Multidisciplinary Teams COST and SST (Part 1) Organizing Intervention Processes Using multidisciplinary team processes to manage prevention and intervention efforts This Learning Module will provide an overview of how Multidisciplinary Teams can support your work. You may want to consider inviting members from your team or teams to join you in working through this module. Throughout this unit of learning you will be asked to stop and reflect. This is an opportunity for you or your team to reflect and discuss current practices and to talk about new learning. Part 1 Focuses on the multi-tiered approach to intervention and primarily the use of COST. Part 2 will specifically address SST and the roles and responsibilities of administrators

OUTCOMES Understand the continuum of intervention and support in a multi- tiered framework Learn the organizational structures for COST and SST meetings Gain awareness of how COST is implemented and utilized The outcomes for this module are: Understand the continuum of intervention and support in a multi-tiered framework Learn the organizational structures for COST and SST meetings Gain awareness of how COST is implemented and utilized

Coordination of Services Team Defining the acronyms COST Coordination of Services Team Let’s begin by defining COST COST or Coordination of Services Team can really be ANY team that coordinates services Coordination of Services teams use different processes that review data, identify problems, develop solutions, monitor progress and evaluate the results of those solutions.

The Proper Mission and Role of Today’s Schools Develop the social and academic skills of all students—including at-risk students Teach academic readiness and reading skills that support academic engagement/achievement Teach social skills that support socially effective behavior (self control, self regulation, social reciprocity) Before we begin learning about COST let’s consider the context in which these teams exist. Today’s schools must not only address academic skills in isolation. They must also teach how to navigate the school system. Teaching ACADEMIC READINESS and reading skills is imperative so that students are prepared and able to be academically engaged. Students also need to be taught the necessary SOCIAL SKILLS needed to function within the school system. Research indicates that by addressing both the ACADEMIC AND SOCIAL skills simultaneously, students show gains academically and demonstrate positive behaviors. Schools must develop BOTH the social and academic skills for ALL students. Please PAUSE the module and reflect or discuss which students are included in ALL. ---AFTER PAUSE---- Hopefully you considered Students with Disabilities, English Language Learners, Standard English Learners, Students with behavioral challenges, Students from every ethnicity, disenfranchised youth, and marginalized youth. The intervention spectrum includes ALL students and their families.

Spectrum of Intervention Family Support Attendance Supports Attitude behavior social-emotional Supports Academic Supports Successful Student The 3 A’s (Attendance – Attitude – Academics) need to be addressed when supporting ALL students and their families Let’s talk briefly about each of these areas of support. Attendance: In order for students to engage in learning at school, they must be present and ready to learn. The most difficult student to reach is the student that is not there. Student attendance has been shown to be one of the most significant factors in predicting student success in school. Multidisciplinary teams may want to consider using student attendance data as an entry point in identifying students who need support. ATTITUDE: Includes Behavior and Social Emotional factors. All students need to be supported in understanding school expectations. Regularly teaching expectations and recognizing students for meeting expectations has been shown to positively affect student behavior. LAUSD’s Discipline Foundation Policy provides wonderful examples of how to positively support student behavior. Students often face challenging situations outside of the school campus. Having relationships with students both helps to build resiliency to negative influences – it also supports the early identification of problems. ACADEMICS: Ultimately everything we do in schools must result in increased ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT. When students are not achieving academically schools must determine the cause. Often the source of an academic issue is NOT academic at all. Multidisciplinary teams need to review data from each of the 3 A’s when analyzing problems. School teams may want to consider using a “rule-out” model when determining what interventions will have the most positive affect. Basically, the “rule-out” model eliminates other potential causes such as poor attendance, behavioral issues, social-emotional factors that may be affecting the academic problem before determining a specific academic intervention is needed. PICTURE OF: REPORT CARD With F in ALGEBRA - A 9th GRADE Girl – BABYSITTER might be good here: Take for instance the student that is failing Algebra --- If a team was to only consider the failing grade in Algebra they would probably suggest Algebra Intervention – But if the team was to look at attendance in the algebra course they might find poor attendance is causing the problem because when the student is present grades are better – the team then might look at why poor attendance was occurring and find that the student must stay home to babysit. By reviewing data from the 3 A’s the team would analyze that the problem in Algebra is actually a daycare issue.

Selected Universal 3 Tiered Approach to Intervention Adapted from Sprague & Walker, 2004 3 Tiered Approach to Intervention *Intensive Interventions *Increased Frequency and Duration *SST Meetings *Additional Follow-up SST Meetings *Case Management Targeted/ Intensive (3-5%) (High-risk students) Individual Interventions Selected (At-risk Students) Classroom, Family, & Small Group Strategies (10-20% of students) *Team Meetings (COST) *Individual Student Plans *Instructional Supports *Documentation & Monitoring The spectrum of Intervention occurs within a Multi-Tiered system. Universal or Tier 1 support includes: High Quality 1st Instruction, Clear Expectations, A Positive School Climate, Incentive Programs, Asset Building that is consistently provided throughout the school in a Culturally Relevant atmosphere. When reviewing data from the 3A’s school teams should expect to see that 75-85% of student needs are being supported at this universal or tier 1 level. TIER 2 or SELECTED level supports are provided to students who need additional assistance in meeting universal expectations. COST or Coordination of Services in the form of grade level teams, content areas, Small Learning Communities, or Professional Learning Communities can be used to review data and determine TIER 2 supports. Students receiving TIER 2 interventions that continue to not meet expectations would then be considered for the most intensive support at TIER 3. Interventions provided at this TARGETED & INTENSIVE level require the most time and intensity. STUDENT SUCCESS TEAMS are often used to manage TIER 3 supports. The foundation of support tiered intervention and support is built at the UNIVERSAL LEVEL or Tier 1. A strong universal level or tier 1 is the cornerstone of any intervention system. Before setting up a multidisciplinary team structure you should consider what is currently in place at the school or schools you serve. PAUSE this module to reflect and/or discuss the following questions regarding tier 1 : Universal (All Students) School-wide, Culturally Relevant Systems of Support (75-85% of students) *Incentive Programs *Clear Expectations *Positive School Climate *Instructional program * Asset Building

REFLECTION QUESTIONS Are 75- 85% of your students: attending school 96% of the time? meeting behavioral expectations? achieving in core academic subjects? Are 75- 85% of your students meeting attendance, behavior and academic goals in every classroom? Would 75-85% of your students, parents and staff say your school is safe and welcoming? Are 75- 85% of your students attending school 96% of the time? Are 75- 85% of your students meeting behavioral expectations? Are 75- 85% of your students achieving in core academic subjects? Are 75- 85% of your students meeting attendance, behavior and academic goals in every classroom? Would 75-85% of your students, parents and staff say your school is safe and welcoming?

Selected Universal 3 Tiered Approach to Intervention Adapted from Sprague & Walker, 2004 3 Tiered Approach to Intervention *Intensive Interventions *Increased Frequency and Duration *SST Meetings *Additional Follow-up SST Meetings *Case Management Targeted/ Intensive (3-5%) (High-risk students) Individual Interventions Selected (At-risk Students) Classroom, Family, & Small Group Strategies (10-20% of students) *Team Meetings (COST) *Individual Student Plans *Instructional Supports *Documentation & Monitoring IF you answered NO to the reflection questions you may want to consider having your multidisciplinary teams begin by analyzing school-wide data and working on developing school-wide systems to support ALL students. Schools that do not address school-wide systems of UNIVERSAL or TIER 1 support find that the numbers of students requiring SELECT AND INTENSIVE levels of support will be too great to serve. When this happens, school teams are over-whelmed, staff, students and parents become more frustrated and the cycle of failure increases. The UNIVERSAL or TIER 1 level of support is the foundation of all intervention Universal (All Students) School-wide, Culturally Relevant Systems of Support (75-85% of students) *Incentive Programs *Clear Expectations *Positive School Climate *Instructional program * Asset Building

Three-tiered intervention Tier 1: Screening and group interventions for all Tier 2: Targeted interventions for some Tier 3: Intensive interventions and comprehensive evaluations for a few Let’s look at the logic of tiered intervention. Tier 1: Is for ALL students. Progress monitoring data for the 3 As: academics, attendance and attitude (behavior/social-emotional) needs to be reviewed regularly. ALL students should be screened using assessment data. Screening should be seen as verifying that students are progressing at targeted or expected rates. The standard is 75 to 85 percent of students should be progressing. If less than 75 – 85 percent of students are meeting progress benchmarks then TIER 1 instruction must be evaluated before deciding if students need additional intervention. THE LOGIC OF THIS IS THAT HIGH QUALITY FIRST INSTRUCTION WILL MEET THE NEEDS OF MOST STUDENTS Tier 2: is for SOME students. If most students are progressing with tier one supports, the students that are not making progress at desired rates require additional intervention and support. Instruction is provided at tier 1 and additional targeted instruction is also provided. Progress monitoring also increases. Data should indicate that tier 2 intervention is working for MOST of this group. Tier 3 is for the FEW students who need intensive levels of support. So the logic of tiered intervention is that Tier 1 should work for most Tier 2 should work for most needing extra help Tier 3 is for the few students who need intensive levels of support It is also important to mention that that tiered intervention is NOT solely about Special Education Services it is about layering support for ALL students. Students without an IEP who are receiving TIER 3 support and that are not making progress may have a learning disability – consideration of an initial assessment may be in order National Center for Learning Disabilities

Multi-tiered systems To create multi-tiered systems we are going to need a positive attitude and each others’ support To create multi-tiered systems we are going to need a positive attitude and each others’ support Supporting ALL students will take ALL adults

Who needs intervention? Adapted from Sprague & Walker, 2004 As you provide selected level supports with fidelity and consistency, which students (3%- 5%) need intensive levels? 3 Tiered Approach to Intervention Targeted/ Intensive (3-5%) (High-risk students) Individual Interventions Selected (At-risk Students) Classroom, Family, & Small Group Strategies (10-20% of students) How do you identify those needing additional support? Let’s consider some reflection questions regarding your school’s multi-tiered system. Are you meeting the needs of 75% - 85% of your student population at this level? - What data have you or will you use to validate whether your school is meeting 75-85 percent of students needs at Tier 1? - Are ALL students needs being met? - Are student neeeds being met in every classroom, some classrooms or a few classrooms? - If 75-85 percent of students needs are NOT being met what changes to school-wide systems, infrastructure, and classroom instruction need to take place? Once you have validated that 75-85 percent of students are making progress in tier 1 -- How will you identify those needing additional support? - What progress monitoring data will you use? - Do you use or plan to use screening tools such as CORE K12, DIBELS, CLASSROOM PREFERRED BEHAVIOR CHECKLISTS? - When will universal screening take place? - How might a Coordination of Services Team support this work of identifying students needing additional support? As you provide selected level supports with fidelity and consistency, which students will need intensive levels? - How will you identify these students? - How might SST be used in the more intensive levels of monitoring required at tier 3? PLEASE PAUSE THE MODULE AND REFLECT OR DISCUSS WITH YOUR TEAM ….. Press PLAY when you are ready to move forward Universal (All Students) School-wide, Culturally Relevant Systems of Support (75-85% of students) Are you meeting the needs of 75% - 85% of your student population at this level?

Current Referral Systems Teacher has concerns Referral Referral Referral Referral Often schools use a referral system to identify which students need additional supports. Schools that do not have organized systems of support may find that referrals for support are ineffective and inefficient When staff or parents want to help a student they often turn to others. Schools who have NOT organized systems of student support will work harder and may not know if that extra work actually helped the student. PSA Counselor Nurse Impact

Organizing intervention systems Coordination of Services Teams (COST) & Student Success Teams (SST) Assist with organization Provides a systematic approach to student intervention Track and monitor interventions Document what is being tried COST and SST are processes that assist with organizing a school’s intervention system. COST and SST provide specific systematic organization for identifying students in need, supporting each student and evaluating student intervention These systems for student support also provide monitoring and documentation of the great work your school staff is doing to help students. Although using teams does mean more meetings that take time -- once you establish the system you will find that because you are using a systematic approach you are actually saving time because you are working on the right problems with the right solutions.

What is the purpose of COST and SST? Problem solving Linkage & Connection Develops an action plan Delivery of services Development of resources The primary purpose of COST and SST are to provide a team approach to problem solving and meeting student needs. The team process links teachers, parents, support staff and programs to facilitate change in students’ lives. Action plans are developed to assist and build resiliency within students. Ultimately COST and SST create and improve the delivery of services and site resources for all students. COST and SST are NOT: A way to get kids in Special education These are not parent conferences, they are focused and structured processes that provide increasing intensive levels of support

What COST and SST are NOT: A way to get students into Special Education Parent Conferences COST and SST are NOT: A way to get kids in Special education These are not parent conferences, they are focused and structured processes that provide increasing intensive levels of support

REFLECTION What have been your experiences around COST ? Involvement (levels) Roles Coordination What outcomes do you expect from implementing Multidisciplinary Team processes? Please reflect on the following questions What have been your experiences around COST? What are levels of involvement have you had on these teams? What roles have you had? Do you have experience in coordinating COST at a school? What outcomes do you expect from implementing Multidisciplinary Team processes? PLEASE PAUSE THE MODULE AND REFLECT OR DISCUSS WITH YOUR TEAM ….. Press PLAY when you are ready to move forward

Coordination of Services Team COST Coordination of Services Team A tiered & coordinated approach that systematically identifies at-risk students, develops comprehensive multidisciplinary intervention plans, and regularly monitors student progress Based on your reflection – consider your experiences working with COST with respect to any matches, similarities and/or misconceptions COST is A tiered & coordinated approach that systematically identifies at-risk students, develops comprehensive multidisciplinary intervention plans, and regularly monitors student progress. LAUSD Multidisciplinary Team Support (09/09)

FUNCTIONS OF COST SCHOOL-WIDE EVALUATION IDENTIFICATION OF STUDENTS data review, school-wide problems, gap analysis IDENTIFICATION OF STUDENTS data, screening, anecdotal evidence, referrals INTERVENTIONS triage, referral to program/person, strategies MONITORING/DOCUMENTATION case management, data collection, evaluation There are 4 primary functions of COST Coordination of Services Teams should review SCHOOL-WIDE data using the problem solving process to identify school-wide problems and identify GAPS between student need and student supports. COST should also IDENTIFY STUDENTS that need Tier 2 and Tier 3 supports and interventions. The COST process makes data based decisions regarding what students receive which supports and interventions. It then links students to programs and people. Coordination of Services Teams also monitor whether students access the intervention or support, the student’s progress using data, and evaluates the effectiveness of the intervention and/or support. Teams should set up schedules and assign roles and responsibilities so that each of these functions occur on a regular basis. LAUSD Multidisciplinary Team Support (3/08)

Team monitors intervention services COST PROCESS A Student is Identified COST Team reviews referral and makes decision PROVIDE Support Services MULTIPLE ISSUES Schedule SST Gather Additional Information Once a student has been identified as needing support and intervention the Coordination of Services Team triages the identified students. Prior to a COST meeting A list of students to be discussed should be created and provided ANY additional information should also be gathered prior to meeting if possible, but sometimes actions are developed to gather additional information During the meeting Individual students are discussed in a quick and structured process The team then makes decisions as to what supports and interventions need to be provided and by whom The team usually makes the decision to PROVIDE supports regarding a specific issue or to schedule an SST if there are MULTIPLE ISSUES and the need for more intensive case management A tracking system is used for students that identifies Each student, Who is providing service, Where and When it will occur, for How long and what the desired outcome is The Team regularly convenes to triage new students and review to the progress of the students who are being monitored by COST. The team then makes additional decisions based on data to provide MORE support, Exit with periodic monitoring, schedule an SST or Begin NEW supports COST Team monitors intervention services and makes decisions More Support Exit w/ Monitoring Schedule SST Begin Support

How should students be IDENTIFIED? COST Team reviews data and referrals and makes decisions DATA REVIEW Attendance Achievement Attitude (behavior, social-emotional) REFERRAL Teacher Parents Support Staff Administration Students needing support Students needing support are traditionally referred to someone or some team. It is important to incorporate specific procedures to refer a student to COST. Referral systems should be simple clear and collect the necessary information for the team to make decisions. Referrals may come from teachers, parents, support staff, administration and even students if the school chooses Because referral systems rely on people having a concern as well as being motivated to make a referral – students are often over-looked. Therefore having both a referral system and using a data review process is best practices in creating identification systems. Recall that data should be reviewed from the 3 As Attendance, Academic achievement and Attitude which includes behavior data and social-emotional information. LAUSD Multidisciplinary Team Support (09/09)

Team reviews data and/or referrals Who is on the COST ? COST Team reviews data and/or referrals and makes decisions PRINCIPAL COUNSELOR ASSISTANT PRINCIPALS INTRVNTN COORD. BRIDGE COORD. LITERACY & MATH COACHES EL COORD. PSA TEACHERS Coordination of Services Teams may involve anyone from the school staff. Every school looks differently in terms of staffing. Teams are developed based on the personnel a school has. Every Coordination of Services Team looks different. TITLE I COORD. DEAN PSYCH. NURSE PSW LAUSD Multidisciplinary Team Support (3/08)

RESOURCES (+ or -) “What if my school does not have additional staff to be a part of the support team?” THINK Data and Perspective (Attendance, Attitude, Academics) SEE People and students as resources MAKE CHANGES System & Scheduling WORK Differently If a school has limited staff that provide support, administration and staff should not abandon the idea of having a team. School administrators and staff should look at all staff through the lens of skill sets and personal interests. The first step is to THINK about data and the need to look at the school and every student through Attendance – Attitude and Academics. Consider who on the school staff might be able to bring one of those perspectives to the team. SEEing every member of the staff as a resource will help to identify potential team members. It is important to move beyond titles and credentials to areas of expertise. School staff are very diverse and every staff member has different experiences, skill sets and knowledge. Knowing staff and what they bring as individuals helps to build your team. Infrastructure also can be aligned to facilitate team meetings and staff participation. MAKE CHANGES to schedules, assignments, systems if needed to make the right staff available at the right time. It is also import to WORK DIFFERENTLY. Do not let how you operate now – direct how you need to operate to be successful.

Members come from representatives from ALL programs at school Basic School Model School-wide Data Collection Monitoring Evaluation SCHOOL-WIDE C*O*S*T Members come from representatives from ALL programs at school SST Core Team members & Supporting Members that attend as needed REFERRALS Makes Decisions SST meetings are scheduled after classroom interventions unsuccessful There are several models of COST being used in schools. The BASIC MODEL is simply a single School-wide COST and a single SST team. This model is most often used by smaller schools. Intensive Support

Community & School Model School-wide Issues Resource Coordinating Team Members come from representatives from ALL programs at school C*O*S*T School Support Staff SST Core SST members & Supporting Members that attend as needed REFERRALS Makes Decisions Data Collection Monitoring Evaluation Another COST model is the Community and School Model. This model adds a larger Coordinating Team to the Basic School Model These teams are sometimes referred to as a RESOURCE COORDINATING TEAM (RCT). The distinction between an RCT and COST in this case are community members being a part of the team. Some schools include community members in their COST which is also acceptable. Community members are often individuals from outside agencies such as counseling services, family services, or partnerships that are providing service to students on or off campus. The important thing to consider when including community members is student confidentiality. Schools handle this in various ways such as only reviewing school-wide data or using release of information forms for the students being discussed and having only one agency in the meeting at a time. The most common practice is to not discuss individual students at these meetings. Resource Coordinating Teams that review school-wide and community data often meet less frequently such as quarterly or two times a year. SST meetings are scheduled after classroom interventions unsuccessful Intensive Support

Large School Team Structure SCHOOL-WIDE RCT COST 1 Small number of team members COST 2 COST 3 SST COST Team members & Supporting Members that attend as needed Larger schools or Multi-track schools or Small schools on a single campus will use this Large School model. There is a school-wide or campus-wide RCT or COST that looks at school-wide data. This team is made up of members from each of the smaller COST teams. These larger school-wide teams also meet less frequently than the smaller teams. COST 1 2 and 3 are usually aligned to how students are group on a large school campus. They are often organized by small school, a track, a counselor or grade level. These smaller COST teams meet as often as every week to identify students, connect supports and to monitor progress. The smaller COST recommend students need more intensive support to the SST which is made up of COST members and or support SST members from the grade level or track. SST meetings are scheduled ONLY by COST team – usually after interventions unsuccessful

SMALL LEARNING COMMUNITIES SCHOOL-WIDE COST – School Based Leadership Team – Academic Leadership Team Philosophy – Positive Behavior Support – Goals – Practices - Norms COST/RCT *Provides Additional Support *Monitors intervention implementation *Works with SLC *Refer to SST SLC SLC SLC SLC Another organizational model is the Small Learning Community model. Schools that use this model usually have larger school-wide teams that drive school-wide initiatives. They are teams such as a school-wide COST or a School Based Leadership Team or an Academic Leadership Team. Each SLC in the school then has its own Coordination Team or Support Team. These teams are made up of the teaching staff in the SLC, and other support staff such as the counselor or administrator that works with the SLC. The most effective way this model is used is in conjunction with common planning time. These teams often support students at the TIER 1 level. For example: reviewing student data the support team identifies several students that are not attending school regularly. Each teacher takes one or two students and agrees to make a phone call, do a home visit and/or speak with the student. They then help the student to build a relationship with a teacher and to attend school. Progress is monitored and students needing additional supports may be referred to the academic counselor and/or Pupil Services and Attendance Counselor for tier 2 supports. Students that still are not improving would then be referred to the SST which would include the parent – student – initial teacher assigned and any support staff member that work with the student. During these meetings the team creates a support plan for intensive intervention and assessment. SUPPORT TEAM *Identify students *Determine & Implement Classroom or Counselor Interventions *Monitor & Evaluate effectiveness *Refer to work with coordinating team Ea. SLC SST

How often does the COST Meet Must meet regularly HOW OFTEN depends on: Student population Student need Primary functions COST serves Support staff availability (5 days vs. 1 day) Recommend that Teams meet WEEKLY When considering how often does COST meet your should consider the following…. The one constant is that COST must meet regularly The size of the student body, the level of student need, the functions COST serves and the availability of staff all guides the frequency that COST should meet. Coordination of Services Teams that are most successful meet weekly for 1 hour. LAUSD Multidisciplinary Team Support (09/09)

What does the COST do 1st Determine purpose, and establish norms and protocols Reviews School-wide Data Student (Achievement, Attendance, Attitude) Program Support Services Community Evaluates the effectiveness, efficiency and equity of School-wide Tier 1 UNIVERSAL LEVEL systems and efforts When establishing a COST at your school you should consider the following steps: FIRST, the administration in collaboration with potential team members should determine the team’s purpose “Why the team will be created and what the expectations are for that team”. The team should also establish norms and protocols as to how members will operate during the planning meetings and beyond. Norms and protocols should be revisited regularly. The team should then review school-wide data around the 3 A’s – program and support services data such as intervention programs, specialized supports like grief counseling, social skills groups and other school services that are provided to assist students need to be reviewed. Community data should also be considered such as community resources, demographic data, crime statistics and resource mapping should be conducted. COST should analyze this comprehensive data set to evaluate the effectiveness and equity of the school-wide Tier 1 or Universal level systems and efforts. When reviewing and analyzing data the team should consider are the student results they are seeing the results they want for their school. LAUSD Multidisciplinary Team Support (09/09)

Evaluating the effectiveness, efficiency and equity of School-wide Tier 1 (UNIVERSAL LEVEL) systems and efforts Is the school getting the results it desires? Are there community factors that are impacting those results? Are intervention efforts effective? Do ALL students have access to those effective interventions? What changes might COST need to champion at the school-wide level? When establishing a COST at your school you should consider the following steps: FIRST, the administration in collaboration with potential team members should determine the team’s purpose “Why the team will be created and what the expectations are for that team”. The team should also establish norms and protocols as to how members will operate during the planning meetings and beyond. Norms and protocols should be revisited regularly. The team should then review school-wide data around the 3 A’s – program and support services data such as intervention programs, specialized supports like grief counseling, social skills groups and other school services that are provided to assist students need to be reviewed. Community data should also be considered such as community resources, demographic data, crime statistics and resource mapping should be conducted. COST should analyze this comprehensive data set to evaluate the effectiveness and equity of the school-wide Tier 1 or Universal level systems and efforts. When reviewing and analyzing data the team should consider the following questions: are the student results they are seeing the results they want for their school. How is the community impacting students and the school-wide data? Are intervention efforts effective? Do all students have access to effective interventions? And most importantly – the team needs to determine what changes to the school-wide program need to be made to support the majority of students being successful at tier 1. LAUSD Multidisciplinary Team Support (09/09)

What does the COST do regularly Reviews data and screen referrals Makes decisions and develop action plans around student needs (triage) Respond to persons making referrals Monitors progress Once COST has determined school-wide changes and/or the effectiveness of the school-wide program in meeting 75-85 percent of students needs, the team regularly meets to review student level data and screen referrals to identify students needing additional support. The team then makes decisions on how to help groups and individual students and develops action plans to support those students. The team should also have a process to respond or provide information feedback to the individuals making the referrals. This important step not only helps inform the concerned person that something is being done – it also serves to align that support to what is being done by that person to help the student and creates a feedback loop and monitoring process. COST also regularly monitors if the determined interventions and supports are supporting students in increasing levels of success in the identified area of need. LAUSD Multidisciplinary Team Support (09/09)

30 Second Reflection Does your school currently have a COST? If yes, how is it organized and what functions does it serve? If no, how might a COST support your intervention process? Take a moment to reflect and/or discuss the following questions: Does your school currently have a COST? If yes, how is it organized and what functions does it serve? If no, how might a COST support your intervention process? Please pause the module and press play when you are ready to continue.

COST and SST are solely processes utilized to manage intervention COST & SST COST and SST are solely processes utilized to manage intervention It is important to remember that both COST and SST are solely processes utilized to manage intervention. They are NOT interventions in and of themselves.

COST & SST are not programs that can be purchased and started Three Phases: Adoption Administrative Buy-in Staff Buy-in Implementation Process Practice Refinement Evaluation Improvement Remember that COST and SST are NOT programs that can be purchased and started they must be developed by the school in three phases: The first is adoption that begins with administrative and staff buy-in that teams will support change The second phase is implementation of the process and practicing the work. Implementation will not be perfect it at first it will take time Implementation is improved in the refinement phase through evaluation and making changes to practice

Recommendations to get started Start with a team Define purpose or clarify the purpose Identify action items Distribute the work Meet regularly to monitor progress Whether you are starting from scratch or building on an existing team process begin with a team of people. Remember you can not do it alone. Once the team is together you must first define or clarify the purpose of the group and what it is you want to accomplish. Identify action items and steps to complete those actions Distribute the work amongst the team Then meet regularly to monitor you progress.

MULTIDISCIPLINARY TEAM SUPPORT FRAMEWORK & SUPPORT includes: COST & SST Structures & Models Student Identification Systems 3 Tiered Approach to Intervention Tracking, Monitoring, & Documentation Practices Consultation Training Coaching

As the Challenge Escalates, the Need for Teamwork Elevates. John C As the Challenge Escalates, the Need for Teamwork Elevates. John C. Maxwell Remember that As the Challenge Escalates, the Need for Teamwork Elevates. LAUSD Multidisciplinary Team Support)

Books and resources SST Manual California Department of Education RtI “What Works” http://rti.lausd.net Discipline Foundation Policy http://Disciplinepolicy.lausd.net Best Behavior: Building Positive Behavior Supports in Schools (Sprague & Golly, 2004) www.sopriswest.com Safe and Healthy Schools: Practical Strategies (Sprague & Walker, 2005) www.guilford.com

Books and resources Blankstein, A. (2004). Failure is not an option. California: Corwin Press. DuFour, R. and R. Eaker (1998). Professional learning communities at work. Indiana: National Education Service. DuFour, R., R. DuFour, R. Eaker and G. Karhankek. (2004). Whatever it takes. Indiana: National Education Service.