New Jersey Tiered System of Supports NJTSS

I&RS

NEW JERSEY TIERED SYSTEM OF SUPPORTS

NJTSS is a framework of academic and behavioral supports and interventions to improve student achievement, based on the core components of multi-tiered systems of supports(MTSS) and the three-tier prevention logic of Response to Intervention (RTI). With a foundation of strong district and school leadership, a positive school culture and climate, and family and community engagement, NJTSS builds upon intervention and referral services(I&RS) and gives schools a structure to meet the academic, behavioral, health, enrichment, and social-emotional needs of all students. The tiered framework was developed in collaboration with New Jersey stakeholders, including educators and administrators from districts implementing an RTI/MTSS model, higher education experts, and parents. Based on successful models of RTI and MTSS from across the country, NJTSS gives schools and districts a systematic way to address learner variability and engage all students in learning the New Jersey Student Learning Standards. NJTSS maximizes the efficient use of resources to improve support for all classroom teachers and targets interventions to students based on their needs. Through regular monitoring of student progress, along with data-based decision making by problem-solving teams and providing a continuum of supports and interventions based on student performance, NJTSS offers a variety of evidence-based practices designed to improve achievement and promote positive student outcomes. The tiered system involves the systematic development of nine essential components in schools for the effective implementation of the framework with fidelity and sustainability.

Those components include:

1. Effective district and school leadership;
2. Family and community engagement;
3. Positive school culture and climate;
4. High-quality learning environments, curricula, and instructional practices;
5. Universal screening;
6. Data-based decision making;
7. Collaborative problem-solving teams;
8. Progress monitoring; and
9. Staff professional development.

TIER 1

Tier 1 provides high-quality learning environments, evidence-based curricular and instructional practices, and a continuum of supports and interventions in general education classrooms, including bilingual classrooms, delivered with fidelity by trained teachers with the support of other professionals.

TIER 2

Tier 2 provides supplemental supports and interventions that may be delivered in small-group instruction, provided in either the general classroom or during an intervention period. Interventions include evidence-based instructional practices and interventions that increase in intensity, frequency and duration based upon the review of data during regular progress monitoring intervals

TIER 3

Tier 3 provides intensive supports and interventions that may be delivered individually and provided in or outside of the classroom after the delivery of core instruction. There may be adaptations of supports and interventions based on an individual student’s performance using data that are reviewed during frequent progress monitoring intervals