A Multi-Tiered Approach to Promoting SEL

The Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) framework is a common strategy that districts use to make sure all their students receive high-quality academic support and that no student falls through the cracks. This very same framework can also be used to make sure that schools promote students’ social and emotional development and address any mental health needs. Doing so requires an intentional and systemic approach to organize and coordinate all social and emotional learning (SEL) and mental health supports across three tiers.  

Specifically, MTSS for SEL and mental health include the following three tiers: 

• Tier 1 supports are classroom-based and/or schoolwide programs and practices that help all students develop social and emotional well-being as well as promote positive mental health. 
• Tier 2 supports are targeted interventions that support students with low to mild social and emotional struggles, and they often reinforce Tier 1 lessons or address mild mental health needs. 
• Tier 3 supports are intensive and often individualized supports for students with significant SEL and mental health needs, such as anxiety or trauma. 

Where does SEL End and Mental Health Begin?

While SEL is a framework that promotes the development of different types of competencies—self-awareness, self-management, relationship skills, social awareness, and responsible decision-making, school-based mental health refers to supports along a continuum—from promoting positive mental health for all students to addressing diagnosable mental health challenges as needed.

The two go hand in hand: Promoting SEL competencies has been found to promote positive mental health. In an MTSS structure, you can find both kinds of supports in each of the three tiers. Tier 1 includes teaching SEL competencies and mental health literacy, Tier 2 may include additional targeted SEL supports (e.g., social-pragmatic support groups) or mental health interventions (e.g., trauma-informed support groups), and Tier 3 often involves mental health interventions, but those may include reinforcing SEL skills such as emotional management. 

Setting Up your MTSS Approach to SEL and Mental Health

Setting up an MTSS framework can take time and resources up front—but once it’s established, schools are much better prepared to provide the social and emotional supports that students need. Here are several steps school leaders can take to ensure that MTSS structures and processes are in place. 

Plan your Tier 1 supports. Is your school implementing an SEL curriculum? Is the expectation that teachers will embed SEL practices into their academic instruction? What types of schoolwide campaigns—such as ensuring that each student has a trusted adult in the building—will you roll out this school year? Tier 1 programs and practices are designed to help all students develop social and emotional skills.

Your school or district may want to put together an SEL and mental health team that is tasked with identifying the specific supports—a curriculum, a set of classroom practices, schoolwide campaigns—that you will offer to all students. Once you select your approach, make sure to put in place a process to ensure effective implementation, such as fidelity checklists. 

Inventory Tier 2 and 3 supports. Targeted (Tier 2) and intensive (Tier 3) SEL and/or mental health supports should be provided on an as-needed basis, based on students’ specific needs. While it is challenging to anticipate what supports your students will need throughout the year, it is important to know which interventions you and your staff are prepared to offer students.

For example, are classroom-based teachers prepared to provide reinforcing activities for students who struggle with self-regulation or social skills? Do you have staff who can provide small group supports, such as social-pragmatic or executive function groups? Do you have staff trained to provide mental health interventions to students who need it—or, alternatively, do you have processes for referring students to outside mental health supports if needed? Your SEL and mental health team may also want to inventory the types of supports your school can offer and, if needed, to augment these supports with additional trainings or hires. 

Put student support teams in place. At the heart of an MTSS system is the process by which students with SEL or mental health needs are identified, matched with Tier 2 and/or Tier 3 supports, and then monitored to make sure they are making progress and that their supports are adjusted accordingly. At the center of this process is a student support team (SST, also called whole child team or building-based team), composed of academic and mental health staff.

This team receives referrals from teachers and parents, or from students themselves, and then develops a plan for each student to receive Tier 2 and 3 supports. The same team revisits each student receiving supports every six to eight weeks to determine if the plan should be adjusted or phased out, based on progress. As a first step to this process, you should identify who should be part of the team, how often they should meet, and what processes they should follow (e.g., agendas, meeting frequencies, etc.). 

Prepare data collection and use processes. An effective MTSS framework ensures that all decisions are based on data. This includes using data to select appropriate Tier 1 programs and practices, using universal screening tools to identify students with elevated needs, and using data to monitor student progress. Now is a good time to review the various data sources at your disposal (e.g., SEL assessments, universal mental health screening tools, attendance, disciplinary data) and determine how they will be used on a regular basis to guide your MTSS efforts. This includes determining how often data will be collected and by whom, who will have access, and how data will be examined by the SST team and others.

Bring an equity lens to your MTSS approach. To truly ensure that all students are well supported by your MTSS efforts, it is important to bring an equity lens to your MTSS planning and implementation. Examples of concrete steps to ensure equity in your MTSS efforts include making sure that all voices are at the table when making decisions and selecting interventions, disaggregating data to better understand the needs of various student groups, and ensuring that the programs and interventions you select have been tested to be culturally and linguistically affirming of the different groups within your community.

Putting these MTSS elements in place will ensure that your school is ready to promote the well-being of all students.