Season 11, Episode 1

MTSS 101: What it is and what it isn't, with Joan Schumann, Ph.D.

Season 11 explores the Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS), from foundational concepts to practical implementation. To kick things off, Joan Schumann, Ph.D., founding executive director of the International MTSS Association, joins host Susan Lambert, Ed.D., to provide an overview of an MTSS—what it is, what it isn't, and what its components are. Together, Joan and Susan discuss the core beliefs that make or break an MTSS implementation, what a prevention-oriented mindset looks like in a school, and why early access to intervention is central to the MTSS framework.

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Transcripts and additional resources:

Sign up for our Literacy Data and MTSS Week.
Learn more about the International MTSS Association.
Learn more about the International MTSS Association’s Journal of MTSS.
Connect with Joan Schumann on LinkedIn.
Listen to Season 3 of Amplify’s Beyond My Years podcast.
Subscribe to Susan’s new Science of Reading Substack.
Join our Science of Reading community Facebook group.
Connect with Susan Lambert.
Read the transcript.

Meet Our Guest(s):

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Joan Schumann

Joan Schumann, Ph.D., is founding executive director of the International MTSS Association (IMA) and CEO of Leading for Learning. She is a lifelong educator, researcher, and systems leader, and has served as a teacher, special educator, principal, district leader, university faculty member, and international school administrator. Joan earned her doctorate from the University of Utah, where she researched Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) and discipline disproportionality. For more than two decades, Joan has led MTSS implementation efforts in the United States and internationally, translating complex research into practical strategies that help schools support every learner. She is a frequent speaker on MTSS, literacy, school improvement, educational equity, and systems change—she is committed to making research (and researchers) accessible to everyday educators.

Meet our host: Susan Lambert

Susan Lambert, Ed.D., is Chief Academic Officer of Literacy at Amplify and host of Science of Reading: The Podcast. Throughout her career, she has focused on creating high-quality learning environments using evidence-based practices. Lambert is a mom of four, a grandma of four, a world traveler, and a collector of stories.

As the host of Science of Reading: The Podcast, Lambert explores the increasing body of scientific research around how reading is best taught. A former classroom teacher, administrator, and curriculum developer, she’s dedicated to turning theory into best practices that educators can put right to use in the classroom, and to showcasing national models of reading instruction excellence.

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Quotes

“You cannot really implement this [MTSS] framework if you don't believe all kids can learn.”

—Joan Schumann

“As much as we have to carry the belief that all kids can learn, we must also carry the belief that all staff can improve and change as well.”

—Joan Schumann

“If we all just start engaging in these small shifts and calls for change, it'll be just like the Science of Reading, only it'll be the science of leading.”

—Joan Schumann