Empowering Students through Proactive MTSS: Building Systems that Help Every Student Thrive
Ensuring that each student receives the support they need to thrive is a challenge that many K-12 educators grapple with daily. With class sizes averaging 16-20 students who each bring unique academic, personal, and emotional needs, teachers can struggle to focus on those quiet kids who are “just getting by.” Meanwhile, student support staff often face staggering caseloads, limiting their ability to provide consistent, personalized support. With the rise of mental health challenges among youth, it’s more important than ever for schools to build student support systems that are proactive and sustainable.
To meet this need, many schools have adopted the Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) model, which is designed to improve social-emotional and academic outcomes through differentiated support. Tier 1 focuses on universal interventions that benefit all students, while Tiers 2 and 3 provide targeted assistance for those few students who need more focused attention. By identifying those who may need additional support—whether emotional, academic or behavioral—educators can take meaningful steps to promote student wellness and success.
What schools often overlook in MTSS
However, while MTSS is intended to provide comprehensive student support, many schools face a common blindspot in implementation: the process for referring students for Tier 2 and Tier 3 interventions is often driven by adult observations, rather than student voice.
Consider this scenario:
Charlie begins teasing Isabel in class. What starts as harmless teasing quickly escalates, and Isabel feels bullied. She withdraws emotionally and disengages from class. Charlie thinks it is all fun and doesn’t check himself on their interactions.The situation boils over when Isabel throws a ruler at Charlie in frustration. The teacher sends the students to the counselor and Isabel is labeled the aggressor, even though she has been struggling. The counselor helps resolve this incident, but the underlying issue—the reason for her behavior —is overlooked. As a result, trust is not restored and both students' academic performance suffers. This situation highlights that without systems in place to proactively gather and understand student perspectives, schools can easily default to reactive interventions that address surface-level behaviors, rather than root causes. As a result, they can miss key opportunities for early prevention and meaningful intervention.
Laying the Foundation for Proactive, Student-Centered MTSS
By shifting to a prevention-focused approach, schools can address small issues before they escalate into more significant problems - like the conflict between Charlie and Isabel. While responsive interventions are essential, the true power of MTSS lies in building strong, proactive Tier 1 systems that reduce the need for escalated support. To build this foundation, schools must develop a deep understanding of each student’s real-time needs. This requires not only actively soliciting student input but also cultivating nurturing environments where students feel safe to share authentically.
By prioritizing these key elements, schools can build a strong foundation of support where students feel recognized, valued, and understood:
- Establishing strong, consistent relationships: Meaningful relationships between students and adults provide a foundation of trust & belonging where students feel comfortable sharing their needs. Research shows that students who connect with at least one trusted adult in school are more likely to excel academically and demonstrate resilience. Schools can build these relationships by implementing regular check-ins, training staff to recognize early signs of distress, and providing structured time for students to build long-term connections with a consistent adult figure.
- Supporting student voice to inform support paths: Proactively seeking input from students fosters a culture where they feel valued and connected, while also ensuring that interventions align with actual student needs. Schools can facilitate authentic feedback by providing safe, structured spaces for students to share their experiences with trusted adults. This empowers students to take an active role in shaping their support systems, making interventions more meaningful and effective.
- Building key skills that support thriving: Social-emotional learning (SEL) is key to helping students manage stress, navigate conflict, and build resilience. By integrating SEL practices into daily classroom activities, schools can equip students with critical skills like emotional regulation and problem-solving. Offering real-world opportunities for students to practice these skills—whether through group projects, reflection activities, or peer collaborations—reinforces these lessons and supports personal growth.
Making it Happen: Sown To Grow’s Approach
At Sown To Grow, we equip schools with the tools they need to implement each of these components of student support. At the core of our approach is the weekly student emotional check-in— a scalable Tier 1 strategy that ensures every student's voice is heard. These check-ins help build trusting relationships in the classroom by providing consistent opportunities for students to reflect on their learning and experiences while receiving direct support from teachers. Insights from these check-ins, along with data from our built-in SEL screener are displayed in real-time student well-being dashboards that lift up:
- The overall well-being of the school, including trends over time
- Students who have shared they are feeling sad or very sad for multiple weeks in a row
- Alerts for students with reflections that may indicate they need urgent or elevated support
This proactive approach empowers schools to identify and appropriately address student needs before they become crises. By centering MTSS around authentic relationships and student voice, we help schools not only meet immediate needs but also foster a lasting culture of trust, engagement, and resilience. In doing so, we lay a sustainable foundation for long-term student success, ensuring that every student receives the personalized support they need to thrive.
