary level, our staff has developed an MLSS flowchart delineating all tiers of support and outlining the procedure for identifying the necessity for increased services. The MLSS flowchart has resulted in a deeper understanding and increased consistency among staff across elementary buildings. In addition, both the title and pupil services staff have collaborated with general education staff to develop and implement Tier II and Tier III programming, further enhancing our comprehensive student support at the elementary level. Tier II small group academic groups are now occurring in all elementary classrooms, providing targeted assistance to students in need. Concurrently, Tier II social and emotional programming, which includes check-in and check-out and counseling services, is actively running across all elementary buildings, fostering a supportive environment for emotional well-being. For students requiring more individualized support, Tier III plans are written and implemented based on individual student needs. All levels of support target the student’s access, engagement and progress within their grade-level program. Moving forward, our focus at the elementary level will be to streamline the referral process to special education and clarify the role of speech-language pathologists within the multi-level system of support.
Simultaneously, Northland Pines Middle and High School staff are participating in an MLSS project that offers no-cost professional learning, coaching, and technical assistance. A collaborative team of administrators, teachers, instructional coaches, and school counselors has collaborated with coaches from CESA-9. The team has completed an MLSS framework map, documenting the building's current status in terms of high-quality instruction, strategic data utilization, collaboration, and leadership/organizational structures specific to each support tier. Throughout this process, the team has identified strengths, particularly in the support systems of DCIT, BCIT, and teacher teaming structures. Local data analysis, coupled with our mapping efforts, will guide our future actions and goals, ensuring continuous improvement.
Our “ALL staff believe in ALL students” motto cannot be accomplished without this MLSS framework. Ensuring consistency in this philosophy across grade levels is vital and the District is currently working diligently to do so. Strengthening our MLSS process will support our District’s mission of ensuring Rigor, Relevance, and Relationships to prepare all students for life.
Our Commitment to Math Promise Standards
Northland Pines School District continues its commitment to excellence in mathematics education. Recently, our elementary level grade teams came together to deepen their understanding of the 2021 Wisconsin Math Standards. Each team analyzed and evaluated proposed standards for our district mathematics promise standards. Promise standards were then broken down into essential learning targets, ensuring a comprehensive and effective math education for every student.
A central component of the collaborative day encompassed the exploration of the five shifts in math standards: Math Identity and Agency, Flexible Users, Focus, Coherence, and Rigor. These shifts provide a framework for delivering math education that is not only rigorous but also aligned with the needs of our students.
Math Identity and Agency:
The first shift revolves around the concept of Math Identity and Agency, emphasizing the importance of how students perceive themselves as math learners and how they express their math identity. Staff members delved into understanding the significance of a positive math identity and how agency, the outward expression of math identity, plays a crucial role in fostering a growth mindset.
Flexible Users:
The second shift, Flexible Users, encourages students to view mathematics as a tool for understanding the world around them. Math Talks emerged as a powerful strategy to reinforce flexible users of math. By asking students open-ended questions such as "What do you notice? What do you wonder? What do you see?" when presented with images from their environment, educators empower students to explore and utilize math flexibly.
Focus and Coherence:
Shifts three and four, Focus and Coherence, address focusing deeply on what is emphasized in the standard and the understanding that each standard builds upon previous learning. These shifts support the district's promise standards by ensuring that the curriculum is focused on essential concepts and maintains a coherent progression of learning experiences.
Rigor:
The final shift, Rigor, is not about making things more difficult but about strategically introducing new concepts, emphasizing understanding, and providing opportunities for explicit instruction, practice, and application. Staff members are committed to achieving rigor in the classroom by uncovering misconceptions, offering explicit instruction, and providing opportunities for application through problem-solving.
Our commitment to excellence in mathematics education is evident in the dedication of our staff to continuous collaboration and professional development. By embracing the shifts in math standards, the district is not only ensuring a high-quality math education but also fostering a positive math identity and agency in every student. As we move forward, we are confident that our efforts will contribute to supporting our students in our mathematical world.