Supporting Schools During and After Crisis

This page highlights resources to support the use of a multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS) framework to support students, families, and educators during the transitions back to school during and following the global pandemic in a manner that prioritizes their health and safety, social and emotional needs, and behavioral and academic growth.

Returning to School During and After Crisis

To learn more about how to use this resource, please view the video Guide to the Guide. If you are an educator just getting started with PBIS or MTSS, please see Getting Started  and corresponding content on the District/State PBIS topic.

Guiding Principles

Our recommendations are grounded in the core elements of PBIS and MTSS.

• Prioritize equity.
• Make student outcomes central to all decisions.
• Implement a small number of effective, culturally-relevant practices well.
  
• Use data to inform all decisions (screening, progress monitoring, equitable outcomes, and fidelity.
  
• Continue to invest in systems to support high-fidelity implementation across time.
  

Key Recommendations

1. Provide Support throughout the Implementation Cascade

State & District

Guides & Briefs

• State Guide
• District Guide
• Improving Attendance in a Remote Learning Environment

Webinars & Videos

• Meeting Social & Emotional Needs for All
• Leveraging MTSS Systems to Support the Return to School During and After Crisis

Action Plan Templates

• Planning Document for PBIS/MTSS Leadership Teams for Use During COVID-19 Disruption

Additional Resources

• State & District Topic

School & Classroom

Guides & Briefs

• School Guide
• Creating a PBIS Behavior Teaching Matrix for Remote Instruction
• Guidance on Adapting Check-in Check-out (CICO) for Distance Learning
  
• Conducting the Tiered Fidelity Inventory and Walkthrough Remotely
• Returning to School: Considerations for Students With the Most Intensive Behavioral Needs, A Guide to Supporting Students With Disabilities, Their Families, and Educators During the 2020–21 School Year

Webinars & Videos

• Creating Effective Environments: Back to Basics with Critical Practices
• High Leverage Instructional Practices

Action Plan Templates

• Returning to School Fall 2020: Staff PD Days Agenda Template
• Creating Effective Classroom Environments Plan Template

Examples

• Community Cares Video
• Socially Connected While Physically Distant

Additional Resources

• School-wide Topic
• Classroom Topic

Family & Student

Guides & Briefs

• Supporting Families with PBIS at Home Practice Brief
• Supporting Students with Disabilities at School and Home Practice Brief

Webinars & Videos

• Webinar coming soon

Action Plan Templates

• Family Plan for Positive Behavior at Home

Examples

• Example videos and resources of positive behavior support for families from San Juan Unified

Additional Resources

• Family Topic

2. Leverage Existing Systems

To maximize both benefit and efficiency, enhance and adjust existing systems to support implementation. As educators implementing MTSS, the Implementation Blueprint may be a familiar organizational structure to consider both executive team functions (stakeholder engagement, funding and alignment, policy, and workforce capacity) and implementation functions (training, coaching, and evaluation) of leadership teams. To learn more about how to enhance and adjust systems features, see full guide.

3. Back to Basics: Do What Works, and Do It Well

Go “back to basics” by (a) focusing on a small number of evidence-based and culturally relevant practices, across social, emotional, behavioral, and academic domains, that have an equitable and big impact and (b) doing them well. To learn more about practices, see full guide.